Super Eagles’ ex-captain, Austin ‘Jay Jay’ Okocha is still celebrating the UEFA Champions League success achieved by one of his former clubs, PSG (Paris Saint-Germain of France), which he believes was made possible through extra effort by the players and well-coordinated team work.
Sports247 reports that Okocha made this verdict known during his post-match analysis as a member of a panel of ex-players who covered the match on behalf of Sky Sports in Munich, Germany, where his former team shocked Inter Milan of Italy 5-0.
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It turned out to be PSG’s first UCL title and second ever by a French club, after Olympique Marseille did it in 1993, and ‘Jay Jay’ pointed out that the current squad did what Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe could not achieve during their time with the Paris-based side.
The Nigerian legend, who joined PSG from Fernebahce of Turkey in 1998, with a then African record transfer fee of £14m, but later left the team in 2002, also praised the Parisiens’ current coach, Luis Enrique for performing wonders with the current squad of modest achievers.
Okocha, who scored five goals that helped PSG emerge as co-winners of the largely ceremonial UEFA InterToto Cup in 2001, alongside Aston Villa of England and ES Troyes of France, stressed that several lessons must be picked from the unexpected spanking they handed The Nerazzurri in Saturday’s final.
“When you are around great players, they make you look good. It’s incredible and hard, but it’s also in the mind. If everything is working out well, you won’t mind putting in something extra.
“When you have a target, you won’t mind going the extra mile for the team, and I think that was what they did. I also think the coach made us realise that football is teamwork. It’s a team game.
“So, no matter how good you are, if you are not playing for the team, you can’t win anything. They just justified that reality,” declared the 51-year-old former midfield dazzler.
Sports247 recalls further that Okocha (who was tagged ‘So Good They Named Him Twice’ by the UK media) scored 12 goals in a total of 84 matches for PSG, from where he moved to Bolton Wanderers of England in 2002.
