Super Eagles legend Austin “Jay-Jay” Okocha speaks on his rise through Germany, Turkey and France to the Premier League, the managers who shaped him, the discrimination he faced as an African player and more in this interview on the ObiOne podcast culled by PETER AKINBO
In your early days, did you play in the Nigerian league?
Not really. I only played a little, because I had just finished secondary school. During my final year, I was playing for an amateur team, and we came up against Rangers in a cup competition. My elder brother was playing for them at the time, so after the game, they invited me for trials. I went through the trials and they signed me, but I never really got the opportunity to play for them because I got a chance to travel and moved abroad.
Who was the biggest influence on the way you played?
Nobody, really. It all started as fun on the street, where we developed our love for football. It was not organised, so we had the freedom to try whatever we wanted. I realised I could do a lot with the ball, and because it was never pre-planned, I always had to decide in the moment. That became my strength, because I knew that once I had the ball, I was the only one who knew what I wanted to do with it. That was how I built the confidence to try things in matches.
