Austin Okocha’s Visit To Fenerbahçe Leaves Mesut Ozil In Awe

Former Super Eagles’ captain, Austin ‘Jay Jay’ Okocha paid a surprise visit to one of his former clubs during the week, as he turned up to watch Fenerbahçe of Turkey in a continental tie, and the Istanbul-based side’s marquee player, Mesut Ozil confessed was stunned seeing him.

Ozil, who made top marks during his epochal days with Arsenal of England and Real Madrid of Spain, was left gaping over the larger than life image he saw in Okocha, as the Nigerian icon stormed Sukru Saracoglu Stadium to watch The Canaries’ in the UEFA Europa League.

Okocha’s presence drew large applause and Ozil used that opportunity to catch an on-pitch photo shoot with the Nigerian legend, after which he expressed his delight in meeting the star, who also played for PSG of France as well as Bolton Wanderers and Hull City of England.

Incidentally, Thursday’s game had another one of Okocha’s former clubs, Eintracht Frankfurt as the visitors in Istanbul, thereby also bringing back memories of how he starred for the German side for four years before moving to Fenerbahçe in 1996.

During his time with both clubs, the 48-year-old midfield maestro, fondly called ‘The Emperor’ and ‘So Good They Named Him Twice,’ was admired for his skilful style of play and Ozil restated his earlier confession that this star was the one he liked most before he joined the club.

He proved that graphically after their 1-1 draw on Thursday, as Ozil put aside the misnomer of him being an unused substitute to share the historic moment with Okocha on the pitch and then went on to describe the brief time as an honour.

Megasportsarena.com reports that Ozil took to social media to reveal his emotions and delight, as he posted on Instagram: “What an honour to meet one of my childhood idols: Jay-Jay Okocha. It’s been great talking to you my friend.”

That provided confirmation of a statement he earlier made back in January, after he completed a free transfer and signed a three-and-a-half-year deal at Fenerbahçe, as the Turkish-born former German national team playmaker confessed his love for Okocha.

Ozil stated back then: “Among the players who played in Fenerbahçe in the past, I liked Jay-Jay Okocha the most. Now I like Dimitrios Pelkas, with whom we played in the same position. He is a very talented player.”