Former Manchester United and England center back, Rio Ferdinand, has named former Super Eagles captain, Austin Jay-Jay Okocha, as one of the best-ever footballer, as regarding skills, Soccernet.ng reports.
Okocha, during his playing days with Bolton and Hull City in the English Premier League, constantly left fans and even his opponents in awe with his ability to entertain, and leave defenders for dead with his trickery.
Ferdinand, who lifted the 2008 UEFA Champions League final alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, was asked to build his perfect footballer in an interview with Mail Sport.
The former Manchester United captain picked the left foot of Argentine World Cup winner, Diego Armando Maradona before opting for the right foot of his friend and former teammate, Cristiano Ronaldo.
He selected the Football IQ of Barcelona Xavi, before picking the strength of another player with a Nigerian bloodline, Adebayo Akinfenwa.
The 46-year-old opted for Kylian Mbappe’s pace and while initially picking Neymar’s skills, he opted against it. Instead, he chose the trickery of former Super Eagles midfielder, Jay-Jay Okocha.
So good they had to name him twice, Ferdinand has been an avid Jay-Jay fan from way back, claiming the former Eintracht Frankfurt man is the best ever player to come out of Nigeria.
“We used to watch Jay Jay Okocha’s videos, and everyone wanted to play like him. It was great seeing him in the Premier League after making his name with Eintracht Frankfurt and PSG. Nigerian players of that era—Okocha, Oliseh, Kanu—had a huge influence on black players worldwide,” Ferdinand said in 2018.
Okocha was a part of the Super Eagles team that won the 1994 AFCON tournament, alongside a gold medal at the 1996 Olympics.