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Jay-Jay Okocha
25 quotes
“I think every player is unique, you know," says the man himself. We have got a lot of talented players in the Bundesliga. But, with all due respect, maybe I was a little bit special.”
Jay-Jay Okocha (born 1973) first seen 2022 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Jay-Jay Okocha interview: Beating Oliver Kahn to score what Jurgen Klopp called the greatest-ever Bundesliga goal. Sky Sports, 9 September 2022.
“The difference is that in Europe you have everything you need to improve as a player and you’re playing under better coaches and a better environment. In Nigeria, we lack facilities and that disturbs one’s opportunity to perform and bring out the best in a young player. I was lucky that I left Nigeria early.”
Jay-Jay Okocha (born 1973) first seen 2023 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Jay Jay Okocha: Nigeria Can’t Bring Out The Best In Players, I’m Lucky I Left Early. Arise News, 14 May 2023.
“Maybe 1 billion Euros should have been paid for me. They [Chelsea] paid £106 million for their defensive midfielder; to a player from Portugal. I would have cost around €150 million. My assists, dribbles… World football started to pay a lot of money. Such would be the numbers of players of this quality.”
Jay-Jay Okocha (born 1973) first seen 2023 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Jay-Jay Okocha: The dazzling dribbler who danced his way into football greatness. FIFA, 27 April 2023.
“I couldn’t say anything. When it happened I felt bad but then I said to myself it’s time to move on and that was when I left.”
Jay-Jay Okocha (born 1973) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“People only see the only product and not the process. We were in camp in America and we woke up one day and our training coach was gone. They took the bus with the spare key because the FA hadn’t paid for the bus to take us. And then for a week the hotel was giving us the same meal, rice and sauce with chicken. For dinner.”
Jay-Jay Okocha (born 1973) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We went to them and say why aren’t you changing our menu they said we should be glad we are still here because our FA hasn’t paid for the food and accommodation. Few of us had to bring our card and pay for accommodation and then went and rented minivans to stay in camp. It shows the desire we had.”
Jay-Jay Okocha (born 1973) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“My lowest happened in two occasions. When I got relegated in Frankfurt in 1996. I felt bad. Sometimes we develop this winning habit and with Frankfurt we were always competing to win the league and all of a sudden they brought this manager that just destroyed the team and I could see it coming but I had no voice.”
Jay-Jay Okocha (born 1973) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Sometimes my mistakes were seen as me joking with the ball, because they weren’t used to my style,” he said. “But I knew I needed an identity. If I played like one of them, what was the need for them to sign me?”
Jay-Jay Okocha (born 1973) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Another low moment was when we failed to qualify for 2006 World Cup which was in Germany. That would have been my fourth World Cup.”
Jay-Jay Okocha (born 1973) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It was a tough period. Maybe the most difficult time of my life,” he once recalled. “My challenges were off the pitch—the food, the language, the culture.”
Jay-Jay Okocha (born 1973) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“You can’t wash away poverty with champagne,” Okocha explained. “You can only wash away poverty when you are able to take up the responsibilities waiting for you.”
Jay-Jay Okocha (born 1973) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“That’s the difference between Europe and Africa. Back then the administrators didn’t see the need for it. The difference was that Europeans were ahead. Once they know that you’ve qualified that you’re going to need a camping site then they start arranging for it.”
Jay-Jay Okocha (born 1973) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We always leave our things last minute and then maybe the government hasn’t realized the budget but we have to go so they bundle us to the camp in hope that they are coming in three days to sort the bills.”
Jay-Jay Okocha (born 1973) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“My contract money is for investment”
Jay-Jay Okocha (born 1973) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When you have a vision, when you have a dream, and if you’re strong mentally, nothing that is thrown at you can stop you,”
Jay-Jay Okocha (born 1973) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The area where I grew up, the tribe—we are business inclined”
Jay-Jay Okocha (born 1973) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I was just being out there, playing the game that we love, without thinking that one day it might be my career.”
Jay-Jay Okocha (born 1973) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Most of us were dreaming to play for this club because we didn't have a lot of Nigerians playing abroad. We were not in touch with the Premier League, for example. Our dream was just limited to playing for that one big team.”
Jay-Jay Okocha (born 1973) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A football was the only toy that we had as a child. [We played] without shoes. I think I had my first football shoe at the age of 12 and it was so uncomfortable. I had to get used to it because I was used to playing barefooted.”
Jay-Jay Okocha (born 1973) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The desire that I had to succeed, having to leave my family, having to go to a country where you don’t understand the language, you don’t understand the culture.”
Jay-Jay Okocha (born 1973) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I think it gave me something that was special, in a way that I am free whenever I’m on the pitch. That's where I can express myself. That was what my upbringing gave me.”
Jay-Jay Okocha (born 1973) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“had to learn the hard way because there was nobody to advise me, nobody to talk to. I had to figure everything out by myself.”
Jay-Jay Okocha (born 1973) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“You're not just playing for your community. You're playing for a whole continent, you are trying to leave a good impression so that the next child will be given the opportunity.”
Jay-Jay Okocha (born 1973) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It means everything to me, to make sure that I leave the door open for the next generation, because as an African playing in Europe, you have to realise that you're not just playing for yourself.”
Jay-Jay Okocha (born 1973) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If I look back now, for me, it's more like a job well done, because I left my mark.”
Jay-Jay Okocha (born 1973) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source