The former Bolton Wanderers captain mesmerised the world with his footballing skills for about two decades, but it appears he is not done wowing fans with another of his unique talents
Nigeria’s Austin Jay Jay Okocha has proven his managerial talent in the Official Bundesliga Football Fantasy Manager after his team, Okocha 11, beat thousands of other managers to make it into the overall top 20.
The former Super Eagles playmaker picked a side that paraded Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski and Borussia Dortmund’s Jadon Sancho.
And Okocha, two-time BBC Africa Player of the Year, has been rewarded for his astute management with his team rising to the 19th position in the overall Official Fantasy classification after 13 matches of the season.
Before becoming a top-rated fantasy manager, Okocha, regarded as one of Africa’s greatest players, won the Nigeria Player of the Year award seven times and helped Nigeria to triumph at the 1994 African Cup of Nations tournament in Tunisia.
Born in Enugu, Okocha started his career with Enugu Rangers and later moved abroad to star for FC Saarbrucken where his impressive showings caught the attention of Eintracht Frankfurt.
Okocha signed for the Bundesliga side in December 1991 and made 90 appearances for the club during his four-year stay.
The mercurial midfielder then teamed up with Turkish Super Lig side Fenerbahce in 1996 and helped the club win the Prime Minister’s Cup and Ataturk Cup during his time with the side.
Okocha joined PSG for £14 million to become the most expensive African player at the time and scored 12 goals in 84 appearances for the French outfit.
In 2002 he moved to Bolton Wanderers, where he became a club icon and later played for Qatar SC and Hull City before his retirement.
Okocha, who has 73 caps and scored 14 goals for the Super Eagles, has however not shown any interest in becoming a coach since hanging his boots until his latest exertions with the fantasy game.
