FOR English Premier League fans, Jay-Jay Okocha is someone they wouldn’t forget.

The former Nigerian midfielder lit up the Premier League with some brilliant goals, some outrageous skills and some dazzling step-overs during his four-year spell at Bolton Wanderers.

Christened Augustine Azuka, Okocha was ‘so good that they named him twice’ which led to him being named Jay-Jay.

A member of the Nigerian team which won gold at the 1996 Olympics, and one which was subsequently named as the ‘Dream Team’, Okocha believes this could be the year when an African team is able to do what neither his or teams of the continent’s other legends could achieve.

Get their hands on the FIFA World Cup Trophy.

“I believe an African team will one day win the World Cup, and it could even be in Brazil. -Photo by AFP

“Preparing well for a tournament sometimes is not enough to win it as you also need a lot of luck in order to win,” Okocha tells Dawn in an exclusive interview.

“I believe an African team will one day win the World Cup, and it could even be in Brazil.

“The teams which will be representing Africa at the World Cup have all been there before and have gained a lot of experience.

“The five teams were all at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and the first thing they need to do is to qualify from their groups and then anything can happen in the knockout rounds.”

Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Ghana and Algeria are the teams representing Africa in Brazil.

It was a disappointing World Cup for African teams four years ago despite FIFA’s showpiece tournament coming to the continent for the first time in its history.

Of the five teams, only Ghana could progress from the group stage before being knocked out by Uruguay in the quarter-finals.

“Beyond the group stage, luck matters a lot,” Okocha says.

Okocha knows by experience how much of a contributing factor luck is at a World Cup.

At the 1994 FIFA World Cup, Okocha and Nigeria, coming to the United States as African champions, suffered a stunning loss to eventual finalists Italy in their round-of-16 match.

Leading 1-0 till the 89th minute, Nigeria conceded a goal to Roberto Baggio in the final minute of their match before Italy’s ‘divine ponytail’ — as Baggio was known — scored from the penalty spot in extra-time to put them out.

But for Okocha, who went to the World Cup just a year after making his debut for Nigeria in qualifying for the tournament, it remains his greatest memory.

“It remains my greatest World Cup memory, both as a player and a person,” Okocha says.

“My first World Cup appearance remains fresh in my memory and what made it incredible was that I had made my first appearance for Nigeria just a year before.”

Four years later in France, Okocha dazzled at the World Cup and was named in the squad of the tournament.

Nigeria, though, exited the tournament at the round-of-16 stage again.

Okocha was given the captain’s arm-band for Nigeria at the 2002 FIFA World Cup but he endured a disappointing campaign in Korea-Japan as they went out at the group stage.

“I was more mature and performed better in 1998 and 2002 but we couldn’t make much progress at the World Cup,” he says.

Having failed to help his country qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, Okocha retired from international football but he still remains one of Nigeria’s most influential football figures.

He’s also a member of Nigerian head coach Stephen Keshi’s technical committee.

Okocha believes Nigeria have a good chance of advancing past the group stage this time around but says the current squad have to go some way to match up to the class of his ‘Dream Team’.

Nigeria have been drawn in Group ‘E’ alongside title favourites Argentina, debutants Bosnia-Herzegovina and Asian giants Iran.

“I think Nigeria can advance to the knockout rounds as they have been placed in a fair group where, minus Argentina, all the other teams are fairly matched,” Okocha says.

“On paper, the team have a very good chance of progressing but they have to approach every game professionally and must not get carried away with all the talk in the media about them being favourites to progress from their group along with Argentina.

“There is a lot of potential in the current team and they are getting better with every game but they still have some way to go before they can become as good, or better, than the 1994 team.

“In 1994, we had a lot of mature players and that’s what made that generation the greatest in Nigeria’s football history.”

‘Sunday’s presence will help develop Pakistan football’

Oludeyi Abayomi Sunday. -Dawn photo

The last Pakistan Premier Football League (PPFL) season saw Okocha’s compatriot Oludeyi Abayomi Sunday become the first foreigner take part in the country’s top domestic competition for a better part of six years.

Sunday sizzled for K-Electric, scoring some sensational goals but he wasn’t able to fire his side to the title as they finished runners-up to Khan Research Laboratories (KRL).

And Okocha, who arranged for Sunday’s transfer, hopes the striker’s arrival will help lift the game in Pakistan.

“I think he is going to help in the development of football in Pakistan,” he says.

“Pakistan is known for cricket and not football but his presence there will go a long way in encouraging others to come over to Pakistan and earn a living playing football.

“I hear he has been scoring regularly since coming there and I wish him all the best.

“I hope he keeps scoring and inspires K-Electric to the league title next season and goes on to play in the AFC Champions League.”

Okocha has also played in Asia for a year.

Upon leaving Bolton in 2006, he joined Qatar Sports Club during a time in which clubs from the oil-rich state

were attracting top footballers in the twilight of their careers on lucrative contracts.

He subsequently returned to England where he played with Hull City before retiring in 2008.

“I think Asian football is progressing faster than a lot of people thought it would,” Okocha says. “There is a

lot of money being invested in Asian football and the organisation is getting better.”

Qatari money has transformed one of Okocha’s former clubs into potential European heavyweights.

Paris St Germain ran out 3-1 winners over Chelsea in their Champions League quarter-final first-leg earlier

this week as the club’s Qatari owners target European supremacy.

Okocha was PSG’s most expensive player pre-Qatar era when he joined the Parisians for a fee reported to be worth $24 million from Turkish side Fenerbahce in 1998 – the highest-ever paid for an African footballer at that time.

And he believes the club, can realize their ambitions of European glory this season.

“I think the team is getting better all the time and the Ligue 1 has been a stroll for them this season,” Okocha says.

“But the Champions League is a very different ball game. It’s a difficult competition to win. Sometimes having the best players is not enough to win the Champions League.

“But with some luck, I think they can win it!”

Note: This is the sixth segment of a 14-part Dawn 2014 FIFA World Cup special, which includes exclusive interviews with current and former players, features and analyses ahead of the football extravaganza in Brazil.