African football legend Jay-Jay Okocha has said he believes Nigerians are not bothered by how good or bad goalkeeper, Daniel Akpeyi, is doing in South Africa.
Akpeyi, Kaizer Chiefs goal stopper, went from a back-up keeper to being the Super Eagles first choice goalie at Afcon 2019.
According to Goal.com, Okocha said that Akpeyi’s statistics at club level are not the measure of his success or failure, as Nigeria is more worried about what he can offer the Super Eagles.
“We are not bothered by how well he (Akpeyi) is doing in South Africa, but we are happy that he is here because the South African league (PSL) is one of the best in Africa, if not the best,” Okocha told journalists in South Africa.
The former Paris Saint-Germain and Bolton Wanderers dribbling wizard also claimed the entire Nigerian nation is happy with the platform the PSL provided for Akpeyi.
Okocha said he feels Akpeyi is improving game by game, although he admits playing for the national team is different.
“We are happy that you (South African) have provided him that good platform to improve. I think he is improving. When he comes to the national team it is a different ball game and for me, he is rightly our number one choice now,” said Okocha.
Despite being 32 years old, Okocha believes Akpeyi is still young and he will get better with time.
“He is still a young man and the more games he plays, the more confident he will get. I am not judging him based on his stats here in South Africa but for what he is doing for his national team,” concluded Okocha.
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