Nigerian football icon, Daniel Amokachi, is convinced that no other player can replicate exactly the exploits of former Super Eagles skipper and ex-PSG maestro, Austin Jay-Jay Okocha.
Amokachi, who scored twice in the semifinal of Everton’s FA Cup success in1995, said this in the wake of the sensational emergence of CSKA dribbling wizard Chidera Ejuke to the national team set up.
Ejuke made waves with Valerenga in Norway, Heerenveen in the Netherlands, and CSKA in Russia before earning his maiden Super Eagles debut in the 1-1 friendly draw against Tunisia in October 2020.
The 23-year-old featured again for the last 12 minutes of Nigeria’s surprising 4-4 draw at home to Sierra Leone.
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However, Ejuke stole the show in Mindelo with a brilliant display as the Super Eagles, missing a few first-team regulars, defeated Cape Verde 2-1 in a World Cup qualifier on September 7.
And several Nigerian fans compared his talents to that of 1996 Atlanta Olympics hero Okocha after his dribbling feats in the final 23 minutes of the Super Eagles 2-0 victory over the Central African Republic in Douala, Cameroon, almost three weeks ago.
But Amokachi, who was also a member of that Olympics gold medal-winning team 25 years ago, would have none of it.
The newly appointed member of the IFAB’s Football Advisory Panel maintains that there may be a better player in time, but Okocha is like no other.
“We normally have players who play similar like Jay Jay but not Jay Jay,” the ex-Everton star said on his radio show ‘The Bull’s Pit’ on Brila FM.
“There will never be another Jay Jay because his kind comes once in a lifetime.
“God doesn’t bring the same people into this world, so the legacy of Jay Jay remains his legacy. So you cannot get another Jay Jay, it’s either you get another player who is far better than Jay Jay, but you cannot get a player like Jay Jay.
“He was so good they named him twice,” Amokachi added.
Ejuke is yet to score or provide an assist in five matches for the Super Eagles. But the former Gombe United star is a regular for CSKA Moscow and has contributed three goals and two assists in 11 appearances in all competitions this season.