Austin Jay-Jay Okocha ya yi bikin ranar haihuwarsa ta 53 a ranar Juma'a, wanda ya haifar da raɗaɗin murna daga wasu fitattun sunayen da aka fi sani a duniyar kwallon kafa — ciki har da CAF, Ligue 1, Paris Saint-Germain, da Eintracht Frankfurt.

Cibiyoyi huɗu suka tafi shafukan X na hukuma don girmama mahaifin kwallon kafa dan Nijeriya. CAF ta yabe shi a matsayin «daya daga cikin mafi santsi da ya taba wasa,» tana tabbatar da matsayinsa a matsayin Jakadan CAF. PSG ta aika a taƙaice da «53 a yau,» yayin da Eintracht Frankfurt ta yi salama ga «jagoransu na Eintracht.» Ligue 1 ta gabatar da wataƙila mafi wayo daga cikin saƙon murnar, tana nufin sunansa na shahara wanda aka ninka: «Mai kyau sosai har suka sa masa suna sau biyu.»

Aiki da aka zana da sihiri

Tafiyar Okocha ta cikin kwallon kafa ta Turai tana kama da tarin kyawawan lokuta. Ya isa Eintracht Frankfurt a watan Disamba 1991, cikin sauri ya nuna iyawarsa tare da dan wasan Afirka Tony Yeboah na Ghana. A can ne ya ci daya daga cikin mafi ban mamaki a tarihin kwallon kafa na Jamus — wasan sihiri ɗaya a kan Karlsruher SC wanda ya yi ragamar 'yan wasan da yawa a cikin yankin hukunci, ya wuce wasu sau biyu, kafin ya harba ƙwallon a gaban ɗan gidan mai tsaro matashi Oliver Kahn.

Burin ya samu masa lambar yabo ta Burin Shekara ta 1993 a kan Sportschau, shirin wasanni na ARD, kuma mujallu da yawa na kwallon kafa suka zabe shi a matsayin Burin Yanayin.

Bayan Frankfurt ta sauka zuwa 2. Bundesliga, Okocha ya koma ƙungiyar Turkiyya Fenerbahçe da kusan £1 miliyan, inda ya zama ƙwararren harbin ƙwallo mara nauyi. A wasanni 62 a cikin yanayi biyu, ya ci kwallaye 30 — da yawa daga cikinsu daga harbin kyauta na kai tsaye waɗanda suka zama alamarsa ta kasuwanci a Turai.

Paris da Premier League

A shekarar 1998, Paris Saint-Germain ta kashe kusan £14 miliyan don kawo Okocha Faransa, inda ya zama mafi tsadar ɗan wasan Afirka a duniya a lokacin. A cikin shekaru huɗu da wasanni 84, ya ci kwallaye 12 kuma ya yi wa matashi dan kasar Brazil mai suna Ronaldinho jagoranci — wanda daga baya ya lashe Ballon d'Or. Okocha ya kuma taimaka da kwallaye biyar yayin da PSG ta sami taken haɗaka a UEFA Intertoto Cup ta 2001 tare da Aston Villa da ES Troyes AC.

Sannan ya ketare Channel da canja wuri kyauta, ya shiga Bolton Wanderers a watan Yuni 2002 bayan FIFA World Cup. Tasirin sa a kulob din ya kasance nan take kuma mai zurfi: kwallaye bakwai sun taimaka wa Bolton ya tsere wa faɗuwa, ciki har da ɗaya a kan West Ham United wanda aka zaɓa a matsayin Burin Yanayin kulob din — kuma daga baya an zabe shi a matsayin mafi kyawun burin Bolton a Premier League ta masu sha'awar a 2008.

An ba shi ƙwanƙolin kyaftin a yanayin da ya biyo baya kuma ya jagoranci Bolton zuwa wasan karshe na Football League Cup na 2004 — wasan ƙarshe na farko na kofin su a cikin shekara tara — inda suka yi rashin nasara da Middlesbrough.

A shekarar 2017, zaɓen masu sha'awar ya tabbatar da abin da da yawa suka daɗe suna imani da shi: Okocha shi ne mafi kyawun ɗan wasa da ya taɓa buga wasa a Reebok/Macron Stadium. Yana da shekara 53, almara ta dawwama.