Kanu or Jay Jay
, Who was bigger player?
By Our reporter
Thursday, June 16, 2011
• Kanu
Photo: Sun News Publishing

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The two stars, Nwankwo Kanu and Austin 'Jay Jay' Okocha, shone very brightly in their hey days. Both of them were without any doubt, top among their peers in Nigerian football and beyond. They were skilful, intelligent, and were players who made football look so easy and enjoyable.

But the question on the lips of most football followers now that Kanu has also retired from national football like Okocha is: 'Which between the two made a bigger impact on the field of play while in active football?'

Both Kanu and Okocha won the Olympic soccer gold, captained the Nigerian national team, the Super Eagles, featured at the World Cups and of course, carved their names on the slabs of European clubs they played for.

The stars have since called time on their international career and the million-naira poser is: 'who between them made the bigger splash during their playing days.'

National team career
Okocha featured for Nigeria at the African Youth Championship in Mauritius in 1993, where the Flying Eagles crashed out in the semis. He was magical despite the team's premature exit at the championship and it was on the back of that appearance that Okocha earned a call-up to the Super Eagles.
Kanu was also in the squad to Mauritius, but he did not kick a ball. But he quickly put behind him that disappointment and teamed up with the Golden Eaglets to win the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in Japan in 1995.

Okocha made his full international debut before Kanu and would go on to play a vital role as Nigeria won her second Nations Cup trophy in Tunisia in 1994 and also qualified for her maiden World Cup outing the same year. Kanu led Nigeria to win an historic Olympic football gold two years later with Okocha, three years his senior, very much part of the team.

Both players featured in three World Cups. Okocha was at the 1994, 1998 and 2002 Mundial, while Kanu played at the 1998, 2002 and 2010 editions. Nigeria's best results at the World Cup were achieved in 1994 and 1998 when the Eagles reached the second round of the tournament, meaning that Okocha enjoyed a more successful run on the biggest football platform than Kanu.

Kanu, though now is on record as the joint most capped Nigerian player along with the late Muda Lawal with 86 caps. Okocha played 73 times for the country. Though Kanu critics would say that unlike Okocha, he did not quit the national team when the ovation was loudest up to the point that a player in his mould only enjoyed a very insignificant role at both the 2010 Nations Cup and World Cup.

Club career
Without any doubt, Kanu, popularly called Papilo, enjoyed a more fulfilling career at club level than Okocha, who is known as 'Jay Jay'. He defied personal adversity to win the biggest piece of silverware on offer in Europe, the European Champions Cup (now the UEFA Champions League) with Ajax Amsterdam.

He also won the English Premier League crown with Arsenal twice, three FA Cup winners' medals, two with Arsenal and once with Portsmouth. He won the Nigeria Premier League diadem with Iwuanyanwu Nationale (now Heartland FC) of Owerri, as well as three Dutch League titles, among other honours.
The highlight of Okocha's club career was in 2004, when Bolton was beaten in the League Cup final, as he did not win anything of note with his other clubs like Paris Saint-Germain, Entracht Frankfurt and Fenerbache, all in Europe.

Individual honours
Kanu was picked as Africa's best player by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) twice in 1996 and 1999, but Okocha was never named for the award even though he came within a whisker of this individual accolade in 1998.

However, Okocha was named the BBC African Footballer of the Year in 2004 and 2005.
Kanu was also named by the Nigerian government as one of the 50 most influential citizens during the country's Golden Jubilee Independence celebrations in October last year. There was no mention of Okocha.

Off the pitch
Kanu has given back to the community through his Heart Foundation, which assists children with heart problems. Both players have also invested heavily in the Nigerian economy through their various businesses. As a Lagos businessman, Okocha, through his Jay Jay Group, has more than 100 Nigerians in its employ.

Kanu of course