Okocha, Taribo named in 50 stylish footballers of all time
Former Super Eagles duo Jay Jay Okocha and Taribo West are among 50 stylish footballers of all time. The duo who were a delight to watch in their playing days had one thing or the other to tickle fans thus adding some garnishing to the round leather game.
While Okocha was known globally for his dribbles and his ‘it is not the end of the world’ smile when he miscalculates, Taribo West who has since become a servant in the vineyard of the lord was known for his ruggedness and eye-popping hairstyle.
A catalogue of 50 players compiled by fourfourtwo that also included the likes of former England Captain David Beckham, Argentina’s Gabriel Batistuta
Romania’s Gheorghe Hagi, current Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane and former Columbia international Carlos Valderrama among others, saw the Nigerians listed 5th and 37th on the log respectively.
It was however not just about listing but each player had a short commentary to capture what made him thick in his own right.
Okocha’s display in front of Oliver khan did not go unnoticed but left a remarkable impact even on the younger ones.
“Long before Bolton’s fans had t-shirts made that read ‘Jay-Jay – so good they named him twice’, long before British kids raced onto playgrounds and tried to copy his dummies, flicks and turns, every German boy sat open-mouthed in front of the television and decided they wanted to be like the Nigerian” was part of the commentary written against the former Bolton and Paris Saint Germane ace.
As for Pastor Taribo the hair style at the 2000 Nations cup refused to fade away from people’s memory
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“Even David Beckham didn’t try a hairstyle as daring as this. The Nigerian defender sported this unique look at the Africa Cup of Nations in 2000, and he was never averse to mixing things up on his bonce” was part of the commentary attached to the former Inter Milan ace who recently opined that Nigeria lost to Denmark at the 1998 World cup because his some of his teammates smuggled ladies into the camp and worked hard in the wrong direction ahead of the match.