Nigerian International, John Obi Mikel, has stated that he is delighted with the role he is playing in the Super Eagles of Nigeria.

Mikel plays as a defensive midfielder for his club, Chelsea, acting as a shield for the back four, but with the national team,he is more offensive, playing closer to attack as a central midfielder.

The 26-year old has often been criticised for his lack of goal scoring opportunities, scoring only two goals since joining Chelsea, both in the FA Cup; but he has even scored more for Nigeria, bagging four goals in 51 appearances for his nation.

On how he would rotate between the roles at Chelsea and with the Super Eagles, Mikel said:
“I always try to do what my coaches tell me. At Chelsea, I have to play for the team and be more defensive,” he told KickOffNigeria.com

“But in Nigeria, the coach allows me to express myself and I enjoy myself.”

“Now, I have to find a balance between the two because it is important for my future.”

Mikel scored a spectacular goal for Nigeria at the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup,taking apart a defender after being teed up by Brown Ideye, to place the ball beyond Muslera, in Nigeria’s 2-1 loss to Uruguay in their second game of the tournament.

“I was very happy to score the goal; when Ideye passed the ball to me, I knew I just needed to beat the defender, and as soon as I did that, I just needed to be calm and put the ball where I wanted it,” Mikel said.

“It felt great to score a goal after so long. Now maybe I can score more,” he added.

Source: allsports.com.ng/2013/06/29/i-love-my-role-with-the-super-eagles-mikel/

thank u mikel,just keep doing what u know best and we will keep on supporting you

thegoodjoehunt: I hope he gets to play more creatively at Club level too

I pray so. If he continues like this the better for him, chelseas n 9ja. Goodluck.

It is very glaring that you express yourself in SE jersey but play with anxiety for Chelsea.