Bittersweet memories for 'Jay Jay'

LAGOS (Reuters) -- Austin 'Jay Jay' Okocha has tasted both the sweet taste of Nations Cup success and bitter disappointment in his two previous appearances at the African championships.

Nigeria's star midfielder, who is a reluctant participant in this year's tournament in Mali, burst onto the African stage with his performances for the Super Eagles when they won the Nations Cup in Tunisia in 1994.

Okocha, along with team mates Sunday Oliseh, Victor Ikpeba and Finidi George, heralded the arrival of a new generation of Nigerian stars, who have since proven the backbone of a Super Eagles side which has qualified for three successive World Cup finals.

But Okocha was on the losing end in the Nations Cup two years ago when Nigeria hosted the tournament, and were beaten after a dramatic post-match penalty shootout by Cameroon.

The 28-year-old Okocha, who hails from Enugu, plays at Paris St Germain, who bought him from Turkey's Fenerbahce after the last World Cup finals.

The 25.0 million pounds ($36.22 million) deal was a record involving an African player.

Okocha started his career at Eintracht Frankfurt in Germany, where he had initially gone for a holiday but ended up being persuaded to try out for an amateur team and was signed on the spot.

 

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