The two playmakers were two of the most technically gifted players in the history of the game, yet a former teammate believes there was more to the duo than the world ever witnessed.
One-time Newcastle defender Didier Domi is convinced that Nigeria legend Austin Jay Jay Okocha and Brazil’s 2002 World Cup hero Ronaldinho Gaucho were two of a kind, tagging them football artists.
The two midfield greats spent a couple of years together at the Parc De Princes and offered even more wizardry on the training ground than on match days, says the former left fullback.
Okocha joined Paris St Germain in the summer of 1998 and on his debut smashed in a goal that is still spoken of 22 years after.
Ronaldinho is often associated with his hugely successful time at Barcelona, but his sojourn in Europe began in Paris where he teamed up with the Nigerian midfielder to create several magical moments that PSG fans still fondly recall.
However, former PSG ace Domi insists that whatever fans saw on the football pitch cannot be compared to the magic those two technicians created in training.
“I also remember the end of training at the Parc des Princes. I don’t know how many we were,” Domi recalled in an interview with RMC Sports, in quotes obtained from Parisians.
“It was an exercise between Ronaldinho and Jay-Jay Okocha where you only had to make two or three hits (without the ball touching the ground).
“It was delirious: cushioning of the chest, the ball stuck to them … It was exceptional. I saw two artists—Africa on one side and Joga bonito on the other.
“It was really magic because they didn’t make two exchanges! They made fifteen or even twenty. I felt like I was seeing circus because they were so comfortable technically.”
