The Nigeria Football Federation, Eintracht Frankfurt and Bolton Wanderers sent birthday wishes to legendary midfielder Austin Okocha who turned 47 years on Friday.
The NFF and the two clubs sent their birthday wishes via their verified Twitter handles.
“Happy birthday to the magical @IAmOkocha. Too good he was named twice. Have a good one legend!” The NFF wrote.
Bolton Wanderers described Okocha a magician.
“Happy 47th Birthday to the Nigerian Magician, @IAmOkocha.
“Have a great day, Jay-Jay!”
While Eintracht Frankfurt hailed the former Eagles skipper as a true legend of the club.
“Today: 47th birthday of a true Eintracht legend!”
Born in Enugu, Enugu State, Okocha joined 1. FC Saarbrücken, but stayed only a few months with the Bundesliga 2 side before a move to Eintracht Frankfurt in the German top flight.
In 1996, Okocha joined Turkish club Fenerbahçe for approximately £1 million following Eintracht Frankfurt’s relegation to the 2. Bundesliga. In his two seasons with Fenerbahce, he scored goals in 62 appearances.
In 1998, French side Paris Saint-Germain spent £14 million to sign Okocha, making him the most expensive African player at the time. During his four-year stint with PSG, he played 84 matches and scored 12 goals before joining Bolton Wanderers.
At international level, Okocha was a member of the Flying Eagles squad that featured at the 1993 U-20 AFCON in Mauritius, where the team crashed out at the group stage.
He made his Super Eagles debut in 1993 in a 2-1 away defeat to Cote d’Ivoire during the 1994 FIFA World Cup qualifier.
He helped Nigeria qualify for the 1994 World Cup and was part of the Eagles squad that won the AFCON in the same year.
Aside the 1994 World Cup, he featured at the France 1998 and Korea/Japan 2002 editions.
Also, Okocha played a key role as the U-23 Eagles won gold in the football event of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
By James Agberebi
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COMMENTS
Happy to a true legend of the game
Naija best player ever…. If u like argue !
Where is PSG message? He spent over 4 seasons there. One of his longest stay in any club. Mentored one of the greatest baller on the planet, Roladinho.. They should be celebrating him. Happy birthday king Jay Jay.
That’s to show u they didn’t recognize him even the fenarbche too. Apart from the two club’s that mentioned him as legend
Happy birthday JayJay. God bless your new age. You made football look more attractive. The best 10 Africa has produced and one of the best the world has seen so far.