Although the century is young, we have had more than enough time to be blessed with some incredible footballers, the first of these i would like to give recognition to is a Nigerian footballing wizard who left his mark in Germany, France and most importantly England.

Jay-Jay Okocha arrived in English football Okocha with a decent CV, most notable were his spells with Paris Saint Germain and Turkish giants Ferenebahce. Okocha played with some great players before he came to England including Brazilian hero Ronaldinho, the season before he effectively ended David Seaman’s England career…

After a disappointing World Cup with Nigeria, and a premature international retirement Okocha made the decision to come to the Premiership and join Bolton. Looking back now this seems like a strange desicion, a tricky midfielder known for his creativity and flair joining the obvious creators of what I now know as ‘Bolton Football’ seems a bit odd.

During Okocha’s main spell in England he lived up to his reputation, delighting fans up and down the country with the kind of skills that filled up half the airtime on Soccer AM each week. He had the ability to score fantastic goals and turn a game on its head single handedly, these two great free kicks against Aston Villa were certainly a highlight.