The former Super Eagles surprised many when he moved from the French capital to Greater Manchester in North West England in 2002
Austin Jay-Jay Okocha has hinted that he would not have signed for Bolton Wanderers if he knew the status of the club.
Okocha shocked many people when he left Paris Saint Germain in the French Ligue 1 for Bolton Wanderers in the Premier League in 2002.
Although PSG were not a top club they were now when Okocha left, it was still a surprise to see him leave for Bolton, who were battling relegation in the Premier League.
The former Super Eagles captain is one of the most talented players the game has ever seen, which was why it was a shock to see the Trotters pull off the transfer coup.
Okocha has now revealed he did not know Bolton’s status in the Premier League before signing, and it took him a lot of time before he settled in.
“Well, I’ll say that it’s obvious I didn’t do my research before signing for Bolton,” Okocha told Ally McCoist and Gabriel Agbonlahor on their Talksport breakfast show.
“But as a football person, you know football comes first, not the city, not the lifestyle that comes with the City.”
“But one thing was clear, the training ground was different. The attitude towards the games were different.
“And I think also the mentality, you know the football style was difficult.”
“It took me a while to really understand what Sam’s philosophy was,” Okocha added.
But despite his early struggles, Okocha went on to earn a legendary status at Bolton. He helped the team avoid relegation in his first season, winning the goal of the season.
The ex-Eintracht Frankfurt star was made the captain in his second season, and as a captain, he led the Trotters to a league cup final in 2004, where they lost to Middlesbrough.
Okocha made 144 appearances for Bolton, scoring 18 goals and registering three assists before leaving for Qatar in 2006.
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This may be true as Bolton was relatively an unpopular premiership club but the fact remained that your image was boosted most at the Reebok and week in week out, the world was waiting for the magic from Reebok far above what was expected from you at PSG. You rose to become a Captain and few of you at Bolton made the club become popular till date.
Where does that leave him in terms of medals?
Olympic and FCON medals
Olympic and AFCON
Are u still on this matter oya kill ya self cos okocha did not medals he's getting all the praise the same praise that all the medal winners have gotten and ur here dying over another man's achievement in football
Even if he made his research very well, the fact is, bigger clubs were not interested in him. Okocha plays too much to the gallery. Imagine, in 144 matches, only 18 goals and 3 assist? No wonder Barcelona went for his pupil. Ronaldinho was an instant hit at Barcelona and his legendary status shall forever be engraved on the sand of time.
What Jay Jay Oko ha was able to achieve in terms of laurels and contributions to the development of the growth and artistry of the game of football were unique as his person.
Let's not make any unproductive comparison between him and other players. After all, he was a key figure in results delivery and successes in the clubs he played for across Europe as well as the national side. This same Ronaldinho give credit to Okocha for his help and mentor-figure influence on his game till today. Not every midfielder would be expected to score 120 goals in 144 games or more.
He still remains one of the most talented and skillful personalities to have played the game of football in history, African Player of The Year Award or not.
The fact that the Super Eagles handlers haven't been able to replace his talented midfield contributions till today speaks volumes about his contributions to the successes of Nigeria football at its pick between 1992-1998.
So,why are we running down a man that has made his mark in the game and moved on?
Okocha need not make this comment. He should try and respect the club. The popularity he has now is partly due to his stay at Bolton. Can't believe he is making this comment. How popular was the French League when he was in PSG?
Hmm, even if we have not been able to get his replacement as an individual, but I can tell you super eagle has have more success after his era than during his era as the leader of the team, football is more of a team than individual
As at the time Okocha moved to Bolton age was no longer on his side. Age is a key factor in signing players. As players age they become less attractive in transfer market, most especially to the top teams. Hence, securing a move from PSG to a bigger club was practically impossible for Okocha.
Okocha was able to secure a move to Bolton then owing to Allardyce philosophy. Allardyce believed so much in players with much experience. He then recruited footballers that were almost at the end of their playing career. That's why Bolton was fondly called a 'retiree club'.
There is no doubt that Okocha did excellently well while in Bolton. He was consistently prolific in performance week in week out that he took Bolton to their all time highest position in the English premier league. Okocha brought a lot of attraction to the entire league and much popularity to Bolton Wanderers as a football club during his time at the club. However, injuries at his age made him not to be able to cope with the pace required in competitive league.