Emmanuel Okocha has revealed wh he was dropped from the Super Eagles by NFF just because his brother (Jay-Jay) was in the 1994 FIFA World Cup squad.
The Score Nigeria recalls that Emmanuel narrated his story in a social media interview on Thursday and he stated that former Super Eagles boss Clemens Westerhoff would have included him final squad to the world cup along with his younger brother, Austine Jay-Jay Okocha, but the leaders of Nigeria Football Federation at the frowned against it.
“After I recovered fully from my injury I sustained during the 1992 AFCON qualifiers, Westerhof invited me for some friendlies before the 1994 World Cup. I was playing well and could have made the squad, then something happened, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) at that time could not stand two brothers in the team because Jay-Jay was in there as well, I had to leave and move on with my life.” he told Super Eagles Instagram handle
Emmanuel said the he couldn’t continued with his love for the game after the heartbreak and decided to further his education, and later became a FIFA licensed football agent.
“This is why I tell young footballers to have at least education to secondary school with good grades because it was what helped me. After the Super Eagles, I went back to school, got my B.SC and M.SC in sports management.” he concluded.
Emmanuel Okocha was a great midfielder during his days and he was able to make seven appearances for the Super Eagles of Nigeria and scored a goal before calling it quit with the game.
He was part of the Nigeria’s squad to the 1992 African cup of Nations in Senegal where the team finished second.
He also played for Nigeria professional football league side Rangers international of Enugu, but was not successful on the pitch as Jay-Jay Okocha.
It would be recalled that the Nigeria had a memorable outing in USA, reaching the second of the tournament.
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