Kizmarty: On the contrary...
why Mikel Deserves AFOY

Nigeria’s John Obi Mikel will go head to head against Cote D’Ivoire pair Yaya Toure and Didier Drogba for the Caf African Footballer of the Year award to be announced at a gala in Lagos on January 9.
The trio emerged finalists for the award after Caf pruned the list of 10 players on Monday. Those dropped include Nigerian trio of Vincent Enyeama, Emmanuel Emenike and Ahmed Musa, Egyptian veteran Mohamed Aboutreika, Burkinabe midfielder Jonathan Pitroipa, Ghana’s Asamoah Gyan and Gabon’s Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang.
First time nominee Mikel will attempt to unseat reigning player of the year Toure and former winner Drogba. Both Ivoirians have won the award twice, with Yaya hoping to make it three wins on a spin.
In a year where national team football accolades will be key to the award, Mikel should expect to get a favourable look in by the coaches of the 53 national associations that make up the voting pool.
The Chelsea midfielder led Nigeria to Africa Cup of Nations title in February 2013, helping the Super Eagles defeat the Ivoirians in a testy quarter final encounter along the way.
Having won the Goal Nigeria Player of the Year Award for the second time in 2013 among many other accolades, Mikel certainly looks good enough for the African title this term.
With key performances that showed him as the fulcrum of the Nigerian side that broke a 19-year barren run, Mikel has placed himself at a vantage point. After all, he is the only one among the trio that has ever won an Afcon title.
While the Ivoirians have succeeded at their club sides, they have never been able to bring their talent to bear on the continent.
Such is the disappointment that has trailed the so-called Golden Generation of Ivory Coast who have been unable to back up their immense talent with a title at senior national team level.
At every point when they had been expected to make their number count, Drogba, Yaya & co. have failed, picking up two Afcon silver medals in 2006 and 2012 and finishing fourth in 2008.
Yaya Toure | Can he make it a third straight award?
Despite arguments that an award of this kind is supposed to be individual in nature, that is, it should only be about the tantalising goals and headlines that a footballer makes, it will be a disservice to the game if players who win championships as part of a whole group are overlooked.
At the Nations Cup, Mikel shone far above the Ivoirian duo as he was named man of the match three times and made the official team of the tournament.
He scored a goal at the Confederations Cup and also helped his country qualify for the 2014 World Cup, the first time in more than a decade that a reigning Afcon winner will play at the Mundial
His performances in the past year received lots of praise from many quarters including one major endorsement from Zambia legend Kalusha Bwalya who said onSuperSport: “He’s good enough for the African footballer of the Year award.”
Taking nothing away from Yaya’s performances as the Elephants qualified for the World Cup and his impressive displays for Manchester City, Mikel certainly made the biggest impact in African football last year with the Super Eagles.
Seven years after winning his last Young Player of the Year award, the Chelsea midfielder surely deserves to win the 2013 Caf African Player of the Year award

God bless you Oga.

[b]
Mikel really impressed last year no doubts buh that doesn't guarantee him the award.. Even Enyeama woulda been a better choice for the award.. The only notable thing is the Europa Cup he lifted and the Nations Cup too.. Think of it, @ d Nations cup, Sunday Mba was the star man.. @ the Confed Cup, Mikel tried but it was an average performance.. @ Chelsea, he's being benched not cuz his coach is biased, Mikel's Gameplay needs a complete Overhaul.. I've seen DMF's n CMF's that are damn good.. Sergio Busquets | Cheik Tiote | Fernandinho | Cabaye | Yaya Toure etc, These dudes throw in crunching Tackles, break-up play, Spread passes and ease burden off the team.. What can Mikel Do, Throw tackle and still play a Back Pass(Most times Unnecessary).. I Think the award should go to Yaya Toure.. He's been consistent, a tireless worker and full of contribution on pitch.. Incase u are still confused, here are details:

Lemme Compare Yaya | Mikel..

Consistency - Yaya Toure
Defence Splitting Passes - Yaya Toure
Shots - Yaya Toure
Goals - Yaya Toure
Hold up Play - Yaya Toure
DMF Role - Mikel
CMF , AMF - Yaya Toure
Dribbles, Movement - Yaya Toure
Aerial Threat - Yaya Toure
Set-Piece Threat - Yaya Toure
Team Stat - Yaya = 90% Contribution
Team Stat - Mikel = 35% Contribution

How come people saying Mikel Deserves Baller
of The Year.. He's Good Though, Buh Yaya is a
Beast, A Monster and the Best Black Midfielder
in the world.. Yaya is among Top Ten
Midfielders Right Now in the World.. There's no Club in the world that can afford to Bench Yaya Toure with the kind of form he's on @ d Moment.. A
Midfielder who sprays Long range passes with
both Feet, Throws in Tackles, Drives through opposition defense, Splits defense with passes, Takes shots from anywhere.. I Like Mikel's Defensive duties
buh I Don't like any Dude that Makes
use of Sideways Passes and Backwards Passes..

Nuff Said..
[/b]

This OP don drink again.

adavize: My view on this is that there was no outstanding African player in the season in review. Yaya, who I think is Mikel closest rival to the award did poorly in the nations cup. His team did not win epl or get out of the group stage of champion league.
Also the selection I think is voted by coaches and captains of African teams. I stand to be corrected. Am not really sure. If am wrong I apologize but if that is the case then OP don't discredit mikel because he performed better than Yaya at the nation cup and both had a poor outing in the epl. Remember in the year under review. Last season.
I only hope mikel can be a little more adventurous when playing for Chelsea and score goals. Its pathetic that he has only three goals to his name since he joined Chelsea. Even terry a defender has scored more goals and pls don't tell me its the position he plays. Ramires also plays DM and scores even Ivanovic at RB has scored goals. Mikel is a good player but he has not achieved to his true potential as an individual

Pls boss how many goals did canavaro score when the italians won the world cup and he later moved on 2 be crowned the world footballer of the year?

All these people calling Mikel a bench warmer, how many times has he failed to make the starting line up for Di Mateo & Mourinho?

Bad belle no good oooo!!! Na so una hate Chelsea reach? Pull him down syndrome! Ok if Mikel wins poster G & D!!!

@op

Your writing this stupid nd hate laced piece is indeed an insult to nairaland. I‘m not surprised anyway cos you are from the Igbo hating tribe west side of the Niger. Am sure you are pained that neither Obafemi Martins nor Dele Alampasu got a mention.

Growing up is really a choice.. Must we be tribalistic and sentimental all the time?... OP merely aired his view.... ur entitled to your own opinion... not call someone a bad belle Or other names for his thoughts. If Mikel wins it.. good for him and if he doesn't... garri go still sell for market.

lolaxavier:

Your comment is smeared with so much emptiness and off-key points. The guy has made very solid points. You even shot yourself in the leg by saying Mikel obi might not be so much of an outstanding player but he his very good playing his role in chelsea and nigeria especially. To win CAF player of the year, you obviously and definitely need to be outstanding. When the likes of George Weah, Mustapha Hadji, Abedi Pele etc won it, they were outstanding. What Enyeama is doing in France is called outstanding, same goes for Yaya Toure. Mikel plays well for Chelsea but can you refer to his performances as outstanding? I see no difference in what Mikel is doing at Chelsea and what Mulumbu is doing at West Brom. Common, won't it be a disgrace to soccer in Africa if a player whose position in his club is uncertain now wins player of the year? Believe me, it will make one think if African football is heading towards the right direction.
If there is no Toure and Enyeama in existence and considering the current status of Mikel, I'd rather suggest the award be kept in the cupboard till another year when an outstanding and exceptional player surfaces.

Thank you!!!!

total and practical rubbish,first of all i am seriously contesting your claim that you are a Nigerian. and if indeed you are then i think you should know that Nigeria comes first before any British club you have gone to sell your loyalty to,and lastly for the mere fact you can even suggest that any Nigerian player doesn't deserve it then my brother you need to see a doctor quickly before the madness moves to the permanent site.

heykims: It is January and very soon , the African footballer of the year 2013 will be named in Lagos Nigeria precisely on the 9th of January. The player to be crowned with this feat should however be very much evaluated and deemed fit to earn this prestigious honour because his personality on the field of play either in the national team or club will go a long way in speaking for African football.

CAF released the final 10-man shortlist of the contenders of this prestigious award last year and interestingly, four Nigerian players made the list. Many Nigerians and even Africans have however tipped John Obi Mikel as the possible winner evident from the fact that he won the Nations cup last year, Europa cup in Europe, participated in d Confederations cup and so on.

MY VIEW
As a Nigerian and a proud African, I see it as not just underscoring but extremely insulting to African football if a player like Mikel wins the award. How can a mere bench warmer in Europe be crowned the African footballer of the year just by virtue of the fact that his national team wins a title or his club wins the European league?

A deserving footballer of the hear should be such that is very resourceful both at home and in clubs. A reigning footballer of the year should at least even make the top three best player in his club even if he doesn't get a spot in the FIFA ranking.

Mikel Obi surely can't make the best ten in Chelsea's team despite being a senior player. I'm of the view that its better not to name anyone the footballer of the year than titling a bench warmer in Europe, what a mock, an insult I can't tolerate as an African.

Nigerians should be please stop being sentimental, selfish and self centred and canvass for a better representative for African football.

Left to me, if at all a Nigerian merits the award, it is Vincent Enyeama, the Nigeria's assistant skipper at goal but Cote d'Ivoire's Yaya Toure surely represents Africa better.

What's your view?

Pablojerry: You guys are just a bunch of sadists.
Mikel deserve this award more than the others becos he met both head to head, he may not be as skillfful as but he gets the job done ..just imagine if Mikel were to nationalize for England or spain..he is better than carrick yet carrick get rave reviews because he is white.
he was so good that Man utd and chelsea had to settle in court to get him to play for them..
moral..LEARN TO APPRECIATE YOUR OWN.

How many head to head were they between Mikel and Yaya Toure last year?


How many England managers rate Carrick? None


They settled out of court back in 2006 when he came 2nd to Messi, please how many individual award has Messi won since then?

safarigirl: Some people are shameless sha. Anyways, as far as I'm concerned, the fact that Drogba made top 3 over a class act like Enyeama is already a disgrace on it's own. We might as well complete the disgraceful act by dashing Mikel the award, bunch of shameless niggurs.

Thoughtful lines 4rm d Op, but U spoke my mind.

My gr8txt shocker was havin Drogba shortlisted @d Expense of sum beta fellas.

Well, lyk u said, so I've always done - "Fake a joke, I fake my Smylz"

Krasid: They should just give the award to yaya, so as not to disgrace Africa.Mikel is good but he is not world class.

Can u pls describe who is a world class player?

sul4:


Pls boss how many goals did canavaro score when the italians won the world cup and he later moved on 2 be crowned the world footballer of the year?

________________________________________
I don't think cannavaro scored any goal. I clearly stated that Mikel deserves to win if the coaches and captains who vote give it to him because he outplayed yaya in the nations cup.
I then went on to say I wished mikel will do more as per his goals output. So that op and others will appreciate mikel more. You could compliment someone and also advice him to improve or work harder. Don't you think so?.
After all if mikel no score next year for world cup some of us go begin shout and almost tear TV. My oga abi you no go shout if mikel no score for world cup.

Neatboy: It is hightime we started telling each other the truth. Truly if you are talking about achievement Mikel is ahead of Toure. But if we are talking about individual brilliance Toure is ahead. The question is: what are the criteria? Because, if it is strictly by individual brilliance I think Jay Jay should have been crowned during his time. This thing is African Best not European Best. We are talking about a player that has taken his continent to the next level in football via his national team and also club. How is the African Best female player crowned? Is it by their individual performance in their European clubs or by what they have achieved and done for their nations? Listen, by individual brilliance Mikel is just 35% but by achievement he is 90%. By individual brilliance Toure is 60% but by achievement he is 40%. What has he (Mikel) not achieved except the FIFA World Cup, and which level of football has he not played and performed well? I thank God you said that it's your own personal view or opinion.

Yaya Toure has won more trophies than Mikel...FACT

omar22:

How many head to head were they between Mikel and Yaya Toure last year?


How many England managers rate Carrick? None


They settled out of court back in 2006 when he came 2nd to Messi, please how many individual award has Messi won since then?

Thanks bro. At times I dfo wonder why we can't apprecite our thing. There was a time when Okocha deserve this Award, it was some of you haters that wrote so many useless Articles against him. At the end of the day it was given to Etoo. African Footballer Award is meant for the previous season not the present.

ROCK-J:
The OP is so full of hate.... I don't know what Mikel did to him. Judging by performance last season, yaya won nothing for both club and country. Mikel won nations cup for country and Europa league for club... Doesn't this answer the question? Op pls jump off onitsha bridge, use naked wire brush teeth.

Messi won nothing in 2012 he won the Ballon d'or

Mustapha Hajji won African player of the year playing for Aston Villa winning nothing!

like I said its how exceptional you perform and not the club

I support Mikel Obi

adavize:
________________________________________
I don't think cannavaro scored any goal. I clearly stated that Mikel deserves to win if the coaches and captains who vote give it to him because he outplayed yaya in the nations cup.
I then went on to say I wished mikel will do more as per his goals output. So that op and others will appreciate mikel more. You could compliment someone and also advice him to improve or work harder. Don't you think so?.
After all if mikel no score next year for world cup some of us go begin shout and almost tear TV. My oga abi you no go shout if mikel no score for world cup.

Are you aware this happened last year as well Yaya passing a static Mikel


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jM96n3xKqeA

heykims: I'm just amazed why ppl re this much sentimental, its an obvious fact wch requires no lengthy debate. Im sure those dt av commented in favour of Obi so far re just tribalist who re not just Nigerians but hails from d same geographical zone wt d overhyped chelsea player. I pray d plague of tribal sentiment doesnt ruin Africa.
I just hope CAF doesnt mock Africa come Jan 9.

You must be a raging lunatic. This is not about tribe. I put it to you that you are a tribalist! You look at every issue through a tribal perspective. Don't you see how messed up u sound. IMHO, Mikel winning this award is a downright indication of how low our continents football is.

Roon9: Your comment is smeared with so much hate and its glaring that you know nothing in football. Mikel obi might not be so much of an outstanding player but he his very good playing his role in chelsea and nigeria especially. U know nothing about what a defensive midfielder does n you obviously didn't watch chelseas games last season. Surely he won't get d crown but he deservingly made the list. Stop blabbering bros! Cheers

.

@OP, when it comes to such an award influence, consistency and individual performance in the national team, clubside and behaviour on and off the pitch should be considered.

Mikel has consistently and quietly done a brilliant job over many years at Chelsea.

His performance against Messi/Barca in 2012 Champions league semi was the best DM performance I have seen since the early 1990s AC Milan side. Yes it's outside the period under review but should count for something. Then also the Europa Cup.

It takes a great player and much discipline to go against his explosive instinct as a midfielder and instead do all the thankless and dirty DM job.

His leadership and consistency on the pitch during AFCON was exceptional. Especially holding on to a narrow advantage against BF in the final.

If Italy hadn't won 2006 World cup, Cannavaro would never have won FIFA World player of the year.

Yahaya would deserve the award in a non-AFCON year, but not this time.

Verdict: Mikel gets the nod.

@ OP, you've made your point.

Please who do you think deserve the award for the year 2012/13 and why?

OP is obviously a dimwit just like the bunch of idi.ots that baselessly criticise him on the pitch at viewing centres and here on nairaland. However, my post is not directed to the senseless OP but to those responsible for putting topics on front page, i think they are sort of biased as i ve seen a couple of threads praising this guy but never made front page while the thread from a 'not too intelligent' person is given the honour.


@OP, Mikel will win it so...
GO AND DIE!!!
www.nairaland.com/1431091/celebrating-hero-john-obi-mikel

omar22:

Yaya Toure has won more trophies than Mikel...FACT

.

Can you please list them head to head in order of importance like Champions league, AFCON, Europa cup etc?

pls am kinda confused here...an european best playa is given to any player frm any nationality as far as d player plays in europe...bt an african best is given to an african hu plays in europ or wereva bt might neva av even played a game on african soil...sha d white men are wiser n dnt ask me y

omar22:

Yaya Toure has won more trophies than Mikel...FACT

Biggest lie in 2014 thus far. Why can't we Nigerians appreciate our own? SMH

Make dem dash award to Samuel Eto na my sake abeg

salemdv: If him win am abeg go wrestle am 4rm am. Bad belle wey no fit last 20min ontop pitch

he does not have what it takes to who the award.

Krasid: They should just give the award to yaya, so as not to disgrace Africa.Mikel is good but he is not world class.

Though I'm not a Chelsea fan, Mikel deserves it. He did a lot for his country and club last year. At least he won a trophy.
For Nigeria, I need not mention his many achievements. See, AFOY does not always go to the perceived best player, but the player who made the most impact.

If CAF decides to give this award to yaya instead of Mikel, to me it means they have sold their 'birth right' to the Europeans. How else would you explain awarding someone whose bragging rights come from what he plays in Europe rather than what he played in Africa?
In a year that the nations cup w was played, the winner of the Africa player of the year should come from an outstanding player from the champions of Africa (AFCON is bigger than the English premiere league)

And to all those saying Mikel is a bench warmer, please check your facts ….. as at last weekend Mikel has been capped 597 times for Chelsea... He has played regularly under 6 different Chelsea coaches so I don't understand why anyone would rate him a bench warmer

You are very right OP but most Nigerians will find it hard to agree with you.

Area-Fada:
.



His performance against Messi/Barca in 2012 Champions league semi was the best DM performance I have seen since the early 1990s AC Milan side. Yes it's outside the period under review but should count for something. Then also the Europa Cup.
.

The award is for 2013 not 2012 so bin that thought

He didn't play the Europa final

Debroslink:
Biggest lie in 2014 thus far. Why can't we Nigerians appreciate our own? SMH

Can you kindly list every major trophy Mikel won please?

Remember that Yaya won EVERYTHING at Barcelona including European Super cup and World club cup