Okocha featured for Nigeria at the African Youth Championship in Mauritius in 1993, where the Flying Eagles crashed out in the semis.
He was instrumental, which made him earn a call up to the national team.
He made his international debut against Ivory Coast in 1993 in the 1994 World Cup qualifiers.
During stints at Eintracht Frankfurt, Fenerbahçe, PSG, Qatar, Bolton Wanderers and Hull City, “Jay Jay” scored a total of 85 goals in as many as 454 club matches.
Nigeria, the Africa Football Legend Award winner played 73 matches and scored 14 goals between 1993 and 2006.
Okocha, to the chagrin of many, was never named African Footballer of the Year by CAF, though he came within a whisker of this individual accolade in 1998.
He however, was named the BBC African Footballer of the Year in 2004 and 2005.
His greatest match being Nigeria Vs Italy in USA 1994 where he completed 15 dribbles, a world record yet to be broken.
His worst performance was AFCON 2006 third play-off Vs Senegal, a game in which he was eclipsed by almost all the players on the pitch.
The game was a flairless damp squib, in which he posed no threat to the opposition defense and was replaced on 67 minutes as he took his final bow for the super eagles.
