Top 99 Quotes & Sayings by Jay-Jay Okocha
Explore popular quotes and sayings by a Nigerian athlete Jay-Jay Okocha.
Last updated on September 16, 2024.
I used to say that I got to Germany as a boy but I left as a man.
I realized at a very young age that I had a gift to do special things with the ball.
I think the way I played, I would have suited Sundowns.
Well of course, as a fan I think I'd love to see Neymar play.
You can come up with whatever tactics you want as a coach but if you don't have the tools to execute you will struggle, and if you don't have willing players that are ready to commit to the cause than you will struggle.
I always ask God if it is his will, and if so, then let it be. Whatever comes out of it I will accept it. That's the message I got and that's why I'm here at Hull.
Maputo is a difficult place to play.
It's always nice to be among the best teams but not everyone can do that.
It would be in my interest to have great players around me because, if you're playing with good players, it makes your job a lot easier.
I'd be lying if I said I never had any issues with players but at some point you have to stamp your authority because if you're good at taking free-kicks, for example, they should let you take them.
I can't play football forever, I am not a greedy person.
I'm friends with Igor Yanovsky from when we played together at PSG and he suggested a few Russian dishes to me. I really love borsch!
Sometimes money is not everything.
I should have got a medal at Neunkirchen, my first club in Germany.
I often come across Russians and they're all interested in football.
People just don't want to pay to see players diving around.
I felt like a prisoner. In Qatar, you need a sponsor to get a work permit and you cannot leave the country unless you have an exit permit from your sponsor.
It's a team sport but every player's ego will kick in at a certain point.
Traditionally it's been difficult for Africans to play over here, mainly because the African calendar is very different to that in Europe. Most of the coaches over here can't accept that we have to go back home to play at the Nations' Cup for a month while the season is still on over here. That made people reluctant to sign Africans.
I wanted to play in the Premier League and Bolton offered me that opportunity at that time and that was why I signed for Bolton.
I know there are millions of football fans who love this game, but can see the world outside it.
My advantage is my skill so I have to use it.
I believe that it is not worth it to train from Monday to Friday just to have 20 minutes on the pitch or sit on the bench on Saturday.
I pray a lot and it has helped me throughout my whole career to stay calm and focused.
When I was in Paris I was at a big club in a major city, but nobody really cared about each other. It didn't have that family feeling, I didn't see any team spirit.
There always be rumours. That is also part of the game because it is a global game and a massive business.
I am grateful to God for that because people can still identify me with something in Germany.
When you don't spend or invest in the future, you can't always get away with it.
If you score goals late on it's not the sign of a lucky team, it's the sign of a fit team who are close together and fight for each other.
My Nigerian colleagues gave me a good impression of the Premiership and I am glad to be here.
Well, I think sometimes I am brutally honest.
I knew I was in charge when with the ball. But on the toughest defenders I faced, I would say that my African brothers were the ones. We have the same mentality and thought the same way. Osei Kuffour was the toughest of them all.
I think I maximised my opportunity at Bolton, changing the mindset of the people from when I arrived till the time I left.
I think sometimes players must have a wake-up call before they realise they are back in African football.
My biggest opponent was 'me.'
People wonder why I chose to come to Bolton. There's a different pressure and mentality here to PSG, where we were expected to challenge at the top every year, but look at our squad - quality throughout.
So, we know that when the going gets tough, the tough get going. I still believe that is the good thing about Nigerian players. We can always spring up so many surprises.
I have got my pride to defend.
Nigerian footballers who have played in Russia improved their ability here.
Leaving the stage would pave the way for younger players to come up too.
I don't mind if we play ugly and win, as long as we win.
I experienced life in a struggling team at Eintracht Frankfurt, but I was still young then and didn't understand what it meant to be relegated.
I've wanted to be a part of the Premiership for some time, to experience the excitement and the atmosphere.
I've trained my whole life to be a winner and if I know two things it's that to be the best takes passion and persistence.
People in Nigeria weren't happy that I went to Qatar. They said 'why did you go there of all places?' They missed watching me on television but sometimes you have to think about yourself and your future as well.
Bolton was one of the relegation candidates when I got there but we took the club to another level and even had the opportunity to play for the first time in the Europa League.
Aboutrika has done well with Egypt, winning the Nations Cup in Ghana, as well as helping Ahly win the Champions League for a record sixth time.
I think it is also the most demanding league; the pace of the game in the EPL is something else and rightly for me is maybe the best league in the world.
I'd say the player whose style most resembles mine would be Neymar. That's because I played with a sense of joy and you can see that he feels the same and really enjoys his own play. He doesn't play for himself or just to entertain the fans - he plays for his team. He uses his quality and skill for the good of the team.
Messi and Ronaldo have dominated world football for a decade and, given the nature of football, at a certain point the baton will have to pass to someone else. I think Neymar has a great chance of filling that role.
Ronaldo is a fantastic player, one of the best I've ever seen, but he's been a bit unfortunate to be of the same generation as Messi. Consequently, they have to share the limelight.
After playing in England, going to a place where you have 40, 50 people at the stadium was no fun.
Football is a show and you have to enjoy what you are doing.
How can you be a giant of the sport when you are not consistent?
It's not easy to break into an Arsenal team from youth.
My faith comes before anything. It has also taught me to respect and admire people for what they are and who they are.
Education from six-year-old to 14 is compulsory in Nigeria, but the simple fact is that a lack of resources, coupled with peoples' inability to afford books and uniforms mean the reality for millions of Nigerian children is a life without education.
Winning the Carling Cup would be the ultimate for me.
I think it's always easier to sit on the outside and act as if you have the best solution.
Football has an important place in Russia.
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