Augustine Azuka "Jay-Jay" Okocha (/əˈkɒtʃə/ ə-KOTCH-ə; born 14 August 1973)[3] is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder.

[citation needed][5] In an interview with BBC Sport he said, "As far as I can remember, we used to play with anything, with any round thing we could find, and whenever we managed to get hold of a ball, that was a bonus!

In his time at the club he produced many spectacular displays, including one where he rounded off and scored a goal against experienced Nigerian goalkeeper Willy Okpara in a match against BCC Lions of Gboko.

Later that year, he went on holiday to West Germany, the country that had just won the 1990 FIFA World Cup, so he could watch German league football.

[8] Okocha joined Eintracht Frankfurt in December 1991, where he linked up with many well-known players including Ghanaian international striker Tony Yeboah and later Thomas Doll.

[14][15] In 1998, French side Paris Saint-Germain spent around £14 million to sign Okocha,[7] making him the most expensive African player at the time.

He also served as a mentor for young Brazilian footballer and future Ballon d'Or winner Ronaldinho during his time in Paris.

On 18 June Okocha joined Bolton Wanderers on a free transfer after leaving PSG in the summer of 2002 following the FIFA World Cup.

[17] His debut season, despite being hampered by injuries, made him a favourite with the Bolton fans, with the team printing shirts with the inscription "Jay-Jay – so good they named him twice".

[23] After just one season in Qatar, Football League Championship side Hull City signed Okocha on a free transfer in 2007, after the player had been linked to Real Salt Lake and Sydney FC.

[24] He was however unable to contribute greatly to Hull's promotion campaign due to fitness and constant injury problems, playing only 18 games and scoring no goals.

[26][27] Okocha made his official debut for Nigeria in their 2–1 1994 FIFA World Cup Qualifier away loss against Ivory Coast in May 1993.

[citation needed] In 1996, Okocha became a key member of an arguably more successful Nigerian side, their Olympic gold winning side at the Atlanta Games, later nicknamed the "Dream Team" by the Nigerian press after the USA 1992 Olympics gold winning basketball team, as they overcame Brazil in the semi-finals, before coming back from 2–0 down to 3–2 up against Argentina in the final.

At the 1998 FIFA World Cup, Okocha played for a disappointing Super Eagles side who failed to live up to expectations, again reaching the round of 16, albeit with less impressive performances save for their 3–2 opening win against Spain.

[30] The Super Eagles then went all the way to the final against Cameroon, with Okocha captaining his side and scoring the equaliser to tie the game 2–2 before losing in the penalty shootout at the end of extra time.

[32] A quick, talented, agile, and skilful playmaker, Okocha usually played as an attacking midfielder, and is widely considered by pundits internationally as the best Nigerian footballer ever, and as one of the best African players of all time.

[42] While not being particularly prolific or consistent in his finishing or goalscoring,[42][43][44] Okocha, possessed a powerful shot from long range and was an effective free-kick taker, which saw him score some spectacular and ingenious goals through his career.

[36][45][46][42][47] Due to his skill and nickname, he was described as being 'so good that they named him twice' (a line immortalised in a terrace chant while Okocha played for Bolton Wanderers).