“SAM ALLARDYCE SAID HE’D DANCE IF WE STAYED UP – HE WAS A MAN OF HIS WORD!”
The Nigerian legend taught Ronaldinho a few tricks at PSG, then headed to Bolton to dazzle Roy Keane & Co.
Why did you decide to join Bolton in 2002? I wanted to play in the Premier League. I had played in Germany with Eintracht Frankfurt, in France with PSG and in Turkey with Fenerbahce. I was looking for a new challenge and Bolton presented that opportunity for me. I drove all the way from Paris to Bolton to sign. What! Why? I love driving! That was fun, I’ll tell you. Did you enjoy your time at Bolton? Oh, definitely. I had a brilliant time there and I’m still a huge fan of the club. I felt at home. I see it as a football town. They haven’t got much to cheer about except for the football – that’s how it felt during my time there. They made me feel at home and I enjoyed my life in Bolton – not just the football, I had fun in my private life and met some great friends. What was Sam Allardyce like? I really enjoyed playing for Sam as manager – we had a good working relationship and an understanding with each other from the very start. He made his position clear to me about what he wanted, and where he wanted to take the club. Everything worked out the way we planned it! What’s your favourite memory from your time with Wanderers? It would be my first season because, honestly speaking, I didn’t do much research about the club! I had to learn the hard way that we were playing to survive and we survived relegation on the last day of the season, winning at home to Middlesbrough when I scored a free-kick. It was special because I’d never felt so emotional with a club’s fans before, to see how attached they were to their club. It meant everything to them to have stayed up, so that was definitely my best memory there. Allardyce even danced on the pitch after... Yeah, we made a promise that if we stayed up, he would dance with me! He’s definitely a man of his word! [Laughs] Bolton fans had a slogan: ‘Jay-jay, so good they named him twice’. Did you like that? I loved it! I don’t think people were expecting much from me in that first season, and they were surprised with how well I did. From there, the expectations grew. You were known for your skills on the field, with Ray Parlour and Roy Keane two players you left completely confused. Who was your favourite victim? Well, I don’t want to discredit anyone I played against, but I certainly remember quite a few of those tricks – let’s leave it at that! [Laughs] My skills started on the streets in Nigeria when I was young. We’d just mess about with a ball, playing for the love of the game without any manager or any organisation. If you love the game, you go out, play and just enjoy yourself. We were trying all sorts of tricks. When I first
started playing professional football it helped me a lot, but then I had to learn how to use it for the team’s advantage. In 2005, Bolton finished 6th in the Premier League - level on points with Liverpool, who won the Champions League that season. Was there any disappointment that Bolton didn’t qualify for the Champions League? No, we had different ambitions. After trying to become an established Premier League side – before I joined the club, they’d never had two Premier League seasons in a row – we wanted to be a solid top-flight team. We qualified for the UEFA Cup, so it was mission accomplished. We had some great players – Youri Djorkaeff, Ivan Campo, Kevin Nolan, Kevin Davies, Bruno N’gotty, Stelios, El-hadji Diouf and Hidetoshi Nakata. We had a lot of international players – we were like a United Nations team! What’s it been like to watch them drop into League One, after all the financial problems? It’s a real shame where Bolton are now, with all the things that have happened at the club, but they have a special place in my heart. It’s been sad, but I can only hope and wish that the club get back to where they are supposed to be. I do sneak back to the area sometimes to say hello to friends. It would be great to see the club back in the Premier League one day. Away from Bolton, what is your favourite Champions League memory? It has to be the famous 1-0 win at Old Trafford with Fenerbahce in 1996. They beat us 2-0 in Turkey two weeks earlier, but we ended their unbeaten home record in Europe, which had lasted for 40 years. That was special. Nobody thought we could do it. You played with a young Ronaldinho at PSG... Yeah, he was great. His talent was obvious and I think we had a similar grass roots approach, playing on the streets for the fun of the game. The passion we had was the same, so it was easy to get along with him, even though he was a bit younger. He reminded me of my first few years in Europe, because I left Nigeria at the age of 17. It was brilliant playing with him. People have described you as Nigeria’s best ever player. How does that make you feel? I try to be humble. It’s encouraging, especially for the young ones coming behind me, to know that if you do a good job, you’ll be appreciated. For me, it shows that hard work does pay off.
Okocha was speaking as an ambassador for the UEFA Champions League Trophy Tour, presented by Heineken. In 2019, it visited six markets across three different continents
“RONALDINHO’S TALENT WAS OBVIOUS – WE HAD A SIMILAR GRASS ROOTS APPROACH TO FOOTBALL”