Jay-Jay Okocha

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Jay-Jay Okocha
Personal information
Full name Augustine Azuka Okocha
Date of birth 14 August 1973 (1973-08-14) (age 34)
Place of birth    Enugu, Nigeria
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Playing position Attacking midfielder
Club information
Current club Unattached
Youth clubs
Enugu Rangers
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1990–1992
1992–1996
1996–1998
1998–2002
2002–2006
2006–2007
2007–2008		 Borussia Neunkirchen
Eintracht Frankfurt
Fenerbahçe
Paris Saint-Germain
Bolton Wanderers
Qatar SC
Hull City		 035 0(7)
090 (16)
063 (30)
084 (12)
124 (14)
041 0(6)
018 0(0)   
National team2
1993–2006 Nigeria 075 (14)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of 13:17, 5 June 2008 (UTC).
2 National team caps and goals correct
as of 29 August 2006.
* Appearances (Goals)
Olympic medal record
Competitor for Flag of Nigeria Nigeria
Men's Football
Gold 1996 Atlanta Team Competition

Augustine Azuka "Jay-Jay" Okocha (born 14 August 1973 in Enugu) is a Nigerian footballer. He is currently without a club. A midfielder, he was known for being one of the best dribblers in the world at his prime.[citation needed]

Contents

[edit] Career

Okocha started his professional career with Borussia Neunkirchen before moving to Eintracht Frankfurt. While playing for Frankfurt against Karlsruhe, he dribbled through the entire defence of the team, beating some players twice, before scoring against goalkeeper Oliver Kahn. The goal was voted 1993 Goal of the Year.[citation needed]

He moved on to play for Fenerbahçe and Paris Saint-Germain, before signing for English Premier League club Bolton Wanderers. During his time at Bolton, he managed to help them avoid relegation in the 2002–03 season. He was also the captain of Bolton and led them into the final of the league cup but lost to Blackburn despite scoring a wonderful goal. He is also deadly from free kicks.

Okocha signed for Hull City on a one-year deal on 4 September 2007.[1] He claims that God told him to sign for Hull.[2] He stated that Hull City would be his last club, fuelling speculation that he would end his career at the end of 2007–08 season.[3] Following Hull City's promotion to the Premiership, Okocha stated that he would like to stay on for another season.[4] However, manager Phil Brown made the decision to release him.[5]

[edit] International career

Okocha was regularly selected for the Nigeria national football team from 1993 until 2006. He was captain of Nigeria when he retired from international football at the 2006 African Cup of Nations.

Okocha played at the 1994, 1998 (where he was named in the official team of the tournament), and 2002 FIFA World Cup finals and many African Nations Cup tournaments. He was also a member of the Nigerian team that won the golden medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. He is the only member of the 1994 national team that is still an active professional.

[edit] Personal life

His Igbo name, Azuka, means "Your backers are your strength".[6] Okocha is married to Nkechi, who is also a Nigerian, and they have two children together - Daniella and AJ. He also holds Turkish citizenship, his Turkish name being Muhammad Yavuz.[7]

In 2004 he released a DVD called "Superskills with Jay-Jay Okocha" where he teaches children at a football school the most difficult tricks in football.

[edit] Honours

He is a member of the FIFA 100, a list of the 125 greatest living footballers selected by Pelé in conjunction with FIFA's centenary celebrations. He was also the BBC African Footballer of the Year in both 2003 and 2004.[8]

[edit] Career statistics

Club Performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Germany League DFB-Pokal Premiere Ligapokal Europe Total
1992-93 Eintracht Frankfurt Fußball-Bundesliga 20 2
1993-94 19 2
1994-95 27 7
1995-96 24 7
Turkey League Fortis Turkey Cup League Cup Europe Total
1996-97 Fenerbahçe Super League 33 16
1997-98 30 14
France League Coupe de France Coupe de la Ligue Europe Total
1998-99 Paris Saint-Germain Ligue 1 25 4
1999-00 23 2
2000-01 16 2
2001-02 20 4
England League FA Cup Football League Cup Europe Total
2002-03 Bolton Wanderers Premier League 31 7
2003-04 35 0
2004-05 31 6
2005-06 27 1
Qatar League Emir of Qatar Cup League Cup Asia Total
2006-07 Qatar 41 6
England League FA Cup Football League Cup Europe Total
2007-08 Hull City Championship
Total Germany 90 18
Turkey 63 30
France 80 12
England 124 14
Qatar 41 6
Career Total 402 80

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Tigers Complete Okocha Signing", Hull City AFC, 2007-09-04. Retrieved on 2007-09-04. 
  2. ^ Jay-Jay Okocha: God told me to go to Hull! - Mirror.co.uk
  3. ^ BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Hull City | Okocha set for summer retirement
  4. ^ Hull Daily Mail | Jay-Jay wants another crack
  5. ^ Okocha's Hull City exit confirmed
  6. ^ Meaning of Azuka in Nigerian.name
  7. ^ Muhammed Yavuz hakkında ansiklopedik bilgi - Türkçe Bilgi'den
  8. ^ BBC SPORT | Football | African | BBC African Footballer of 2006

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Nigeria squad - 1994 FIFA World Cup
1 Rufai • 2 Eguavoen • 3 Iroha • 4 Keshi • 5 Okechukwu • 6 Nwanu • 7 George • 8 Oliha • 9 Yekini • 10 Okocha • 11 Amuneke • 12 Siasia • 13 Ezeugo • 14 Amokachi • 15 Oliseh • 16 Agu • 17 Ikpeba • 18 Ekoku • 19 Emenalo • 20 Okafor • 21 Adepoju • 22 Agbonavbare • Coach: Westerhof
 Flag of Nigeria
v • d • e
Nigeria squad - 1998 FIFA World Cup
1 Rufai • 2 Oparaku • 3 Babayaro • 4 Kanu • 5 Uche • 6 West • 7 Finidi • 8 Adepoju • 9 Yekini • 10 Okocha • 11 Lawal • 12 W. Okpara • 13 Babangida • 14 Amokachi • 15 Oliseh • 16 Okafor • 17 Eguavoen • 18 Oruma • 19 Iroha • 20 Ikpeba • 21 G. Okpara • 22 Baruwa • Coach: Milutinović
 Flag of Nigeria
v • d • e
Nigeria squad - 2002 FIFA World Cup
1 Shorunmu • 2 Yobo • 3 Babayaro • 4 Kanu • 5 Okoronkwo • 6 West • 7 Ikedia • 8 Adepoju • 9 Ogbeche • 10 Okocha • 11 Lawal • 12 Ejide • 13 Afolabi • 14 Udeze • 15 Justice • 16 Sodje • 17 Aghahowa • 18 Akwuegbu • 19 Ejiofor • 20 Obiorah • 21 Utaka • 22 Enyeama • 23 Opabunmi • Coach: Onigbinde
 Flag of Nigeria
Awards
Preceded by
Flag of Senegal El Hadji Diouf		 BBC African Footballer of the Year
2003, 2004		 Succeeded by
Flag of Egypt Mohamed Barakat
Preceded by
Sunday Oliseh		 Nigeria Captain
2002-2006		 Succeeded by
Nwankwo Kanu
Persondata
NAME Jay-Jay Okocha
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION Footballer
DATE OF BIRTH 14 August 1973
PLACE OF BIRTH Enugu, Nigeria
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH