Jay-Jay Okocha

Augustine Azuka "Jay-Jay" Okocha (born 14 August 1973) is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. A quick and skilful playmaker, who is widely regarded as the best Nigerian player of his generation and one of the greatest African players of all time, Okocha was known for his pace on the ball, technique, creativity, and dribbling skills, as well as his use of feints, in particular the stepover. Due to his skill, 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). He is a dual Nigerian-Turkish citizen, having acquired Turkish citizenship as "Muhammet Yavuz" while playing for Süper Lig team Fenerbahçe.

Career

Okocha was born in Enugu, Enugu State. His parents were from Ogwashi-Uku, Delta State, Nigeria. The name Jay-Jay was actually passed down from his older brother James, who started playing football first. His immediate older brother Emmanuel was also called Emma Jay-jay, but the name stuck with Okocha. He began playing football on the street just like many other football stars, usually with a makeshift ball.