Head coach of Burkina Faso, Paul
Put, has given reasons why John
Mikel Obi, was beaten to the
African Player of the Year prize
at the Glo/CAF Awards held on
Thursday, by Yaya Toure.
Put, whose team was beaten by
the Super Eagles in the 2013
African Cup of Nations finals,
said the Nigerian midfielder
was not consistent enough for
his club, Chelsea.
“The three nominees [Mikel,
Yaya & Drogba] were superb in
2013 but to be honest with you,
Yaya was the best because he
was outstanding for both club
and country,” Put told Goal.
“I could have
rooted for
Mikel to win
but not at the
expense of
Yaya who
added goal
scoring
responsibilities to his
dominance in the midfield of
his country and club and put up
man of the match performances
too.
“Mikel does not get to play
regularly for his club and I think
that was a big minus for him.
He has to work hard if he is to
be crowned the next African
Footballer of the Year.”
The Belgian tactician, also
expressed his disappointment,
at not being named the best
coach in Africa, ahead of
Stephen Keshi.
“I’m very disappointed because
when you are nominated on
two fronts – with the team and
as coach one would have
expected to win one prize.
“I had expected the Burkina
Faso team to win the team of
the year because we took the
continent by surprise. I am
strong in victory.
“We have to take a cue from
Nigeria because they are on top
right now so we are doing
everything possible to ensure
we follow their footsteps. That
is how we can move forward,”
Put said.
source: http://dailypost.com.ng/2014/01/10/paul-put-explains-mikel-obi-win-african-player-year/

Spot on