This is a campiagn to get Austin Jay Jay Okocha into the Eagles Squad for the 2010 world cup.
We need him to fill the gapping hole in our midfield and we believe that he still has at least one world cup left in him.
Note that we are NOT looking to Okocha to come and be a Messiah and cure all the current ills that plague the super eagles but we strongly believe that including Okocha in the squad will add that extra missing ingredient which is the creative spark in Midfield not to talk of the motivational factor.
All we ask from Okocha is 20-30 minutes a game, we believe he can do it.
This is not a time for cynicism or critisicsm, if you believe in this cause and you think that we can give it a go, please join the Facebook group:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=325335215143

If you do not believe in this cause, then please stay away

We are taking this to the highest level. Jay Jay deserves to go out on the world stage, even if Nigeria does not get beyond the group stage we can use our last group match to say goodbye to our veterans: Jay Jay and Kanu for having served us so well,

, Okocha igbu o m o!!!

While your at it lets start a campaign to get both Segun Odegbami and Haruna Ilerika into the team as well,


Talking about trying to flog a dead horse

well, if you seriously think Odegbami can add some value to the eagles, then you can start your own campaign to get him in. This thread is for Okocha.
As for your allusions to a dead horse, i am sure the likes of Milla , Maldini and Larsson are all dead horses. When you can list a Nigerian midfield of current players that will not benefit from a 40 year old half fit Okocha then i will desist.
Meanwhile we are expecting your membership. See you on facebook

Impossible

i am sure the likes of Milla , Maldini and Larsson are all dead horses

I believe both Maldini and Larsson are still playing,

Tell me the last time Okocha had a run out 11 v 11?

Then he has to be match fit and that takes up to 6 to 8 games to get his sharpness back and we are talking about a player whose official age would be 39 years

Am sorry but you are trying to flog a dead donkey let alone a horse, Roger Milla played up to the 1994 WC regardless of what division

I think he can join da team 2 d world cup but let him get match fittness-he could join a naija league club maybe rangers or enyimba

hi omar22,
Very valid points, except that Okocha is officially 36 years or there about and mind you, Okocha is reputed to be one the few Nigerian Players whose football age is close to their real age.
Before Milla came for the 1990 world cup, he was playing in the lower leagues in Reunion (that would be equivalent to the village league where i come from) and after the 1990 world cup, i don't know that he played any active football.
Okocha still plays, even though it may not be on a professional basis.
but all of that is besides the point.
The point is this:
The current midfield we have now (i do not know the last time you watched the Nigerian team) will be much better with a half fit Okocha putting in 20 minutes a game than it currently is.
i do not want to start going into possible team combinations that would benefit from Okocha's presence as that would reduce this into a mere technical discussion.
Please remember the link is :
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=325335215143

We await your membership, we could do with a guy that has your argumentative prowess and unique insight.
See you on Facebook

He has already retired.
There's no going back.

you guys are killing me, in 2014 we would be saying the same, you know what lets bite the bullet now!!!

@poster,
despite my disagreement with u on this issue, i am well convienced that you opinion is the same as the majority of nigerian football fans.
i respect okocha and to me, he is among the best footballers all round but the big question is, is he a solution to the backwardness in our football lives? and the big answer is no. no because he was in super eagle when the problem started and if he could not do anything then, why now that he is retired and tired.
okocha was so much arround in 2006 when we failed to qualify for world cup and nigerians never cared to send him to world cup but why calling a man now that the boys have qualified?
i support the idea of okocha retiring on his own and if he tries to come back, he will definitely recieve the kind of embarrassment peter rufai recieved from us.
okocha is good and able to be everything in nigeria but not in our super eagle squad to south africa.

we need him ooooooooooo

;d

@Poster: you must be drinking expired liquor or palm-wine or ogogoro. Or are you smoking lemon grass? Is the World Cup a time to bid farewell to your retirees like Okocha and tired legs like Kanu under the guise that the served you well? Or is the world cup a time to win games and feature the most fit players? You for kukuma bring in Segun Odegbami; in fact, bring in the entire USA 94 World Cup squad.

He can serve in an advisory capacity, maybe.

@poster,
despite my disagreement with u on this issue, i am well convienced that you opinion is the same as the majority of nigerian football fans.
i respect okocha and to me, he is among the best footballers all round but the big question is, is he a solution to the backwardness in our football lives? and the big answer is no. no because he was in super eagle when the problem started and if he could not do anything then, why now that he is retired and tired.
okocha was so much arround in 2006 when we failed to qualify for world cup and nigerians never cared to send him to world cup but why calling a man now that the boys have qualified?
i support the idea of okocha retiring on his own and if he tries to come back, he will definitely recieve the kind of embarrassment peter rufai recieved from us.
okocha is good and able to be everything in nigeria but not in our super eagle squad to south africa.

Spot on, 

Look at France, Portugal, Czech Rep, Argentina,  These countries relied so heavily on Zidane, Figo, Nedved or Riquelme,  guess what they are struggling to cope without them because they didn't prepare for life after these players,  Look at when Roger Milla came back in 1994, Cameroun looked like an embarrassment. Bringing back Okocha is like asking Italy to bring back Baggio.

Okocha remain my best footballer of all time, both in and outside the pitch.
But bringing him back for MUNDIA is what I don't know.

@Poster
"""""we can use our last group match to say goodbye to our veterans: Jay Jay and Kanu for having served us so well, ""

"I say we can use our last group match to give young players World stage xposure
Kanu and Okocha got our Goodbye after that Disgrace outing of France'98."

Nah, all ex-footballers still have their heads & legs but they can't do what they used to do so they quit, that means fitness, football is no child's play man, I love Okocha, u don't have an idea but for him to come back to the national team,that's a no no no.

I think Okocha should be allow to rest actually he is a star but age is already on him and he had done his very best for the nation, so no need of calling him back.

We should stop supporting mediocrity, how u saying NIGERIA don't have player that can play as a CM?

Okocha have no business in Nigeria Super Eagles, he is past it already,we should look forward. In his interview i watched some months back in HITV he said he retired because he don't want to disgrace himself.

A player that have not played in a competitive game for MONTHS,you want to take the person to world cup? that silly, In other countries,players are trying to go to clubs they we be playing regularly because they kn that when you are not playing regularly you don't have a world cup space, but in Nigeria you are going on campaign  for someone who has not played ball for months to go to worldcup.

Okocha is no longer a footballer,he is a businessman,

, my battery is down

why didn't you called him before the qualifying series, old man need a retirement package not a come back

In the whole world there are two players that i respect most, J J Okocha and Ronaldinho.
Please lets give J J a break. He did his best during his time and we appreciate him.
This South Africa 2010 should be for the young ones.

While you have all raised very valid points regarding his age and how he should not disgrace himself and so on and so forth, no one has brought up an alternative that makes any sense.


@omar22
"Look at France, Portugal, Czech Rep, Argentina,  These countries relied so heavy on Zidane, Figo, Nedved or Riquelme,  guess what they are struggling to cope without them because they didn't prepare for life after these players,  Look at when Roger Milla came back in 1994, Cameroun looked like an embarrassment. Bringing back Okocha is like asking Italy to bring back Baggio."

The sad truth is that no country can ever adequately prepare for the loss of a great player be it Argentina for Maradona, Brazil for Pele, Holland for Cruyff, Van Basten/Gullit, the list is endless. I bet you that if Italy felt there would be any value in bringing back Baggio, they would do so with immediate alacrity and Cameroun was an embarassment in 1994 INSPITE of Milla's return not BECAUSE of it.  for goodness sake, the man scored the only goal in a 6-1 bashing when everyone else lay down to be whipped.

Maybe we in the group are all smoking pawpaw leaves or lemon grass but then i guess the whole country needs to smoke some too. Of all the midfielders we have now, i can only think of about two people who can stand up and take responsibility in any game, infact in the entire team, there are not more than 4 such people. Its not just about skills, its about standing up to be counted.
In our almost ill fated match with Tunisia (i still maintain till tomorrow say na God save us) we lost our lead on both Occasions because no one took responsibility.
Just like i am putting my neck on the line for this cause. Why don't you put your neck on the line for something as well (you could think of starting a thread or group called NO OKOCHA FOR 2010, at least you would be doing something).


Meanwhile , the url remains:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=325335215143

We look forward to seeing you all on FaceBook. You could join just for the hell of it, even if you do not fully believe , even if you believe that he should join in an advisory capacity, what ever, because we are taking this to the end, the very end.

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=325335215143

See you all there

it is quite unfortunate that we (Nigerian so called NFF or NFA) cant as a matter importance build up our national team in such a way that NO PLAYER WILL BE INDISPENSABLE.  oooooo shame to the board oooooo big shame indeed

We should stop nursing this IDea of Okocha coming back.

D guy is already old he played well and was a great player but not for this time any more.

Our coach should scout for left and good right wingers and also a good midfielder and defensive one as well.

lets leave all the names we have cos names don't matter where u need team work.

could Nigerians,be realistic for once?
would blame okocha if he even accepts d offer.he should retire on a high as he did an not bother comin back.y didnt Nigerian coaches blend younger boys to learn from okocha when he was at his peak and now the want him back.did okocha win the cup when he played in 98?lets use the boys we have now combined wit a superb technical crew,we wuld stun d world.AZEEZ,i cant wait to see you man the eagles midfield in years to come.2010,iam tired of waitin,

hi princek12,
am realy in support of ur view, why wil they bring in retiree lik okocha for 2010 worldcup?
what we need is winning nd nt failure,

osssy09:

We should stop supporting mediocrity, how u saying NIGERIA don't have player that can play as a CM?

Okocha have no business in Nigeria Super Eagles, he is past it already,we should look forward. In his interview i watched some months back in HITV he said he retired because he don't want to disgrace himself.

A player that have not played in a competitive game for MONTHS,you want to take the person to world cup? that silly, In other countries,players are trying to go to clubs they we be playing regularly because they kn that when you are not playing regularly you don't have a world cup space, but in Nigeria you are going on campaign  for someone who has not played ball for months to go to worldcup.

Okocha is no longer a footballer,he is a businessman,

, my battery is down

Spot on!

@ Topic
Hull City was Okocha last known club in the Coca-Cola Championship before the Club got promotion to EPL enjoying it second season in the top flight, now ask yourself when was the last time Okocha played a competitive football match?  Okocha has contributed greatly to Nigeria Football no doubt but lets not dwell on past glories which is partly the problem with Nigeria Football else some people will start campaigning for '94' Squad that conquered Africa like the OP said [s]' even if Nigeria does not get beyond the group stage we can use our last group match to say goodbye to our veterans: Jay Jay and Kanu for having served us so well '[/s]

The fact that Kanu is going to the world cup on a purely sentimental reason bugs the hell out of me. When would we start making people earn their places by purely merit?

Why would Beckham be striving tooth and nail to stay fit in order to be called up by Capello while Kanu's place in the SE squad is a given? Beckham is heading to AC Milan to increase his chances and he is still not even sure of a place in Capello's squad. Michael Owen of Manchester United is not even going to the WC despite calls by sentimentalist and despite a dire need for a goal poacher in the England squad. Capello is making sure that anybody who gets a ticket to go to the world cup FULLY DESERVES based on PRESENT FORM!!! We have players in the SE playing for relegation threatened clubs whose places are assured in the team. Little wonder we had to struggle to qualify.

Now someone is bringing up Okocha While U at it, why dont u also advocate for Sunday Oliseh, Uche Okechukwu and Dan Amokachi.

while i agree that okocha is a very gifted midfielder,the fact remains that he has retired from football for a while now.moreover,his inclusion in the team has the potential to cause divisions.besides,he did not partake in any of the qualifiers.
i think there are skillful nigerian footballers who can fill the gap left by okocha.our coaches seem just too lazy to scout for them.

Okocha as a veteran, left when d ovation was high. I think that is a wise decision for him. Inviting him now that he is retired and tired, might mean a let down on our teaming youths that are longing for opportunity in d super eagle. Let us give others a chance as well.

Let the dead bury the dead,also let the sliping dog lie,he is 2 old for this stuff.