Okochas Honours


   Oberliga Südwest: 1991
   Saarland Cup: 1990, 1992
   Fuji-Cup: 1992
   Chancellor Cup: 1998
   Atatürk Cup: 1998
   Trophée des Champions: 1998
   UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2001
   Football League Cup: Runner-Up: 2004
   Premier League Asia Trophy: 2005
   Football League Championship play-off: 2008

    International Honours

   African Cup of Nations: 1994
   Afro-Asian Cup of Nations: 1995
   Olympic Games: 1996
   World Cup
       Round of 16: 1994, 1998

Individual honour
BBC African player of the year






Kanu Honours


Club

Nigeria Iwuanyanwu Nationale

   Nigerian Premier League: 1992–93

Netherlands Ajax

   Eredivisie: 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96
   UEFA Champions League: 1994–95
   UEFA Super Cup: 1995
   Intercontinental Cup: 1995

Italy Internazionale

   UEFA Cup: 1997–98

England Arsenal

   Premier League: 2001–02, 2003–04
   FA Cup: 2001–02, 2002–03
   FA Community Shield: 1999

England Portsmouth

   FA Cup: 2007–08

Country

Nigeria Nigeria

   FIFA U-17 World Cup: 1993
   Olympic Gold Medal: 1996

Individual

   African Footballer of the Year: 1996, 1999
   BBC African Footballer of the Year: 1997, 1999



!!
BE THE JUDGE

Kanu and okocha are great footballers.okocha has been a great player for nigeria and its needless to say that nigerins adore him.but nigerians will never forget that cold night in 1996 when a young papilo turned around a seemingly hopeless situation aginst almighty brazil.despite d fact that its an age grade competition,many nigerins stayed up that night to see that match and stayed up till morning to celebrate.at club level,okocha has made some impact with fenerbache,bolton and little with hull city but its not for nothing that a plyer moves from ajax to inter milan and then to arsenal and in the process gets a champions league medal,premier league,FA cups.sucj teams dont just sign a player in the hope that he might perform,they sign a player because he is good.its a pity okocha never signed for a top team,the world doesnt reckon with the fact that he 'saved' a club from relegation,osaze single handedly scored vital goals which directly contributed 17 points to keep west brom in the top flight,that doesnt make him better than taye taiwo who had a fantastic season with mrseille nd earned himself a contract with milan.individual skill is one thing,marketability is another.denilson was rguably the most skillful player in brazil's 2002 squad,but we all know he wasnt the best on that team.even cafu was considered a better player

kabukabu50:

Kanu and Okocha are 2 of the most over paid and over rated Nigerian players in history, Okocha was a benchwarmer who could never score,Kanu scored lucky goals,was slow and had no motivation to play hard whatsoever, Okocha never won anything, and Kanu was only lucky to be on that Olympic squad. , The best Nigerian player of all time was Finidi George then probably Dimeji Lawal.

u talked off point or are u tryn to be tribalistic here? Stick to the topic.
@op i think both are great bt i prefer okocha to kanu.

solomto:

u talked off point or are u tryn to be tribalistic here? Stick to the topic.
@op i think both are great bt i prefer okocha to kanu.

You probably missed the title of the post, it says choose between both,what part of context,dont you understand?Neither of the two are great in "my" opinion and no,I never mentioned anything about "ethnicity", Have a nice day and a glass of wine

Okocha and Kanu are both my favorite nigerian players. Kanu was precocious, but what i've liked most about him, it's his perseverance, But Jay jay, was something else. What Jay-Jay did on the pitch is still in our memories. It was a genious, just the play-maker you want to have in your time. Whether you understand football or not, you were amazed by him.

A career is about a lot of things, but the talent is unique, And Okocha was unique. You can find players who tend to play like Nwankwo and persevere in his buisness, but it will be hard to find someone in professional football who attracts the ball and make the game beautifull like Augustine Okocha!

to be sincere, i really missed these two guys. i thought Mikel would have stepped into Okocha's big shoes but i was wrong. Now sb said Joel Obi but i doubt this.

Can't we be civil to each other, this is just a simple question even though ambiguous.

If i was asked who was a better player between the 2, then the answer would be Okocha.

But if i was asked who was more successful between the 2, then the answer would be Kanu.

It should be noted that Okocha even though no where as successful as Kanu, remains more famous than Kanu. People world over would rather see Jay Jay play over Kanu.

Also to be noted, Kanu is the most successful player ever to come out of Nigeria. Also one of the best players to come out of our great country.

Both players contributed immensely in whatever team they played in.

@baby-boy kanu was not a lazy player, his slowness was what made his game. Kanu had deft passes. And just a reminder of the 3 goals scored againt Chelsea in 10mins. That is the trademark of a deadly player. There were other great moments. And he is also very popular in the UK, people love him.

@starboard I totally disagree with your statement "he is not fit to tie Kanu's lace" Even kanu himself knows what Jay jay is worth, he may not have won all the titles in the world but he is a player on the lips of many fans of football world over.

@Kabukabu50 Finidi was a great player wish we could have someone like him in the team again. But i disagree with you about Kanu and Okocha being overated. Those two are the Nigerian players known worldwide with the most contribution to the game of football.

I repeat, In the comity of footballers, Okocha would be found wanting. He is just a local champion like Denilson of Brazil

@dauchman

If i was asked who was a better player between the 2, then the answer would be Okocha.

But if i was asked who was more successful between the 2, then the answer would be Kanu.

Thanks very much for this summary! Its like asking you to choose between "Food and Water"!
You just need both to survive

We cannot fail to notice Kanu's "deft touches"! He could conjure a pass out of nothing! He is just brilliant!

Okocha on the other hand, was a Wizard! One of those rare talents that shows up once in a generation!
Just watching his as he "kolobi the round object" (like a true lover does) is simply magical


Now, l hope we can discover player(s) like one of this two (or better still both) in the next 20yrs!
Lets give both of them the respect they deserve, instead of this cantankerous comparison that only highlights their "downsides"!

Go Pappilo, Go Jay-Jay!

@Kbdrim,u dey jelus
whu giv PORTSMOUF FA CUP
abegi PAPILO giv am GAP ee jus b lyk mk pesin kompare Lampard 2 Xavi
Imposicant abi na Imposiblear den dey cal am

jay jay all d way

ok

ok

both guys were good. i admire them. kanu in terms of achievement was better of while okocha in terms of skills was better than kanu. thanks

JJ is a rare gem. It will take several years to replace this magical player in eagles' squad. I don miss the guy die.

Life is all about your personal impact, there was a woman that gave a testimony in one cherubim and seraphim beside my house, durng the nations cup 2000,this woman is dead already and people in her house are preparing for the burial rites, fortuantely enough it was on that day nigeria was playing with cameroon (final) the woman said she is watching the ball too despite that she is dead, when Jay Jay scored that magical free kick and everybody shout it is a goooooaaaaaallllllll, the woman shout her own and she rose up, wetin kanu name don doabeg the thing na okocha.

Comparing Kanu to Okocha is like comparing Henry to Zidane,


Who is Kanu?

Nigeria hardly need Kanu over the last 10 years but Nigeria do miss Okocha in last 5 years, As a Striker Kanu is not fit to lace Yekini's boot

kanu no play any shit to talk about. Jay Jay was the man!

omar22:

Comparing Kanu to Okocha is like comparing Henry to Zidane,


Who is Kanu?

Nigeria hardly need Kanu over the last 10 years but Nigeria do miss Okocha in last 5 years, As a Striker Kanu is not fit to lace Yekini's boot

The difference is clear JayJay for real you can ask Ronaldhino

Kanu of course

UCL TITLE: KANU: yes . Okocha: nil
EPL or Any LEAGUE TITLE: KANU: yes . Okocha:nil
FA CUP: KANU: yes . Okocha : nil
CAF PLAYER OF THE YEAR: KANU: Yes. Okocha:nil
FIFA U/17 WC KANU: yes Okocha:nil
OLYMPIC GOLD KANU: yes Okocha:yes
ACN KANU: nil Okocha:yes
WORLD CUP APPEARNCES KANU: 3 Okocha:3
AGE AT DEBUTE FOR EAGLES KANU:18 Okocha: 20
CLUBS KANU: Iwuanyanwu,Ajax, Intermilan, Arsenal, Westbrom,Portsmouth Okocha:Enugu Rangers,Frankfurt, Fanabache, PSG, Bolton, Hull-City

omar22:

Comparing Kanu to Okocha is like comparing Henry to Zidane,
Who is Kanu?
Nigeria hardly need Kanu over the last 10 years but Nigeria do miss Okocha in last 5 years, As a Striker Kanu is not
to lace Yekini's boot

You need brain test, asking such a question. Can you make contribution without insulting the people involved?
You need to tell us here who you are as we all know Kanu as a great footballer and most decorated Nigeria player of all time

But you people have missed the whole point! This should not be about Kanu or Okocha at all!!
The biggest Nigerian football star - living or dead - remains undisputedly Rashidi Yekini.
His achievements remain unparalled and both Kanu and Okocha never achieved half of what Yekini did for Nigeria.

Club achievements and all that are by far insignificant, personal and totally inferior to National achievements. This also explains why Lionel Messi despite his seeming illustrious club performance will never be greater than Pele or even Maradona. Can you imagine, the so-called World footballer of the year - Lionel Messi - playing in a World Cup match for 90 mins and Argentina going down 4 - 0 to Germany!!!! THIS CAN NEVER & DID NOT HAPPEN IN THE DAYS OF PELE & MAEADONA

Yet Messi continues to razzle- dazzle (like Klin detergent in water) when he plays for his local Barcelona Club! This is not the stuff that great players are made of. It is also for this reason that the late George Best (unarguably the best English Footballer ever) was never compared and universally accepted like Pele or Maradonna.

Rashidi Yekini virtually single-handedly took us to our 1st World Cup in USA '94 scoring 9 goals in the process (a record)! At the World Cup, he fittingly scored our 1st goal (another record)!!! I don't think both Kanu and Okocha combined have scored up to 5 goals for the Super Eagles!

It is also on record that it was during Rashidi Yekini's time that Nigeria became the best footballing nation in Africa as we were ranked No 5 on the FIFA ranking (the highest ever by any African side till date).

Please, let us always be truthful and give honour to those who truly deserve it - RASHIDI YEKINI IS IT!!!!

StarBoard:

Paddy mi tell dem jor. . .
More like Okocha not being fit to carry Kanu's training bootsTo me the issue is not talent.Denilson is more talented than most Brazilian players yet his saving grace was being in Brazil's 2002 World Cup side.
Kanu had a glittering career,even if it was on the bench.Lazy player has three FA Cup medals and 2 league titles.I'd love to be lazy if that is the definition.

You are wrong. Taribo Publicly acknowledged Okocha's Skills

If we want to use Medals to determine who the better player is, then Mikel is better than Jay Jay.
Here are some facts

1)Kanu is the Bigger player but Okocha is the better player.
2)Yekini was the striker we need to replace in the Super eagles and not Kanu.

3)Kanu only scored 1 goal in his playing days at Inter while he made 11 appearances
4)He score 30 goals for Arsenal in Five years (Average of six in one year)
5)He made 54 appearances for Ajax in three years in all competitions (A top player would have made 54 appearances in one season) This suggest that he was playing from the bench for the three years.
6)Kanu never participated actively in all three edition of the world cup he attended
7)He never scored a goal for Nigeria at the Nations cup
At France 98, Ikpeba was the main man while Kanu was playing from the bench
9)He played only 48 minutes at the Korea/japan World cup
10)He won the African footballer of the year when there were no formidable opponents. Kanu couldn't have won ahead of the likes of Drogba and Etoo.
11) Adebayor was better than Kanu in the colours of arsenal because he made 105 appearance in three years, scoring 46 goals in the process
12) Kanu made 119 appearances for arsenal in 5 years scoring only 30 goals

Kanu termed himself as a lucky player.

Conclusion
Okocha has carved a niche for himself at the National Level and he is more respected in world football than Kanu. Kanu is the most successful player to come out of Nigeria.

best regards


These are
In my

Okocha carved a niche at mediocre clubs and relegation bound clubs

Kanu is wayyy better than Okocha

You need brain test, asking such a question. Can you make contribution without insulting the people involved?
You need to tell us here who you are as we all know Kanu as a great footballer and most decorated Nigeria player of all time

One minute you accused me of insulting people and ask me to go for a brain test, 

Are you sure its me that need a brain test?

Paddy mi tell dem jor. . .
More like Okocha not being fit to carry Kanu's training bootsTo me the issue is not talent.Denilson is more talented than most Brazilian players yet his saving grace was being in Brazil's 2002 World Cup side.
Kanu had a glittering career,even if it was on the bench.Lazy player has three FA Cup medals and 2 league titles.I'd love to be lazy if that is the definition.

Look Roy Keane got a Champions League medal in 1999 despite missing the final due to suspension, Roy Keane said he doesnt feel that he won it because he didnt take part,  and all of you having goose bumps over someone who picked up medals playing cameo roles,  20 minutes here, 10 minutes there, over the last 12 years, 

Kanu spent 17 years in the Super Eagles scored on 13 goals in 86 outings, even Solomon Kalou scored 13 goals in 37games

Drogba 49  goals in 9 years
El Hadji Diouf 31 goals 10 years
Benni McCarthy 31 goals 14 years
Asamoah Gyan 36 goals 8 years
Freddy Kanute 39 goals 6 years
Samuel Eto 51 goals 14 years
Patrick Mboma 33 goals 9 years
George Weah 22 goals 19  years
Rabah Madjer 29 goals 14 years


I guess the Senior National team level is too high for Kanu,  He should have stuck with the Olympic team (U-23)

Lil wonder he won the African player of the year twice while Austin Okocha never made it even once.
Kanu was number 6 in World player of the year ranking in 1996 and number 11 in Ballon D or

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_FIFA_World_Player_of_the_Year

http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/europa-poy96.html

Tell me if Okocha has ever made top 30 in his whole career

Lets put sentiment aside. The 2 are great players but every Nigerian Football player acknowledge Okocha as the best in the game. Kanu himself can attest to this.

Lil wonder he won the African player of the year twice while Austin Okocha never made it even once.
Kanu was number 6 in World player of the year ranking in 1996 and number 11 in Ballon D or

I didnt know that we are celebrating 6th place


Can someone explain to me a striker could score 13 goals over a period of 17 years and could still be rated as the best,  its not that he plays for Solomon Island or Rwanda? Because if Adebayour could rack up 18 goals in half the time,  if Kanu is that good then 13 goals is not a good return!

baby-boy:

I didnt know that we are celebrating 6th place

You think it is easy to get the 6th position in the world?. Last time I checked, Nigeria hasn't been able to get 6th in anything in the world apart from crime.The only time they came 1st in anything was in Atlanta and Kanu hjad a hand in it.  Arm chair haters dey amuse me sometimes.

Leave Kanu alone, he has tried in his career and his heart foundation still remains the only credible charity foundation in Nigeria. Kanu is the only Nigerian footballer who has touched so many lives in Nigeria and across Africa.