Okocha regrets not winning African Player award

The former Bolton Wanderers captain speaking to Encomium magazine, also said it will take a little more time before Nigeria could get a player that would fill the vacuum he left behind since he retired from the national team in 2006.
Okocha, who has been a vocal critic of the present Super Eagles, noted that he was not destined to wear the crown despite his brilliant performance at club and national duty during his playing career.
“If I have any regret that would be not winning The African Footballer of the Year. But then, I don’t think I was meant to because I gave my best, but at the end, it wasn’t good enough. However, I had a fantastic playing career,” the ex-PSG star stated.
On why it will take a little more time before Nigeria could get a player that would fill the vacuum he left behind since he retired nearly 10 years ago, Okocha said: “I don’t want to sound arrogant but the truth is that there is something special about me. Sometimes, you have special players in a squad, when you lose them, it will take like five to ten years to get another set of such players.”