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.

w3r3! what has tribalism got to do wit dis talk,,,,it wil be avisably advisable for u to learn ao to tink outside d box.......







anu npama!

you have made a very valid point here but I don't think it's Mikel's fault if he is voted and he wins. It only shows that our African football stars are not doing well and need to upgrade in order to portray Africa better.

Who is best defensive midfielder in Chelsea fc? Mind u this is African footballer of the year and not BBC footballer of the year. Okocha won BBC footballer of the year 3 times but never won CAF footballer of the year.What substantial measurement have you to equate Yaya Toure and Mike. Mikel has 2 lorels. Voted man of the match in one of the CAF nations cup, has golden medal of CAF Nations CHAPIONSHIP and Europa cup winner. What will you equate yaha with, playing very well like Ibrahimovich against C. Ronaldo who snatched world cup ticket from him.

naija noni:
And u claim u follow chelsea very well.
FYI Mikel WAS INJURED towards the end of the season(including d europa cup finals).That
Mikel wasnt even listed on d bench,while Ake and and some reserve players were listed,confirmed his injury.
Also benitez used mostly fringe players for europa league matches(d likes of ake,benayoun,moses,torres,e.t.c).
While he used d 1st team players in d league matches becos he.
prioritized Making top 4 over winning d EL.It was only in d finals that benitez fielded the full 1st team,but mikel was injured.
Mata and Oscar started only TWO matches in d europa league out of 7 matches.
Mikel started 1 match.

Don't mind him,you should have allowed him continue spewing rubbish,we all know Mikel was injured prior to the finals,let's see what his gonna say now.

in your own said profession,are u recognised?are u even among d best 1million in ur state?

heykims:
yea of course I wont be fit to lace his boot but surely there re other African footballers that will fair better in d said boot. I am not a footballer.

guy,are u a NIGERIAN?

When Mustapha Hadji won it ahead of Jay Jay in 1998, does he deserve it?

Chelsea has only 6 regular playas oda players r bin rotated accordin 2 d match plan Obi is nt a bench warmer he has proven himself well in his club survived ova 7 coaches hu r among d best in d world, if he is nt important in his club dy wud v sold or loaned him out bt rada his income has increased greatly. Mind u, outside JT, Lampard,Chek n mayb Asheley Cole I don't think ders any playa in Chelsea dat has played more dan Obi. If he doesn't deserve AFOY is it drogba dat deserve it or yaya toure. Wer was yaya toure wen supa eagles defeated d elephants go n review dat match yaya wasn't a match 2 Obi. Its true dat prophets r nt honod in der place. Obi deserve it joor! He has won d UEFA champions cup, Europa cup, Nations cup so he is more decorated 2 win d AFOY

Football should be devoid of sentiments like the Op alluded to. And truth be told Mikel won't be the best representative of African football even as it pains me to say as a Chelsea fan and by extension a Mikel fan. I thought our goal keeper deserves it more. He has been outstanding but keepers are mostly overlooked.

However, the OP has been disrespectful to Mikel's achievements and his intelligence as a footballer. Only those with high football IQ would know what Mikel brings to a team. So introspect I forgive him.

naija noni:
We are talking about AFcon/National tournaments here and not CAF champions league.
Amunike performed well for zamalek,but that was NOT what made him earn dat award.It was his afcon performance.
A lot of african players performed far better dan him in europe in bigger leagues that year,why didnt they win it ??.
CAF champions league/african leagues are not so rated.Being outstanding in an african league wont earn u any top award.Or
Obinna nwaneri,aboutrika would have won african player of d year.
What made him win d award was his Afcon performance and NOT his performance in an average african league.

And the world cup

Look, the way the player of the year or player of a season is pick is by voting for the best outstanding player of the year! not the most success or the player most achieved! They gave Diego Forlan the best player of the world cup because he was outstanding they didnt give it to Iniesta, Villa, Busquet, Xabi or Xavi. Can you tell me a game Mikel did someone exceptional in the 12 months ( May be one or two) But Yaya Toure does it week in week out! If Arsenal wins the EPL we all know that the player of the season is not going to an Arsenal player but to Luis Suarez because he has been outstanding! Can you say Mikel has been outstanding last year?

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?

Fabio Cannavaro (a defender) won The 2006 Fifa World Best Player Award.
He won the World Cup and beat the likes of Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldinho to get the award.
Was he a better player or did he had more gameplay time than the laters? NO!

Keep hating!

May i never allow my hatred for someone becloud my sense of judgement just like it has done to some people.

I've already agreed with some of my Ibo brothers to import as many Transformers as possible and also in liason with PHCN For possible connection to 330KV lines because come Jan 9th many Haters will possibbly consider marrying one of those transformers as a possible solution to their Jealousy, because Mikel Obi is going to be the next African Footballer of the Year.Bunch of jealous Haters Haters

Yaya toure will win this

lildray: From all indications, dis guy knows nothing about football. Yes mikel is a bench warmer, but where was drogba and yaya when he won the nations cup, won the europa league, and participated at the confederations cup? F¤ck u @op

I thought Nigeria won the Nations cup or did Mikel win on his own

heykims:
.....wch is why I'm not a footballer, and am sure Mikel is also a nuisance in d profession where I flourish.

Where do u flourish? And I can tell u ur just kid in dat field.

i+wonda+hw+pple+watch+futbal+2+tink+dat+it's+a+disgrace+4mikel2+win+d+award+infact+hemerit+more+both+except+enyeama.

Dynast: Who is best defensive midfielder in Chelsea fc? Mind u this is African footballer of the year and not BBC footballer of the year. Okocha won BBC footballer of the year 3 times but never won CAF footballer of the year.What substantial measurement have you to equate Yaya Toure and Mike. Mikel has 2 lorels. Voted man of the match in one of the CAF nations cup, has golden medal of CAF Nations CHAPIONSHIP and Europa cup winner. What will you equate yaha with, playing very well like Ibrahimovich against C. Ronaldo who snatched world cup ticket from him.

So when Adebayor won in 2008, what medal did he have ?

striker9: @op,its either your a clown or desperate in need of undue attention,well congrats cause you ve gotten one today.Mikel might no be an outstanding player but bad mouthing and hating on him won't do you and your entire family any good.This is a player that is serving the nation,wearing the green white green jersey just to represent his nation,its obvious you are such an ingrate cause this guy has been doing the nation proud,I'm sure you were happy when naija won the AFCON.Its such a shame the only thing you could come up with is to open a thread about him,tongue lashed him for doing what he knows how to do best.Mikel has created name for himself,why don't you in your idle time think of how to make name for yourself rather than hating on another man's way of life.Waiting for your reply......................

I hav learnt nt to join words with your people again.Being stupid is jst ur second nature and it makes no sense trying to take d crown from ur ethnic group.The OP was jst being realistic,and even tipped Enyeama as a better candidate than Mikel. Any good analyst will tell u same thing.

omar22:

He didnt have any injury, Rafa Benithez said Ramires has the speed to cope with Benfica's Namanja Matic in the midfield, it was John Terry and Hazard that were injured.

Bro did you watch d back of ur t.v or was ur t.v black and white ??.
Mikel was just returning 4rm a hip injury. moses too wasnt 100% fit.Benitez didnt say any shiit.
Ramires didnt even play in any midfield,he played on d RIGHT WING.
Lampard patnered luiz in midfield.
Last season When mikel didnt start,he was always on d bench(d chelsea squad was too thing).
But in d finals,Mikel WASN'T EVEN ON THE BENCH,he wasnt listed in d 18 man list for d match.
Ake a reserve player was on d bench.
Mikel was not FIT,he just recovered 4rm injury few days before d finals.
Here is Mikel's injury/suspension history:-

Hip/Thigh Injury01/05/13 to 13/05/13 (EL finals was 16/05/13)
Knee Injury27/12/12 to 04/01/13
Suspended06/12/12 to 24/12/12
Hamstring23/12/11 to 09/02/12
Back Injury01/11/11 to 05/11/11
Knee Injury02/01/11 to 14/01/11
Knee Injury22/04/10 to 15/05/10

Nairaland has become Haterland with this hatred for Obi. The guy won UEFA Champions League and passes accurately. He dribbles a lot and he represents the young players with lots of laurels. When he was at the nations cup, u all were hailing him. But now that he's a finalist, you are beefing him. So much hatred. What did Toure your anointed guy win that made him better than Mikel? Stop hating and start living. I like Mikel. Just like all of us, he's not perfect but he's a work-in-progress

heykims:
U av only succeeded in defining what sentiment is.
So u av to consider Mikel for d title just coz u re both Nigerians even if there's a better African dt is more deserving?
Well, I'm more open minded nd consider being an African first before Nigeria in continental issues like ds.

if dem ask u wetin u don do u go say u don talk sense ....if u say toure is ahead of mikel presently I will say yes bt if u tell me he was ahead of mikel during 2012/13. I will call u nothing bt a liar....if u ar looking at goals toure scores. I will like to know how many goals makelele scored after almst 200 matches at chelsea (1) yet we hav nt seen a defensive midfielder like him...dnt even try mentioning tou.....cos during 2012/13 season mikel won champion lg,europa lg,afcon nd was among d top3 most outstanding player at afcon...my broda be fair in ur rating...I remember mikel ws d best player of chelsea against barca first leg of champion lg.....he defended with all he had nd it paid off...dey won

chelseaguy: Football should be devoid of sentiments like the Op alluded to. And truth be told Mikel won't be the best representative of African football even as it pains to say as a Chelsea fan and by extension a Mikel fan. I thought our goal keeper deserves it more. He has been outstanding but keepers are mostly overlooked.

However, the OP has been disrespectful to Mikel's achievements and his intelligence as a footballer. Only those with high football IQ would know what Mikel brings to a team. So introspect I forgive him.

football IQ? what does mikel do pls. he isn't a deep lying playmaker like pirlo and carrick, he isn't box to box like vidal nd yaya ,he doesn't have the positional awareness of busquets. please what is mikels strong point?? besides back passes

omar22:

So when Adebayor won in 2008, what medal did he have ?

Please clarify your self on your claim that Mikel was benched in the finals of Europa,I thought you were gonna prove me wrong when I said he was injured.

There are so many useless topics on NL these days.
There's no need trying to explain, cos its not a 50-50 argument from the OP...who doesn't actually knows what a bench warmer means. I honestly don't think u watch footie, cos if u did, u would have been more familiar with the words "Squad Rotation" which José loves more than everything. Everyone feels that, aside from Cech. Besides, Mikel has already started a lot of matches, more than I thought he would. We always give him a lot of hit. Cut the guy some slack, which should be proud of our own, and make him feel special, just like the British paparazzi sed to do for Beckham. He and the rest of the guys gave us all a lot of joy when they won AFCON, and Mikel really convinced many of us, by doing his talking on the pitch and totally outclassed the super Yaya in the game against them. Such awards are usually based on what the player has achieved/won in the past year. You can't even compare the trophies Mikel picked up with Yaya. At the end of the day, the coaches would decide, and whoever win, what does it matter. They are all great players doing Africa proud.... If its Didier, Mikel or Yaya, so be it. No need to bring any angst in here.

heykims:
.....wch is why I'm not a footballer, and am sure Mikel is also a nuisance in d profession where I flourish.

....a nuisance can buy the place u ply ur profession...u r a boody nobody....sucker

pumpingmachine: Nairaland has become Haterland with this hatred for Obi. The guy won UEFA Champions League and passes accurately. He dribbles a lot and he represents the young players with lots of laurels. When he was at the nations cup, u all were hailing him. But now that he's a finalist, you are beefing him. So much hatred. What did Toure your anointed guy win that made him better than Mikel? Stop hating and start living. I like Mikel. Just like all of us, he's not perfect but he's a work-in-progress

i have heard it all! mikel dribbles he doesnt run at players so how does he dribble?? try another rant

damoobaba:
I hav learnt nt to join words with your people again.Being stupid is jst ur second nature and it makes no sense trying to take d crown from ur ethnic group.The OP was jst being realistic,and even tipped Enyeama as a better candidate than Mikel. Any good analyst will tell u same thing.

You obviously too dumb to understand my post,abeg fade!

omar22:

And the world cup

Look, the way the player of the year or player of a season is pick is by voting for the best outstanding player of the year! not the most success or the player most achieved! They gave Diego Forlan the best player of the world cup because he was outstanding they didnt give it to Iniesta, Villa, Busquet, Xabi or Xavi. Can you tell me a game Mikel did someone exceptional in the 12 months ( May be one or two) But Yaya Toure does it week in week out! If Arsenal wins the EPL we all know that the player of the season is not going to an Arsenal player but to Luis Suarez because he has been outstanding! Can you say Mikel has been outstanding last year?

Mikel is not a flashy player that attracts praises. He's a team player of high intelligence with good control and retention. He usually plays to instruction and very discipline on the pitch.

damoobaba:
I hav learnt nt to join words with your people again.Being stupid is jst ur second nature and it makes no sense trying to take d crown from ur ethnic group.The OP was jst being realistic,and even tipped Enyeama as a better candidate than Mikel. Any good analyst will tell u same thing.

abegi you are all the same. What is good in suggesting that someone, your compatriot, is not good enough for the African title? Mikel has won 2EPL, One Champions league title, one Europa league, nations cup, FA. . . And he led the Super Eagles to victory. If u don't like him, just shut up. Do u think if Mikel sees this thread, he would be proud of playing for Nigeria? And you are talking nonsense. Mr. Analyst, analyze that

if you are a coach and you are to choose between Mikel or Yaya to be in your team, who will it be?

pumpingmachine: abegi you are all the same. What is good in suggesting that someone, your compatriot, is not good enough for the African title? Mikel has won 2EPL, One Champions league title, one Europa league, nations cup, FA. . . And he led the Super Eagles to victory. If u don't like him, just shut up. Do u think if Mikel sees this thread, he would be proud of playing for Nigeria? And you are talking nonsense. Mr. Analyst, analyze that

Apparently you are intelligent,the guy na mumu.