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Former Super Eagles captain Austin Okocha has said it is difficult to compare him with Brazilian football icon Ronaldinho.
Okocha made the remark during an interview with Clutch 9, reacting to comments credited to Mikel Arteta, who once played with both men at Paris Saint-Germain, who said he could not choose between them.
According to Okocha, comparing him and Ronaldinho is challenging because both players shared similar foundations and played the game instinctively rather than by rigid structure.
“I can’t say that anybody is better than me since I’ve accepted the title of chief flair officer. He [Ronaldinho] was a genius when it comes to football. Straight away, we saw his talent,” Okocha said.
“He brought something different, and in a way we clicked, because our foundation was the same. We learnt how to play on the street; we were playing because we loved the game, and with smiles on our faces.
“It’s difficult to compare both of us because we had a good career, even though he took it higher.”
He added that while both enjoyed successful careers, Ronaldinho took his to a higher level, making direct comparisons less straightforward.
Asked to name the most skilful player he played alongside, Okocha said Ronaldinho stood out, due to the Brazilian’s unpredictability and natural instinct on the ball.
He said, “I could see a bit of me in him; I could see that unpredictability. You don’t know what to expect when he gets the ball, and that was my strength too.
“Playing together, without communicating, we knew what we were going to do and how to ask for the ball, and I think that natural instinct is what you can’t learn or teach any kid, and that’s what I saw in him.”
Okocha also spoke about confidence during his playing days, saying he never feared any opponent and always believed he controlled what happened once he had the ball.
The 52-year-old said, “My strength is when I’ve got the ball, and I have so much confidence that I know whenever I get the ball, I decide what happens, not the opponent. You can be as tough as you can be, but you can’t decide what I can do when I have the ball.
“So, you can only be lucky to guess right, and that’s what helped me because I wasn’t scared of trying things, of playing the game my way but for the team. I never think about who I’m coming up next to, but the club I’m coming up next to.
“Of course, you have to respect the defenders, who you’re coming up against, because his strength might be defending, but my strength is attacking. If I can’t challenge him when it comes to defending, I don’t expect him to challenge me when it comes to attacking.”
The former Bolton Wanderers midfielder also said the English Premier League was the most physically demanding competition he played in, noting that players could not afford to be less than fully fit due to the league’s pace and intensity.
“The Premier League because it’s a brutal league because it’s quite demanding. In some leagues, you might get away with being 70 per cent fit, but in the Premier League, if you’re not fit, you will be exposed because the pace is something else.”
