Mikel was already a contender before he scored that goal against fulham,which I believe is just a bonus.Moses is also a contender but he couldn't fight for a place in chelsea and had to go on loan.Mikel is gradually proving himself,Moses and Mikel have got edge over Yaya with trophies they won last season.Both players are in the first team presently and I hope they improve more,the trophy must come to naija,its been a long time ha ba.

iszyboy: Have you guys forgotten so soon that kelvin prince boateng has retired from international duty? which automatically disqualify him from the award. Have you also forgotten that in 2008 abou treka of egypt correct me if am wrong in the spelling,won AFCON,CAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE,EGYPTIAN LEAGUE AND SEMI-FINALT in WORLD CLUB CUP, bt adebayor who didnt win any trophy won the award? have you also forgotten that in 2010 samuel eto' fills won UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE,WORLD CLUB CUP,ITALIAN SERIAL A and ITALIAN SUPER CUP, but drogba who only won premierleague nd fa cup won the award? have you also forgotten that in 2012, drogba won UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE and F.A Cup single handedle,but yaya toure who only won premier league won the award? for those of you saying that mikel derserves the award cus he won EUROPA LEAGUE and AFCON,dont also forget that moses outshined mikel in AFCON and EUROPA LEAGUE and also musa won RUSSIAN LEAGUE,RUSSIAN F.A Cup,AFCON,RUSSIAN SUPER CUP. Although the award is by voting, but your perfomrance matters which we all knows that yaya toure performs better than mikel this year be it club or international.

Don't mind them.

The countless amount of times I have had to correct mugus that "Teams win Trophies", not [usually] an individual.

Cretins keep on referring to team achievement as evidence of an individual's achievement. If you are not strategic to the win, it does not reflect that much on you, simple!

One particular cretin kept on saying Benni McCarthy won Champions League.

Sagamite:

Because you won the ACN, no player in Africa can be ranked the same as Mikel and Moses?

No, but because they've had a decent performance for both club and country compared to any other African player. Mikel in particular was a stand out performer at both the ACN and Confederation cup. He has been a regular starter for Chelsea.

There might be better players than Mikel in Africa, but we cannot dispute the fact that he has been outstanding this season. Yaya Toure is also doing great but his last season's performance was average.

boron10:
No, but because they've had a decent performance for both clubs and country compared to any other African players. Mikel in particular was a stand out performer at both the ACN and Confederation cup. He has been a regular starter for Chelsea.

There might be better players than Mikel in Africa, but we cannot dispute the fact that he has been outstanding this season. Yaya Toure is also doing great but his last season's performance was average.

Good point.

Jarus: Yes, I believe so.

Although I believe he should have more playing time. It doesn't speak well that Africa's best player will not be a first team player in a club like Chelsea.

for this alone yaya toure deserves it

boron10:
No, but because they've had a decent performance for both clubs and country compared to any other African players. Mikel in particular was a stand out performer at both the ACN and Confederation cup. He has been a regular starter for Chelsea.

There might be better players than Mikel in Africa, but we cannot dispute the fact that he has been outstanding this season. Yaya Toure is also doing great but his last season's performance was average.

I would say Mikel has been outstanding for Nigeria this season but he is pretty much average for Chelsea.

I think Emmanuel Emenike has a better chance than Mikel for AFoY.

And Ahmed Musa has a better chance than Moses.

Some guys are only getting excited about the ACN win. If Nigeria had won silver or bronze at the ACN, I can guarantee you 100% this thread would not exist.

Shallow football analysers.

omar22: Yaya Toure is head and shoulders better than Mikel...

Remember Toure carries his team, Mikel is just a passenger in the team

passenger?Did u watch ucl final against bayern?Tel me who performed any beta dan mikel dat day.

Sagamite:

I would say Mikel has been outstanding for Nigeria this season but he is pretty much average for Chelsea.

I think Emmanuel Emenike has a better chance than Mikel for AFoY.

And Ahmed Musa has a better chance than Moses.

Some guys are only getting excited about the ACN win. If Nigeria had won silver or bronze at the ACN, I can guarantee you 100% this thread would not exist.

Shallow football analysers.

Emenike did well at the ACN. He could have been a contender but for the fact that he's not been consistent in his club. No goal yet for Fenerbache. Was injured for like 3 or four months last season.

And one thing we all fail to realize is that defending is equally as important as attacking in football. I'm sure you're ruling out Mikel because he's not been scoring goals for Chelsea and his contributions have always been veiled.

idiot like you says drogba is better than Eto

omar22: Yaya Toure is head and shoulders better than Mikel...

Remember Toure carries his team, Mikel is just a passenger in the team

boron10:
Emenike did well at the ACN. He could have been a contender but for the fact that he's not been consistent in his club. No goal yet for Fenerbache. Was injured for like 3 or four months last season.

And one thing we all fail to realize is that defending is equally as important as attacking in football. I'm sure you're ruling out Mikel because he's not been scoring goals for Chelsea and his contributions have always been veiled.

Of the time he was not injured, his goal rates were very decent and he was vital to his team.

First of all, I have always been an advocate of other areas of the game than mere scoring, and have insisted on their consideration numerous times on NL, but I will tell you some few facts:

Defending is not equally as important as attacking. Why? It is easier to defend than to score.

Obviously superb defending is superior to mere scoring. But if you were to compare superb defending to superb attacking, attacking is superior.

I would put creativity above scoring and defending though.

Secondly, I am not giving much props to Mikel because I have never seen him as strategic to Chelsea. I see John Terry as strategic, I see Ashley Cole as strategic. Mikel is easily replaceable from the bench.

I dare say, if I should dare all those advocating Mikel to name the 5 most strategic players to Chelsea last season, none of them that know football would list Mikel.

Yaya will probably top most list or at least be in the top 3 for that of Man City.

That does not mean Mikel is not good. He has just not played a strategic role enough to warrant his importance to their wins.

DJDOLA: Some nigerian are crazy walahi....if u can not support ur brother who else will support him....I believe if yaya toure is not better than mikel is people will support him no matter what....abi if yaya toure is nigeria and mikel is from ivory coast I trust nigeria they will vote for mikel

leave dem,i know its al those man u and gunnas fans that are against mikel.What has yaya really done dis past year?Confederation's cup mikel was great,nations cup he won man of the match 4 times,had the highest assist,was a nomination for player of the tounament,he helped chelsea in fa cup and ucl glory 2012 which his performance in the final was outstanding.Ribery was given uefa best player not because he was beta dan messi or cr7,but based on his performance in d continent,yaya was a flop at d nations cup,i need reasons y he should be crowned caf best player 2013.

BinghiNya: yaya beat him in chelsea 3 times last season. Yaya scored 3 goals in afcon, did mikel inspire nigeria to win against uruguay and spain

when canavaro won world best player in 2006,was it because he was beta dan ronaldo delima,zidane,ronaldinho,kaka and the likes?

Pierre Emerick Aubameyang!! My countryman!

Gaboma: Pierre Emerick Aubameyang!! My countryman!

I would definitely put him in my Top 5.

An exciting player!

@sagamite

Mikel may not have been outstanding for Chelsea, but his overall performance this year eclipse those of every other African player. Hence my reason for pitting him for APOY award.

Emisco1: .lwkmd. U re nt a futbal fan. Wat did yaya achieve witin 1yr 2012-2013. Dt mikel did not achieve double of it witin dt yr. Luk bk at oda winner hw did da won it. Is it by past record or wat u achieve witin 1yr. Lt cal a spade a spade. Yaya culdn't tak hs country so far at afcon, bt 2 me mikel did it. In club aspect. He score 6goals or xo,i dnt wana knw. Hes club didn,t achieve more lyk mikel club@chelsea. I jst wan c d ojoro wa dm go do. Even moses gt mouth pas yaya wit dt 1 yr. He score pas am nd win trophy pas am

u make sense die.Infact victor moses should be ahead of yaya 4 this award.

Sagamite:

I would definitely put him in my Top 5.

An exciting player!

Yep! A futur great player! Futur Eto'o and Drogba.

Pierre Emerick Aubameyang play as Thierry Henry! I am proud of my Countryman!

Owo Lee:

Mikel a passenger in the team, has carried champions league, FA cup, premiership etc
In the super eagles team also, he played vital role in winning of the nations cup...is dat not enough...

Yaya toure remains undoubtedly the past african player of d past 12months till date and check his stats and check mikel's stat.Not only trophy determines best player but indidvidual performance is the best way to measure performance

Mr. Aladin:
He deserve It 100% Judging by his performance in d nations cup n confed. Cup.
Imagine how he outshine xavi n iniesta ag8 Spain. He also outshine cavani n suarez wen we played uruguay.
He is the holding midfielder in caf best evelen for dis year.
If dem no give am na ojoro.

When chris katongo led zambia to Afcon 2012 did he get d best player award and when aboutrika won d african champions league and afcon 2008 did he get d a ward ask yourself what the criteria would be

boron10: @sagamite

Mikel may not have been outstanding for Chelsea, but his overall performance this year eclipse those of every other African player. Hence my reason for pitting him for APOY award.

I doubt.

There are the likes of Yaya, Muntari, Andre Ayew, Aubameyang, Prince-Boateng who eclipse him.

I would even put Emenike ahead of him even though Mikel was the best player in the national team. Why? Because Emenike plays a vital role at both national and club level.

Mikel will win this year award. In Lagos.

Sagamite:

Of the time he was not injured, his goal rates were very decent and he was vital to his team.

First of all, I have always been an advocate of other areas of the game than mere scoring, and have insisted on their consideration numerous times on NL, but I will tell you some few facts:

Defending is not equally as important as attacking. Why? It is easier to defend than to score.

Obviously superb defending is superior to mere scoring. But if you were to compare superb defending to superb attacking, attacking is superior.

I would put creativity above scoring and defending though.

Secondly, I am not giving much props to Mikel because I have never seen him as strategic to Chelsea. I see John Terry as strategic, I see Ashley Cole as strategic. Mikel is easily replaceable from the bench.

I dare say, if I should dare all those advocating Mikel to name the 5 most strategic players to Chelsea last season, none of them that know football would list Mikel.

Yaya will probably top most list or at least be in the top 3 for that of Man City.

That does not mean Mikel is not good. He has just not played a strategic role enough to warrant his importance to their wins.

How strategic was Kanu to Arsenal when he won the award in 1999? He had just moved from Inter where he had scored 1 goal in 3 years (12 games).

How strategic was Mboma to Parma in 2000 when he won. He scored only 5 goals and played only 24 games (meaning he wasn't a regular)

Diouf won it twice based on what he did for Senegal and not what he did for Lens.

What about Hadji who scored only two goals for Deportivo in 1998. Most of his appearances were as subs.

Most of these guys won it based on what they did for their countries rather than what they did for club.

If I go back in time, there are even more examples of guys who won it while not playing for their clubs. Mikel has been a regular at a big European club for 7 years. And recently, he led the Eagles to winning the African trophy.

No one is more deserving.

My heart wants him to win it, but my head says he cant win it. Surely going to yaya toure. Better luck next year, Mikel

Sagamite:

I would say Mikel has been outstanding for Nigeria this season but he is pretty much average for Chelsea.

I think Emmanuel Emenike has a better chance than Mikel for AFoY.

And Ahmed Musa has a better chance than Moses.

Some guys are only getting excited about the ACN win. If Nigeria had won silver or bronze at the ACN, I can guarantee you 100% this thread would not exist.

Shallow football analysers.

I swear I can fight you for that statement.

Ahmed Musa is one of the most useless players in the history of football.

Moses' left toe is better than Musa.

Katsumoto:

How strategic was Kanu to Arsenal when he won the award in 1999? He had just moved from Inter where he had scored 1 goal in 3 years (12 games).

How strategic was Mboma to Parma in 2000 when he won. He scored only 5 goals and played only 24 games (meaning he wasn't a regular)

Diouf won it twice based on what he did for Senegal and not what he did for Lens.

What about Hadji who scored only two goals for Deportivo in 1998. Most of his appearances were as subs.

Most of these guys won it based on what they did for their countries rather than what they did for club.

If I go back in time, there are even more examples of guys who won it while not playing for their clubs. Mikel has been a regular at a big European club for 7 years. And recently, he led the Eagles to winning the African trophy.

No one is more deserving.

No dey ask me about Kanu. I have never felt he was warranted 2 AFoY. Na Dayokanu you for dey ask how come he won.

I don't think you can judge Mboma on goals alone. If you watch Mboma play, he is always very vital on the pitch. Think of a Heskey that scores great and vital goals when you need him to. He was also very critical for his national team when he won. He helped and inspired Cameroun to the ACN the year he won. He scored 9 goals in 9 games for the national team. He scored 4 of these in the Nations Cup (second highest goalscorer of the tournament and highest goalscorer for his country), 3 of those goals were scored in the semi-finals and finals. That is the style of the man. Being vital, not just goals.

Diouf is another player I did not see how he could have won it twice. It seems Africans are very excitable about doing leg-overs at the WC and such memories last long.

Hadji was class. A great playmaker of his day. As I said, I would choose creativity over goals anyday.

I think the award should be awarded based on your entire ability and games. Sometimes your national team performance might be outstanding enough to warrant you being awarded despite mediocre club performance but that would be in a poor year for Africans in leagues.

- Leagues tend to be where majority of a player's games comes from, not the 10 or so matches they play for national teams.
- Leagues is where lack of talented team-mates would not restrict your success because, unlike national teams, clubs can collate the best. The best who can suggest your quality if you play with them, can aid you in achieving your potential or can help bench you.

Having bench warmers like Kanu being declared the best in Africa is most times highly embarrassing for me. I swear!

Katsumoto:

I swear I can fight you for that statement.

Ahmed Musa is one of the most useless players in the history of football.

Moses' left toe is better than Musa.

Oga, before you slap me, make you see say I don talk am before: Ahmed Musa is brainless.

https://www.nairaland.com/1448479/dangerous-national-teams-might-under-rated#18297123

{Says in his deep Area Boy's voice} Awon boys oni gba ni Ojuelegba if you slap me o.

That said, somehow he was successful at club level and play a good part (by accident) at national level than Moses to warrant it over Moses, who was benching.

That said, Moses is still a player I refer to and prefer as better player for SE.

Sagamite:

No dey ask me about Kanu. I have never felt he was warranted 2 AFoY. Na Dayokanu you for dey ask how come he won.

I don't think you can judge Mboma on goals alone. If you watch Mboma play, he is always very vital on the pitch. Think of a Heskey that scores great and vital goals when you need him to. He was also very critical for his national team when he won. He helped and inspired Cameroun to the ACN the year he won. He scored 9 goals in 9 games for the national team. He scored 4 of these in the Nations Cup (second highest goalscorer), 3 of those goals were scored in the semi-finals and finals. That is the style of the man. Being vital, not just goals.

Diouf is another player I did not see how he could have won it twice. It seems Africans are very excitable about doing leg-overs at the WC and such memories last long.

Hadji was class. A great playmaker of his day. As I said, I would choose creativity over goals anyday.

I think the award should be awarded based on your entire ability and games. Sometimes your national team performance might be outstanding enough to you being awarded despite mediocre club performance but that would be in a poor year for Africans in leagues.

- Leagues tend to be where majority of a player's games comes from, not the 10 or so matches they play for national teams.
- Leagues is where lack of talented team-mates would not restrict your success because, unlike national teams, clubs can collate the best. The best who can aid you in achieving your potential or can help bench you.

Having bench warmers like Kanu being declared the best in Africa is most times highly embarrassing for me. I swear!

So if you agree that there have been players who did squat for their clubs and were great for country who won, why not Mikel?

Don't run away from my point. Mboma played just 24 games in a full season and most of those games, he came off the bench.

In the year Hadji won, Okocha was miles ahead of Hadji. It was a WC - Okocha was outstanding for Nigeria. He had just become the most expensive African player and was outstanding for Fernebache. Can you remember what Hadji did for Morocco or Deportivo that year?

Sagamite:

Oga, before you slap me, make you see say I don talk am before: Ahmed Musa is brainless.

https://www.nairaland.com/1448479/dangerous-national-teams-might-under-rated#18297123

{Says in his deep Area Boy's voice} Awon boys oni gba ni Ojuelegba if you slap me o.

That said, somehow he was successful at club level and play a good part (by accident) at national level than Moses to warrant it over Moses, who was benching.

That said, Moses is still a player I refer to and prefer as better player for SE.

Ok, I don dey set blow. Its ok now.

Katsumoto:

So if you agree that there have been players who did squat for their clubs and were great for country who won, why not Mikel?

Don't run away from my point. Mboma played just 24 games in a full season and most of those games, he came off the bench.

In the year Hadji won, Okocha was miles ahead of Hadji. It was a WC - Okocha was outstanding for Nigeria. He had just become the most expensive African player and was outstanding for Fernebache. Can you remember what Hadji did for Morocco or Deportivo that year?

Two wrongs does not make a right.

I would not use the past mistakes to justify future mistakes.

I was one of the people that felt highly uncomfortable when AFoY was awarded to Kanu not because of merit, but because of empathy for his heart problem discovery. I am a sucker for merit. I felt other worthy players were robbed of recognition for their hard work only to give people like Dayokanu a platform for their yeye argument that Kanu is the greatest because he won 2 WHOLE AFoY.

I am pretty sure if you dig into it, Mboma was probably injured most of that season because I remember he was a star man for Parma during that era, after being the sole-carrier of lowly club, Cagliari. That was when Seria A was a regular weekly show on Channel 4 in the UK. He was vital for his club and country and used to score fantastic goals. I remember it well because the conc African-sounding name of "Mboma" was sweet on all these oyinbo commentators' mouth when he unexpectedly fires a banana volley. Like if one of their explorers found him in an African jungle kicking coconuts before bringing him to Europe to kick balls.

I agree on the Hadji one, I felt Okocha was robbed that year.

Sagamite:

Two wrongs does not make a right.

I would not use the past mistakes to justify future mistakes.

I was one of the people that felt highly uncomfortable when AFoY was awarded to Kanu not because of merit, but because of empathy for his heart problem discovery. I am a sucker for merit. I felt other worthy players were robbed of recognition for their hard work only to give people like Dayokanu a platform for their yeye argument that Kanu is the greatest because he won 2 WHOLE AFoY.

I am pretty sure if you dig into it, Mboma was probably injured most of that season because I remember he was a star man for Parma during that era, after being the sole-carrier of lowly club, Cagliari. That was when Seria A was a regular weekly show on Channel 4 in the UK. He was vital for his club and country and used to score fantastic goals.

I agree on the Hadji one, I felt Okocha was robbed that year.

Saga u dey surprise me today. So if we go by your logic (excuse) that Mboma was injured for most of the season, how then could he have been a justifiable winner? I just checked, he actually played 20 games in the 2000-01 season. Many strikers scored more than 20 goals that season. Mboma won on the strength of Cameroun winning the AFCON that year through controversial circumstances.

Katsumoto:

Saga u dey surprise me today. So if we go by your logic (excuse) that Mboma was injured for most of the season, how then could he have been a justifiable winner? I just checked, he actually played 20 games in the 2000-01 season. Many strikers scored more than 20 goals that season. Mboma won on the strength of Cameroun winning the AFCON that year through controversial circumstances.

Why can't he be a justified winner?

24 games is not enough to see someones quality? Added with many games for national team?

It is not about who plays the most games, logically, you have to give consideration for injury within reason.

I am sure many strikers scored 20 goals that season but, unfortunately, I doubt they were Africans.

I just checked, Etoo who came 3rd for AFoY scored 6. Worse still, Etoo scored 5 goals in 9 games for the national team, while Mboma scored 9 goals in 9 games and was more of the heartbeat of the team, which was one of the top 2 (with Nigeria) in Africa then.

By the way, Mboma won in 2000, so I think you should be checking season 1999 - 2000 or the matches throughout 2000.

I think you also forgot that Patrick Mboma helped Cameroun win the Olympic football gold in 2000 (their biggest achievement), where again he was second highest goalscorer of the tournament and top goalscorer for his country with 4 goals (helping them despite their horrible defence). His goals as usual were vital, scoring in the QF and SF. And the goal in the SF was an 84th minute equaliser (as usual coming from his snap unexpected shots exemplified at 2.04 of the video as well) and winning them the penalty that got them to the final.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--i2F3GLZYE

To summarise year 2000 for him:

- He was vital to the National team in winning the ACN, where he was one of the top goalscorers despite being the support scorer.
- He was vital to the Olympic team in winning the Gold, where he was one of the top goalscorers despite being the support scorer. Their biggest world football achievement so far.
- He was a star in his top European team. Support striker to Crespo.
- He scores fantastic and important goals when it counts.
- Very skilful and highly technical player.

That is very hard for any African to beat in that year.