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African Player Of The Year: Why Mikel Should Trump Yaya And Drogba - Sports - Nairaland

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Musa, Enyeama, 23 Others Nominated For African Player Of The Year 2014 / African Player Of The Year: Why Mikel Should Trump Yaya And Drogba , By Goal.com / Why Mikel, Moses And Omeruo Must Move From Chelsea (2) (3) (4)

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African Player Of The Year: Why Mikel Should Trump Yaya And Drogba by Tval(m): 11:22am On Jan 04, 2014
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 on SuperSport:
“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.

source : goal.com
Re: African Player Of The Year: Why Mikel Should Trump Yaya And Drogba by Taeewo(m): 11:28am On Jan 04, 2014
It shal b
Re: African Player Of The Year: Why Mikel Should Trump Yaya And Drogba by harbiola1(m): 11:32am On Jan 04, 2014
Mikel owns this one.

(1) (Reply)

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