Super Eagles legend Jay-Jay
Okocha is looking forward to the upcoming “clash of titans” between Bafana
Bafana and Nigeria in their 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier at FNB Stadium
in South Africa on Saturday.
Okocha, who is widely
regarded as the best Nigerian player of his generation, hardly misses a fixture
between the two countries.
“It will be an interesting
game . . . explosive,” said Okocha. Okocha is currently in Mzansi on a
Bundesliga/StarSat legends tour to promote the German top league, looking to
increase its fan base on the continent.
“Of course revenge will be
on the minds of the Super Eagles players after they lost in the first leg in
Uyo,” continued Okocha, who was part of the Nigerian team that knocked Bafana
out in the semifinals of the 2000 Afcon tournament.
“As a player you have a
chance to prove yourself with the next game. “That defeat might well be the
motivation for Nigeria going into the match. It is an opportunity to regain our
bragging rights.”
He also questioned the
mentality of African players and their lack of hunger to succeed in European
leagues. This hampers national teams in international tournaments.
“I think players are really
not ambitious anymore. They are scared to go abroad, scared to fight and
challenge to be the best. In my day we had that mentality to go and prove that
we belonged among the world’s best.
“These days our players are
easily satisfied with little. That mentality has to change. Football
federations also need to get the structures right and set themselves targets.”
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