In the summer of 1998, Nigerian wizard Jay-Jay Okocha arrived at Paris Saint-Germain for an exceptionally large fee of $18 million, making him the most expensive African player at the time. World renowned for his creativity, dribbling and playmaking, PSG’s capture of Okocha was not unlike this summer’s signing of Neymar.
PSG had won the 1997-98 Coupe de France, and Okocha represented a new level of footballing greatness on show at the Parc des Princes. The supporting cast around Neymar is decidedly better than the one playing with Okocha, but Neymar’s debut for the club (perhaps on Sunday at Guingamp) will almost certainly fail to reach the heights of Okocha’s.
This rocket stands as one of the finest goals in the history of the club.