It is amazing how Ive bonded with India… its given me so much joy

The shy Nigerian lad went on to script a path-breaking story that had him being touted as the greatest foreign player in Indian football. In the process,the now 40-year-old Okorie not only carved out his own niche,but also created a passport for his fellow countrymen to come and ply their trade in lndia especially those who would never manage to get one for realising their European dream.

I knew about India before I came here for the first time. I had quite a few Indian friends back home,including my next-door neighbour, says Okorie,who had begun playing in Nigerias premier domestic tournament at 16.

But Okorie insists it was more luck than planning that was responsible for his success in India.

Like most young Nigerians,football was the first love for the Izomber-born Okorie,but parental pressure forced him to make it second priority. I was the oldest child in the family and my sister was in law school by then. Though my parents never said anything,their attitude was changing, he says. So Okorie applied to a university in the US,but there was a twist in the tale and it started with him being denied an American visa. Thats when my neighbours father,originally from Nagpur,suggested India as an option for higher studies and I promptly agreed, says Okorie.

Okorie says he decided to give up football to focus on studies. But football wasnt ready to part ways so early with the powerful striker.

I used to play badminton after class,but on an adjacent ground in the campus,the boys would play football. One day one of my friends challenged me to a game,and I agreed somewhat reluctantly, he says. They couldnt take the ball off my feet for the next hour. A watching coach came running and insisted he join the university team. Before long,the burly Nigerian was spotted by a Mohammedan Sporting scout and handed a contract.

We played a game against a visiting Nigerian team and they were so impressed that I was called up for a national team trial back home, says Okorie,who won four caps for his country. But he returned to India,playing for East Bengal and Mohun Bagan and turning into a cult hero in Kolkata.

But there were a few reports calling me a Goliath who was doing well in the weak Indian league,and I was quite offended, says Okorie. So ten years after landing in India,the striker packed his bags and left for England,where he would represent Sunderland,Peterborough United,Grimsby Town and Torquay United over the next three years. After stints in Norway and Denmark,Okorie returned to India and rejoined Bagan. Injuries and spats with officials finally led him towards retirement,but he insists he finished on top of his game. I left with my head held high, he says.

Okorie,who has taken up quite a few coaching assignments in the last decade,says he has developed an unimaginable passion for India during his 25 years here,to the extent that he considers himself half-Indian. It is amazing how I have bonded with the country and it has given me so much joy in return, says Okorie.