REVIEW - PRIME ICON Okocha

Jay-Jay Okocha, he was so good they named him twice. But I can only bring myself to call him Jay Okocha when I’m using him. He was the Nigerian Prince who knew how to entertain, and I’ve got to say that he’s very similar on the virtual pitch. The fancy feet and the 80’s high top fade certainly left an impression on me and made for an interesting 10 games. With that being said I’ll get onto it because I’m excited to present Jay-Jay Okocha’s Prime Icon card.

This review is based off of 10 games played at the CAM position, the majority in Division 1, using the “Basic” and “Hawk” chemistry styles.  He was supported by the following team:
 

PACE

Jay-Jay can certainly put one foot in front of the other very quickly. 90 acceleration and 84 sprint speed means he has fantastic bursts of energy to slingshot himself through a gap in the midfield. He does a great job going from a near standstill to accelerating off and into the sunset. Okocka’s speed is impressive and good…for his card. I’ll explain what I mean by that, he only has 84 sprint speed meaning he accelerates very quickly but hits his speed cap just as fast. So he’ll fly off but won’t incrementally get faster and faster like many players do, he simply cracks off like a bullet and maintains that speed which over time doesn’t feel as fast. This means most fullbacks will catch up to him and he can have trouble with CB’s like Bailly, Koscielny, Varane, and Azpilicueta. But here’s where it gets interesting. As a CAM Okocha plays between the midfield and the opposing defensive line, so he thrives off these quick accelerations that leave the midfield in the dust and threaten the defensive line. When he makes runs, he’s making them near the penalty box or before even reaching the defensive line. So he isn’t needing that 90 sprint speed to beat everyone, but just to get a short distance. He isn’t really designed to play as a striker, more of a CF/CAM role. I’m not saying it isn’t do-able, but his work rates don’t necessarily support it either. All-in-all his speed is great and you will love his acceleration, but he can lack that top speed of a striker.

Rating; 3.5/5

SHOOTING

This is where I start to have so much fun with Okocha. All I have to say is that this man is so much fun to play with. Outside the box Jay-Jay is such a threat, and I’m not talking about Hawaii’s recent nuclear bomb threat, I’m thinking more along the lines of ‘obesity in Mexico’ as a threat. He not only has a cannon instead of his right leg but it’s an incredibly accurate cannon. 87 shot power feels more like 90+, and 89 long shots means he’s no stranger to curling one into the top corner from distance. That’s what I mean by an ‘outside-the-box-threat’, you cannot leave him unmarked with any space even from 30 yards. That being said he does have a disappointing 79 finishing, but the truth is it actually impressed me quite a bit. He did not have any moments where he bottled an easy goal but rather he scored so many world class strikes and even made the smaller finishes. I think what plays into that is his positioning being 88 so he’s in the right place at the right time inside the box.

Rating; 3.5/5

PASSING

Something that I genuinely loved about Okocha’s prime card is that he was pleasantly good at passing. He does have the “Playmaker Trait” paired up with 83 short passing, 86 vision, and 92 curve. His short passing is not the most impressive and I can vouch for that, but rather it gets the job done much like someone who has to clean the sewers. He’s going to do it cause he’s getting paid to, and will do a good job, but he doesn’t enjoy doing it. The same can be said for Okocha because he loves the ball on his own feet. He can get a play moving but you just know when he has possession he does not want to do anything but keep it for himself. He only provided one assist for me in the 10 games, but that doesn’t come close to showing how he started up attacks from deep in the midfield, he simply wasn’t the one providing the last crucial pass but more likely to be scoring. That being said, I have never felt someone so deadly from set pieces. I have had Prime Roberto Carlos as my free-kick taker for 350+ games and he’s scored maybe 5 free kicks. In the 10 games I used Okocha he scored two and hit the post three times, one free kick from 37 yards out and another from 32 yards, stunning shots that dropped my jaw. I religiously try the shot from 20 to 40 yards out whenever given the opportunity and will come close, and sometimes I score, but in 10 games to score twice and come so close another two times is note-worthy and not just luck.

Rating; 4/5

DRIBBLING

Without a doubt the most fun I’ve had this FIFA so far is using Jay-Jay Okocha’s card at CAM for this reason right here. 93 ball control, 96 dribbling, 93 agility, and 89 balance coupled with 5 star skill moves is, what Ray Hudson would call, Magisterial! This Nigerian wizard can dribble, my oh my can he dribble, I don’t even know where to begin. His first touch is so perfect that there’s no buffer time in between trapping the ball and turning/passing. He can trap the ball and make a perfect pass/shot/skill move with no half a second to wait and 100% accuracy. Jay-Jay is the Tom Brady of dribbling, his agility, balance, and ball control is sublime. I would rather dribble with Okocha than watch Zweback get one million subscribers. Unlimited XBOX controllers for when I trash mine? Nope, dribbling with Okocha. Knowing how to cook something besides hot pockets and pizza rolls? Nope, dribbling with Okocha. His foot is plastered in Gorilla glue and each and every touch of the ball is inch perfect and stuck to his feet. His skill moves come out so quickly and close to his feet, it’s obscene. I cannot find the words to describe it you simply need to get in game yourself and give it a try.

Rating; 5/5

PHYSICAL

Every stat leading up to physical was a rollercoaster making the slow ascent to the apex and all of that excitement and adrenaline has built, but now the roller coaster’s jammed and you’re stuck right at the drop. His stamina is just a frowny face, but if you look close enough it says 72 stamina. Jay-Jay is struggling to not have a stroke in the 75^th minute and is in full cardiac arrest past the 90^th. He’s exhausted all of that Nigerian Prince money he’s been e-mailing us all about on his touch and dribbling and hasn’t bothered to run sprints with the rest of the squad. He needs a replacement if the game is tight as it closes down. Setting that aside he also has a whopping 62 strength which means a strong gust of wind will knock him over. Do not forget that he has incredible balance and agility so he’s very good at staying on his feet, but if he’s fighting shoulder to shoulder with essentially anyone aside from Insigne and Messi he’ll be eating grass very quickly.

Rating; 2/5

MENTALITY

Jay-Jay Okocha is interesting because of his work rates. He’s a Medium/Low player so he’s not pressing against the defensive line at all times, more like he’s sitting in the middle of the pitch ready to get the ball and move up himself. That being said he also has that 88 positioning so he is where he needs to be. Okocha knows where he needs to be and he’s the one starting the attack not just finishing it. He will always play in between your defensive midfielder and your striker(s) ready to move the ball from back to front. I think as a Medium/Low he is the most effective his card could be because it’s how he’s built to be played. You want to get the ball with him to move past everyone, then feed it to your striker to finish it. If not that, then to make it to the edge of the box and curl it in. He also has traits to help his free-kicks which were amazing, and of course his 5 star skill moves and 4 star weak foot. The weak foot I rarely noticed and found to be quite alright so I wouldn’t worry about it. I would steer clear of taking long shots with his weak foot though as they need to be both powerful and very accurate and that should be reserved for his strong foot.

Rating; 4/5

CONSENSUS

Rating; 3.66/5

Non-Competitive

Rating; 5/5

Jay-Jay Okocha, in my opinion, is everything that makes this game fun. He’s the showman, the guy to pull of an elastico followed by a Berba spin before trying the outside the foot 30 yard shot that ends up top corner. He will consistently make you audibly say “wow…” and there’s not a single moment you won’t enjoy using him. Yes he’s weak, yes he has low stamina, yes he isn’t spectacular at many different things aside from his dribbling, but everything he does is so much fun. He’s not meant to be used in some top-tier team ready to battle in the weekend league, but to be put in your fitness team to make you realize why you love FIFA again. Now I’m not saying he’s not first team quality, he definitely is. But for his price you can also get Prime Pires who’s a better CAM, or De Bruyne, Eriksen, etc. You could invest the coins smarter in many other places but I’m so ridiculously tempted to complete his SBC because of how amazing it is to just toy around the field and enjoy myself.

My consensus is that everyone should use his loan card. But if you have extra coins or do not only play weekend league, get him. He won’t be as fun if you use him competitively and isn’t very cheap. So if you are starting to get tired of FIFA or just want something new he’s the guy for you. I honestly cannot say when the last time I had this much fun with a card was, maybe SBC Quaresma in the first two weeks of this FIFA. Jay-Jay Okocha is an absolute gem for different reasons, so thank you EA for making a card that seriously gave me a different view of this game.

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