REDEFINING THE JOHN OBI MIKEL WE KNOW

It has become expedient and necessary to revisit the past and unearth what we may have forgotten. In doing this, we may not be archeological as the information we seek is not so forgotten. Etched in the minds of those who watched the 2005 under 20 world cup in Holland, is the evergreen memories of the glorious performances of John Obi Mikel, that won him the tournament’s second most valuable player, behind four time winner and current world footballer of the year, Lionel Messi. The parity of these two footballers is based on their antecedents during and after the tournament. During the tournament, both players who were of the same age group shone so brilliantly for their respective countries and were heavily tipped to rule the world. While Messi has continued to grow from top talent to world class football talent at Barcelona, our own dear Mikel has somewhat degenerated in his operational potential and capacity. The reason why Messi has eclipsed Mikel both in play and market value is because, Messi was simply modeled at Barcelona while Mikel was remolded under Jose Mourinho, the man who now thinks he(Mikel) no longer tops his new plans at Chelsea. While Messi is currently valued at over 500m pounds, Mikel currently values at less than 10m pounds.



Back in 2005 we all saw how Mikel orchestrated the play from the midfield as number ten(No.10), which many have rightly argued is his best position on the field, as against the defensive midfield role he now occupies at Chelsea, courtesy of Mourinho. The result of this is a player who looses relevance with changing football trends and game plan, for as the trend, so goes the plan. This is what a great football manager should know. Mourinho may be a great football coach, but he’s definitely not a good player manager. Nature is a determining factor of personality, while “nurture” is its primary builder. What usually defines a great football manager is his ability to discern the nature of a player and nurture him along that line. Once this connection is established, what we have is a world class player who can fit into any football plan any day, anytime, anywhere. What we see in Mikel every week in the Premiership, is an alteration of his football nature and personality.              

 In the colors of the Super Eagles (Nigeria’s national team), John Obi Mikel has continually churned out impressive performances, leading to several “man of the match” and other personal awards at the just concluded African Cup of Nations where Nigeria ran out as continental Champion. Mikel’s slick passes and imperious moves on the ball, clearly reiterates what we’ve always known-Mikel is more of an attacking midfielder than a defensive midfielder. We do hope his consistent displays for the Super Eagles are enough to convince his coaches at Chelsea about his true identity.