Former Super Eagles midfielder Austin Jay-Jay Okocha has expressed disappointment at not winning the CAF Player of the Year Award during his playing days, Soccernet.ng reports.
Okocha had a remarkable career, playing for clubs like Bolton, Eintracht Frankfurt, PSG, and Fenerbahce. He was very impressive at these clubs. Okocha was so good that even former Real Madrid and Arsenal star Mesut Ozil says he was his childhood idol.
At international level, Okocha was a consistent performer for the Super Eagles, helping the team win the 1994 tournament. He was also the highest goalscorer in the 2004 edition with four goals.
To add to these, Okocha won the Olympics gold with Nigeria in Atlanta 1996.
Okocha’s perfect combination of flair, impeccable shooting, and technique made him a delight to watch. The former Super Eagles midfielder won the BBC Africa Player of the Year multiple times.
However, he never won the CAF Player of the Year. The best he did was a second-place finish in 1998, when he finished behind Mustapha Hadji.
Okocha is one of the most revered football talents in the world. And to many, he did not get as much silverware as he probably should have.
“I thought I did enough to have won it (the CAF Player of the Year), but at the end of the day, I have to take it on the chin and say maybe that’s life,” Okocha told Omasports.
“You can’t have it all, maybe it wasn’t meant to be. But I believe I deserved in at least one occasion to have won it. Because if you look at that list and look at some of the people that won it during my time, I agree that it was unfair.”
Top ex-Super Eagles stars who never won the CAF POTY
Aside from Jay-Jay Okocha, there are several top Super Eagles stars who should have, but never won the CAF Player of the Year Award.
Most times, the award goes to African players who did well at their clubs or won the AFCON. However, Mikel Obi never won it despite playing an important role in Chelsea’s first UEFA Champions League win in 2012. He also did not win it despite helping the Super Eagles win the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations.
Aside from Mikel, Enyeama, who was one of the best goalkeepers in his days never won it despite brilliant performances for Lille and Nigeria.
