Jay-Jay Okocha: Ex-Bolton Coach Sam Allardyce Shares How He Signed Nigerian Star
- Jay-Jay Okocha joined Bolton Wanderers in 2002 and went on to become a cult hero and was given the moniker 'so good they named him twice'
- Sam Allardyce, who facilitated the signing of the Nigerian football legend, has opened up on how he lured the midfielder to the Reebok Stadium
- Bolton also went on to sign some of the biggest stars in world football at the time such as Nicolas Anelka and Youri Djorkaeff
Former Bolton Wanderers manager Sam Allardyce has narrated the trick he used to sign superstars, including Jay-Jay Okocha, to the English club during his time in charge.
The tactician spent eight years in charge of the Trotters between 1999 and 2007 and captured the attention of the football world by signing some of the biggest stars at the time.
He turned the Lancashire side into a destination of great players, including French World Cup winner Youri Djorkaeff and Spanish legend Ivan Campo.
Source: Getty Images
Okocha arrived at the club in his prime; he was 28 at the time he signed a staggering deal to join the English club.
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Having guided the team to the League Cup in 2004, Allardyce masterminded the signing of Spain legend Fernando Hierro, who helped the club finish sixth in the Premier League and qualify for Europe.
Nicolas Anelka, Tal Ben Haim, Gary Speed and El Hadji Diouf also joined the club, setting up a star-studded squad.
In a chat with Jamie O'Hara and Kevin Nolan, 64-year-old Allardyce stated that he hid information about the club's facilities from the stars.
He said on talkSPORT breakfast:
“The training ground was portacabins and stuff like that and just two pitches.
“At least we had a great stadium, didn’t we? So we took them to the Reebok and to the hotel, and that was okay.
“After they signed, we took them to the training ground. If we’d showed Jay-Jay Okocha and Youri Djorkaeff that, they wouldn’t have bothered signing on!
“They used to say ‘well, can I see the training ground?’ and we’d say ‘well there’s a lot of working going on at the moment, you won’t see anything really'"
PSG celebrate Okocha
Legit.ng earlier reported that French Ligue 1 club PSG celebrated the 26-year anniversary of signing former Nigerian national team captain Augustine Jay-Jay Okocha.
Okocha was one of the early Nigerians to play for European clubs and had a professional career that spanned 17 years in Europe, playing in England, Germany, Turkey and France.
His career in Europe began when he impressed a local coach in Germany with his skills when he visited a friend who was playing in the third division.
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Source: Legit.ng
