Former Super Eagles captain Austin Okocha believes it was unfair for him not to have won at least one African Player of The Year Award, noting that he did enough during his heyday. Okocha is regarded as one of the most skilful players to have played football and was active for Nigeria between 1993 and 2006. He was a key part of Nigeria’s 1994 AFCON-winning and World Cup team, scoring 15 goals in 75 appearances for Nigeria.
His club career also took him to Germany, Turkey, France, England, and Qatar before retiring in 2012. Okocha enjoyed a remarkable career that saw him play for Eintracht Frankfurt, Fenerbahce, Paris Saint-Germain, and Bolton Wanderers, among other clubs. The midfielder won different individual awards, but he was infamously beaten to the African Player of The Year Award, even at the peak of his career.
“I mean at some point, I thought I did enough to have won it, you know but I mean at the end of the day, I have to take it and say maybe that’s life, you know you can’t have it all,” Okocha told Sports Journalists. “Maybe it wasn’t meant to be but of course, I thought that I deserved at least on one occasion to have won it. You know, because if you look at that list and look at some of the people that won it during my time, you know, then I will agree with you that it uh it was unfair.”
Okocha’s closest shot at the award was in 1998 when he placed second behind Morocco’s Mustapha Hadji. Four years later, he came third behind Samuel Eto’o and Didier Drogba, and the same sequence was repeated in 2004 despite Okocha winning the best player award at the AFCON in Tunisia earlier that year.
Despite not winning the award, Okocha is proud to be remembered for his identity. “For me, the most important thing is to be remembered for an identity you know and you are remembered. To be honest, I think I might not have won many trophies but I won hearts and for me, that’s golden, so I don’t compare myself to anybody because I know how my career started and I know what I achieved and I appreciate what football has done for me.”
Okocha’s humility and appreciation for the sport are a testament to his remarkable career, and his legacy continues to inspire future generations of footballers.