Top 45 Jay-Jay Okocha Quotes

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.

You can’t play football without having a good training pitch.

I don’t walk around with a bible or preach to people and I don’t want to disturb my team-mates on match days by praying in the dressing room, so I do that at the hotel before I leave. I respect their way of life and do not insist that my way is best. I have not tried to convert anybody.

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.

Nobody likes it when people dribble past them, me included, but I can’t tackle.

I don’t want to stay on the bench all the time.

People just don’t want to pay to see players diving around.

In football, everything can change.

I can proudly say that I had no scandal throughout my career. And there was no serious injury worries because of what I was taught how to live off the pitch. It was very important.

My Nigerian colleagues gave me a good impression of the Premiership and I am glad to be here.

The way I learnt to play was to go out there and enjoy myself. I never thought I’d play professionally.

I have been following the Premier League very closely because once you have been a footballer you have an affinity with the game.

After playing in England, going to a place where you have 40, 50 people at the stadium was no fun.

Stars don’t necessarily make a good team and that is what we must learn.

Winning the Carling Cup would be the ultimate for me.

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.

How can you be a giant of the sport when you are not consistent?

I am grateful to God for that because people can still identify me with something in Germany.

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.

Well, I think sometimes I am brutally honest.

I think the way I played, I would have suited Sundowns.

Football has an important place in Russia.

Sometimes money is not everything.

I’ve wanted to be a part of the Premiership for some time, to experience the excitement and the atmosphere.

Well of course, as a fan I think I’d love to see Neymar play.

I realized at a very young age that I had a gift to do special things with the ball.

Preparing well for a tournament sometimes is not enough to win it as you also need a lot of luck in order to win.

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!

I should have got a medal at Neunkirchen, my first club in Germany.

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

There always be rumours. That is also part of the game because it is a global game and a massive business.

I got to Germany without being scouted, and without any experience of playing for my country. But I was given the chance to excel.

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.

Leaving the stage would pave the way for younger players to come up too.

It’s always good to have more than one player who can take free-kicks or penalties.

As kids, we were used to playing football with anything that we managed to kick and whenever we got a ball, it was a bonus.

I used to say that I got to Germany as a boy but I left as a man.

When you want something desperately and you lose it, no matter how hard you try to get yourself motivated, it’s always difficult.

I love playing and I’ll do everything to be a first-team regular.

For me racism doesn’t belong to football and it doesn’t belong in our society any more.

I think sometimes players must have a wake-up call before they realise they are back in African football.

Nigerian footballers who have played in Russia improved their ability here.

I am very competitive.

My faith comes before anything. It has also taught me to respect and admire people for what they are and who they are.

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.