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Tribute To Mikel Obi As Sunset For His Int'l Retirement After AFCON 2019 - Sports (2) - Nairaland

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Re: Tribute To Mikel Obi As Sunset For His Int'l Retirement After AFCON 2019 by OGHENAOGIE(m): 11:57am On Jul 17, 2019
Ifedamolah:
Blame MOU if you want but Mikel would never have played pass 3 seasons in the EPL if Mourinho didnt change his position.
they don't know that one...mikel wouldn't have lasted in Man Utd...look at nwakali still a wanderer with arsenal...the best decision Mikel made was playing for Chelsea...all those saying he should have been a successor to okocha don't know Jack

2 Likes

Re: Tribute To Mikel Obi As Sunset For His Int'l Retirement After AFCON 2019 by Nobody: 12:05pm On Jul 17, 2019
Ifedamolah:
Blame MOU if you want but Mikel would never have played pass 3 seasons in the EPL if Mourinho didnt change his position.

They for loan am after one season and he wont have been this decorated

1 Like

Re: Tribute To Mikel Obi As Sunset For His Int'l Retirement After AFCON 2019 by Nobody: 12:07pm On Jul 17, 2019
This guy was supposed to be our national treasure. He just went on to have a mediocre career and never reached his youthful potential. He joined the likes of pato, Giovanni dos Santos , Theodore Walcott and many others who couldnt reach the hype they started with. Well done obi , we will miss your presence on the pitch

2 Likes

Re: Tribute To Mikel Obi As Sunset For His Int'l Retirement After AFCON 2019 by HeadofWhite(m): 12:10pm On Jul 17, 2019
Don't mind him naso yansh him Dey tale hold ball
Re: Tribute To Mikel Obi As Sunset For His Int'l Retirement After AFCON 2019 by Mogajunior(m): 12:15pm On Jul 17, 2019
I HOPE HE PLAYS IN TODAYS MATCH.
Re: Tribute To Mikel Obi As Sunset For His Int'l Retirement After AFCON 2019 by Bossjakande: 12:16pm On Jul 17, 2019
robosky02:
Full Name: John Michael Nchekwube Obinna
Date of Birth: 22 April 1987.
Nationality: Nigerian
Country of birth: Nigeria
Place of birth: Jos
Position: Midfielder
Height: 186 cm
Weight: 86kg
Foot: Both
Player’s agent: John Shittu
Current club: Chelsea FC
In the team since: Jul 19, 2006


Early Life

Mikel John Obi (born April 22, 1987) is a Nigerian footballer. He is an attacking midfielder who currently plays for Chelsea.
He was born John Michael Nchekube Obinna, the son of a former civil servant. Mikel was playing top-flight football for Plateau United aged 15 and, by 2003, was gaining headlines for his country at the FIFA Under-17 World Championships held in Finland. After a brief spell in South Africa with Ajax Cape Town, Mikel gained global recognition in 2005 by starring at the FIFA World Youth Championship where Nigeria were beaten 2-1 in the final by Argentina.

During the 2003 FIFA Under-17 World Championships, commentators continually misspelled his middle name of “Michael” as “Mikel.” He decided to keep the new name, saying that it had a special ring to it.
On April 29, 2005, a few days after Mikel turned 18, English Premier League side Manchester United F.C. announced that it had struck a deal with Lyn Oslo to sign the player.

United’s website also claimed that they had done a deal directly with the teenager and that he had signed a contract to join them. Mikel’s agents were bypassed as the club persuaded the youngster to sign a 4 year contract without representation.

Lyn Oslo allegedly sent a fax to his agents abroad, claiming their services were no longer required by Mikel. Reports said the deal was initially worth £4m,[3] and would see the player arrive at Old Trafford in January 2006. Rival Premier League side, Chelsea F.C., later issued a counter-claim suggesting that they already had an agreement with Mikel and his agents, but Lyn Oslo denied this claim. However, subsequent reports indicated that Chelsea claimed to have been involved in arranging the player’s original move to Europe with a view to signing him at a later date.

Mikel expressed his delight at joining United in a hastily arranged press conference, where he was pictured holding up a Manchester United shirt, which bore the squad number 21. Following his signing of the contract to join Manchester United, there were claims from Norway that he had received a number of threatening phone calls from unknown sources. Mikel was assigned a security guard and moved to a safe hotel.

However, on May 11, 2005, the midfielder went missing during a Norwegian Cup game against Klemetsrud; he had not been selected for the match but had been watching from the stands. Whilst the player was believed to have left with one of his agents, John Shittu, who had by now flown in to meet Mikel, his disappearance sparked massive media coverage in Norway and also provoked a police enquiry after the Lyn Oslo director Morgan Andersen made claims in the Norwegian media that Mikel had been ‘kidnapped’. These claims were later repeated by Manchester United’s assistant manager Carlos Queiroz, who accused Chelsea of being involved in the alleged ‘kidnapping’.

It subsequently emerged that Mikel had travelled to London with his agent John Shittu. Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson considered travelling to Oslo to visit Mikel, but decided against this after Mikel was reported to have left the country. Staying in a London hotel, and some nine days after disappearing, Mikel stated on Sky Sports News that he had been pressurised into signing the contract with United, claims furiously rebuffed by both Manchester United and Lyn Oslo. Mikel also claimed that he had asked the clubs for a week to think about it, but that this request was refused and the clubs pressured him into signing without his advisors being present.

Mikel’s claims, if true, would mean that Manchester United had acted in breach of FIFA and FA rules. Mikel told the British media that Chelsea were the club he genuinely wanted to sign for. In response to these events, United made an official complaint to FIFA about the behaviour of both Chelsea and the player’s agents, John Shittu and Rune Hauge, already infamous for his role in the George Graham bungs scandal. FIFA replied to this complaint in August 2005 stating there was insufficient evidence to bring a case against Chelsea FC.

In the summer of 2005, Mikel played for Nigeria at the FIFA U-20 World Youth Championships held in the Netherlands. He had an excellent tournament as Nigeria reached the final, where they were unlucky to lose 2-1 to Argentina. Mikel won the silver ball after being voted the tournament’s second best player.

Following the tournament, Mikel failed to return to Lyn Oslo, and the club lodged a complaint with FIFA. On August 12, 2005, FIFA ruled that Mikel should return to Lyn Oslo to see out his contract with the Norwegian club, whilst they would decide at a later date whether the contract he signed with United should be upheld or cancelled. After a delay of over a month, Mikel complied with the FIFA decision and returned to Lyn Oslo in early September 2005 after a three month absence.

Rather than leaving FIFA to determine the validity of the contract signed with Manchester United, Chelsea FC intervened by volunteering to settle the transfer saga through negotiation with Lyn Oslo and Manchester United.

On June 2 2006, Chelsea, Manchester United and Lyn Oslo reached a settlement to resolve the future of the player. Mikel’s registration was to be transferred from Lyn to Chelsea; Manchester United agreed to terminate their option agreement with Mikel. Under the terms of this agreement Chelsea agreed to pay Manchester United £12million, half paid upon the finalisation of the contract and the other half in June 2007, and Lyn £4million, half payable immediately, and half payable in June 2007. As a result of this settlement, all claims in this matter were withdrawn. On July 19 2006 Chelsea were granted a work permit for the midfielder after they completed the £16million signing in June 2006. On July 31 2006 he stated that he prefers to be called Mikel John Obi instead of John Obi Mikel, as he had most commonly been called.

Mikel made his debut for Nigeria’s senior team on August 17 2005, when he came on as a second-half substitute in a 1-0 friendly win over Libya. He did not play for the national team again prior to being named in the squad for the 2006 African Cup of Nations. In Nigeria’s first group game, which was against Ghana, Mikel was an unused substitute. However, he was introduced into the second game, against Zimbabwe, early in the second half. Within ten minutes of coming on, he had supplied both the corner that resulted in Christian Obodo heading the game’s opening goal, and scored Nigeria’s second goal.

He made his first international start in Nigeria’s final group game, a 2-1 victory over Senegal. As of February 7 2007, Mikel has earned five international caps and scored one international goal. During the cup, Mikel said that he had been instructed not to make any public comments about his club career.[14] FIFA is to investigate claims that Mikel had received death threats.

On September 12, 2006, Mikel made his first start for Chelsea in the Uefa Champions League against Levski Sofia and took a powerful shot which the goalkeeper failed to save and Didier Drogba pounced on the rebound. Mikel received many positive comments for his performance in the match. However, since being sent off in a match against Reading on October 14, 2006, Mikel was fined on three separate occasions by Chelsea for turning up late to training. At the time Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho was also believed to have strong reservations about his lifestyle outside of Stamford Bridge and the club was reportedly considering offloading the player.

Mikel was dropped for over a month, during which his father Michael voiced his concerns over his son’s behaviour. After improved punctuality and showings at training sessions, Mikel earned a recall for Chelsea’s Champions’ League group away game against Werder Bremen on the November 23, 2006. Mikel scored his first goal for Chelsea in their 6-1 FA Cup victory over Macclesfield Town on January 6, 2007.

He also scored against Nottingham Forest in the following round of the competition. During Chelsea’s triumph in the League Cup in 2007, Mikel was sent off in injury time after clashing with Kolo Toure, the incident was followed by a huge fracas, in which Emmanuel Adebayor of Arsenal was sent off, Francesc Fabregas and Frank Lampard were booked and Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger were involved in a kerfuffle on the pitch.

Mikel was sent-off for the third time in his career in September 2007, when Mike Dean dismissed him for a tackle on Manchester United defender Patrice Evra. Chelsea appealed against the red card but the three-match suspension was upheld. He was also sent off in the semi-final of the League Cup against Everton, for a challenge on Phil Neville. Despite this, he came back strongly to round off what has been a good first two seasons for him at Chelsea.

The summer of 2008 saw veteran midfielder Claude Mak�l�l� transferred to French club PSG, leaving the defensive midfield position vacant. Throughout the 2008/09 season, Mikel saw a great deal of playing time due to an injury to Michael Essien. During this period of increased action, Mikel performed admirably in the role. His ever-improving game was praised by Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari, and his importance to the team was underlined when he provided the free kick that Salomon Kalou scored to equalise against Manchester United.

He played so well in the 2008–09 season that he was nominated for the club player and young player of the season. On January 24, 2009, Mikel was charged with drunk driving, just hours before an FA Cup game against Ipswich Town– Mikel was not due to play in the game as he was serving a suspension. Although he had all that trouble on 22 July, Mikel signed a new five-year contract with Chelsea.

On 13 February 2010, Mikel provided a long ball for Didier Drogba to latch onto and fire past goalkeeper David Marshall as Chelsea beat Cardiff City 4-1 in the FA Cup Round of 16. Mikel provided another assist for a Drogba goal in a 5-0 win over FA Cup finalists and relegated side Portsmouth on 24 March, as Chelsea cut United’s lead at the top of the table to one point. Mikel played the full ninety minutes in Chelsea’s 7-1 smashing of Aston Villa three days later as Chelsea kept pace in the title race with Manchester United.

In their next Premier League game against United, Mikel played excellent as a marshall in midfield as Chelsea climbed above United in the table with a 2-1 win at Old Trafford, thanks to goals from Joe Cole and Drogba.

Under new manager Carlo Ancelotti, Mikel continued to perform with efficiency in his defensive midfield role as he notched up 32 appearances for the Blues and in May 2010 received Premier League and FA Cup winner’s medals as part of Chelsea’s first ever league-cup double winning team. Mikel and Chelsea started the new Premier League campaign where they left of the 2009-10 season, playing strong defense and adding deadly finishing. Mikel played the full 90 and helped keep three clean-sheets in the first three games as Chelsea eased past West Brom 6-0 on 14 August, crushed Wigan Athletic 6-0 at the DW Stadium seven days later and edged past Stoke 2-0 on 28 August.

Mikel was the preferred option in defensive midfield as teammate Michael Essien spent most of the season on the sideline with knee injuries. The injury to the versatile Essien forced the club to play new signing Ramires more often in the second half of the season. Mikel featured in 28 Premier League campaigns for Chelsea as the London side finished in second place, nine points behind champions Manchester United. Following the disappointment of not winning a title and an abismal 1-0 loss to Everton on the final day of the season, Italian manager Carlo Ancelotti was sacked by the club.

Before the start of their league campaign, Mikel’s father was abducted in his native Nigeria on 10 August; despite this, Mikel started in the club’s opening fixture against Stoke City at the Britannia. Mikel came close to claiming his first Premier League goal for Chelsea in an inspired game as the sides played out a 0-0 draw in new coach Andre Villas-Boas’s first game in charge.

Due to Michael Essien’s long term knee injury, Mikel found more playing time, but around Christmas time he lost his place to Chelsea’s new signing Oriol Romeu. Following a run of disappointing fixtures including a catastrophic 3-1 loss to Napoli in the Champions League Round of 16 first leg and a 1-0 defeat to West Brom, Villas-Boas was sacked by Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich. In both of these matches Mikel was an unused substitute for The Blues. Following the appointment of former Chelsea midfielder Roberto di Matteo, Mikel appeared in 16 of the club’s last 20 games and started in 14 of them, and began to play some of his best football for the club.

Mikel played the full 90 minutes in Chelsea’s 2-1 victory over Liverpool in the FA Cup final on 5 May 2012, picking up a yellow card in the 36th minute. The Premier League campaign saw Mikel appear in 22 league fixtures, starting 15 of them, as well as playing in eight fixtures leading up to the team’s appearance in the Champions League final against Bayern Munich.

In the final in Munich on 19 May, Mikel played the full 120 minutes as the sides played out a 1-1 draw. Chelsea played a tough defensive battle and Mikel was hailed by Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp as playing an excellent game putting in “in a performance that I didn’t think he had in him; he was putting out fires everywhere,” as Chelsea claimed a 4-3 victory in the penalty shootout.

Following his performance Mikel told reporters that it was “best night of our lives.” Mikel’s strong performances in the final stages of the season and his impressive display in Munich helped Chelsea secure Champions League football next season despite finishing in sixth place, knocking London rivals Tottenham Hotspur into the Europa League.

Honours

Chelsea
Premier League: 2009–10
FA Cup: 2006–07, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2011–12
League Cup: 2006–07
FA Community Shield: 2009
UEFA Champions League: 2011–12

Individual Awards
U-20 World Cup Silver football 2005
African Young Player of the Year: 2005, 2006
Chelsea Young Player of the Year: 2007, 2008.

https://www.nigeriagalleria.com/Nigeria/Personality-Profiles/Footballers/Mikel-Obi.html
oga use ur Brian Mikel win league in 2015 and uefa cup in 2013
Re: Tribute To Mikel Obi As Sunset For His Int'l Retirement After AFCON 2019 by olumalcolm(m): 12:19pm On Jul 17, 2019
Thank you Mikel for a wonderful 13years. You have tried ur best. Some of dose bashing him here don't even knw d direction dia life is going not to tlk of being successful. He has done well for himself, and for dat fowl dat said he insulted tuface, oga tuface never complained to you and d last time i checked, we are all hustling cos of money so head to head financially, Mikel will fry tuface. Also Mikel for now does not have any funny scandal compared to tubaba who is a fada of all nation, though he still remains one of my favorite artists but pls let Mikel be, he has done well for himself and his generation. If u doubt, go ask his siblings. angry

3 Likes 1 Share

Re: Tribute To Mikel Obi As Sunset For His Int'l Retirement After AFCON 2019 by thedio(m): 12:19pm On Jul 17, 2019
At last this guy did not fulfil his potential, thou he achieved a lot as a team player but individually he missed it. Imagine this guy at u-17 and u-20 level I thot we av gotten naija version of zidane with his vision,accurate passes both long and short,turning and shielding opponent but he failed to build on those qualities. He made realized I was wrong for criticizing FIFA when Messi was given the golden ball in 2005.

2 Likes

Re: Tribute To Mikel Obi As Sunset For His Int'l Retirement After AFCON 2019 by Adiwana: 12:26pm On Jul 17, 2019
Some of yall don't know shit about football.Rhis guy has won everything there is to win to football and some still question him??lmao

2 Likes 1 Share

Re: Tribute To Mikel Obi As Sunset For His Int'l Retirement After AFCON 2019 by arantess: 12:43pm On Jul 17, 2019
Lawalemi:
His exit wasn't glorious except he can redeem that image in today's match
In a dead rubber 3rd place match, yes
Re: Tribute To Mikel Obi As Sunset For His Int'l Retirement After AFCON 2019 by ejemamaka: 12:50pm On Jul 17, 2019
Re: Tribute To Mikel Obi As Sunset For His Int'l Retirement After AFCON 2019 by handsomeyinka(m): 1:00pm On Jul 17, 2019
robosky02:
Full Name: John Michael Nchekwube Obinna
Date of Birth: 22 April 1987.
Nationality: Nigerian
Country of birth: Nigeria
Place of birth: Jos
Position: Midfielder
Height: 186 cm
Weight: 86kg
Foot: Both
Player’s agent: John Shittu
Current club: Chelsea FC
In the team since: Jul 19, 2006


Early Life

Mikel John Obi (born April 22, 1987) is a Nigerian footballer. He is an attacking midfielder who currently plays for Chelsea.
He was born John Michael Nchekube Obinna, the son of a former civil servant. Mikel was playing top-flight football for Plateau United aged 15 and, by 2003, was gaining headlines for his country at the FIFA Under-17 World Championships held in Finland. After a brief spell in South Africa with Ajax Cape Town, Mikel gained global recognition in 2005 by starring at the FIFA World Youth Championship where Nigeria were beaten 2-1 in the final by Argentina.

During the 2003 FIFA Under-17 World Championships, commentators continually misspelled his middle name of “Michael” as “Mikel.” He decided to keep the new name, saying that it had a special ring to it.
On April 29, 2005, a few days after Mikel turned 18, English Premier League side Manchester United F.C. announced that it had struck a deal with Lyn Oslo to sign the player.

United’s website also claimed that they had done a deal directly with the teenager and that he had signed a contract to join them. Mikel’s agents were bypassed as the club persuaded the youngster to sign a 4 year contract without representation.

Lyn Oslo allegedly sent a fax to his agents abroad, claiming their services were no longer required by Mikel. Reports said the deal was initially worth £4m,[3] and would see the player arrive at Old Trafford in January 2006. Rival Premier League side, Chelsea F.C., later issued a counter-claim suggesting that they already had an agreement with Mikel and his agents, but Lyn Oslo denied this claim. However, subsequent reports indicated that Chelsea claimed to have been involved in arranging the player’s original move to Europe with a view to signing him at a later date.

Mikel expressed his delight at joining United in a hastily arranged press conference, where he was pictured holding up a Manchester United shirt, which bore the squad number 21. Following his signing of the contract to join Manchester United, there were claims from Norway that he had received a number of threatening phone calls from unknown sources. Mikel was assigned a security guard and moved to a safe hotel.

However, on May 11, 2005, the midfielder went missing during a Norwegian Cup game against Klemetsrud; he had not been selected for the match but had been watching from the stands. Whilst the player was believed to have left with one of his agents, John Shittu, who had by now flown in to meet Mikel, his disappearance sparked massive media coverage in Norway and also provoked a police enquiry after the Lyn Oslo director Morgan Andersen made claims in the Norwegian media that Mikel had been ‘kidnapped’. These claims were later repeated by Manchester United’s assistant manager Carlos Queiroz, who accused Chelsea of being involved in the alleged ‘kidnapping’.

It subsequently emerged that Mikel had travelled to London with his agent John Shittu. Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson considered travelling to Oslo to visit Mikel, but decided against this after Mikel was reported to have left the country. Staying in a London hotel, and some nine days after disappearing, Mikel stated on Sky Sports News that he had been pressurised into signing the contract with United, claims furiously rebuffed by both Manchester United and Lyn Oslo. Mikel also claimed that he had asked the clubs for a week to think about it, but that this request was refused and the clubs pressured him into signing without his advisors being present.

Mikel’s claims, if true, would mean that Manchester United had acted in breach of FIFA and FA rules. Mikel told the British media that Chelsea were the club he genuinely wanted to sign for. In response to these events, United made an official complaint to FIFA about the behaviour of both Chelsea and the player’s agents, John Shittu and Rune Hauge, already infamous for his role in the George Graham bungs scandal. FIFA replied to this complaint in August 2005 stating there was insufficient evidence to bring a case against Chelsea FC.

In the summer of 2005, Mikel played for Nigeria at the FIFA U-20 World Youth Championships held in the Netherlands. He had an excellent tournament as Nigeria reached the final, where they were unlucky to lose 2-1 to Argentina. Mikel won the silver ball after being voted the tournament’s second best player.

Following the tournament, Mikel failed to return to Lyn Oslo, and the club lodged a complaint with FIFA. On August 12, 2005, FIFA ruled that Mikel should return to Lyn Oslo to see out his contract with the Norwegian club, whilst they would decide at a later date whether the contract he signed with United should be upheld or cancelled. After a delay of over a month, Mikel complied with the FIFA decision and returned to Lyn Oslo in early September 2005 after a three month absence.

Rather than leaving FIFA to determine the validity of the contract signed with Manchester United, Chelsea FC intervened by volunteering to settle the transfer saga through negotiation with Lyn Oslo and Manchester United.

On June 2 2006, Chelsea, Manchester United and Lyn Oslo reached a settlement to resolve the future of the player. Mikel’s registration was to be transferred from Lyn to Chelsea; Manchester United agreed to terminate their option agreement with Mikel. Under the terms of this agreement Chelsea agreed to pay Manchester United £12million, half paid upon the finalisation of the contract and the other half in June 2007, and Lyn £4million, half payable immediately, and half payable in June 2007. As a result of this settlement, all claims in this matter were withdrawn. On July 19 2006 Chelsea were granted a work permit for the midfielder after they completed the £16million signing in June 2006. On July 31 2006 he stated that he prefers to be called Mikel John Obi instead of John Obi Mikel, as he had most commonly been called.

Mikel made his debut for Nigeria’s senior team on August 17 2005, when he came on as a second-half substitute in a 1-0 friendly win over Libya. He did not play for the national team again prior to being named in the squad for the 2006 African Cup of Nations. In Nigeria’s first group game, which was against Ghana, Mikel was an unused substitute. However, he was introduced into the second game, against Zimbabwe, early in the second half. Within ten minutes of coming on, he had supplied both the corner that resulted in Christian Obodo heading the game’s opening goal, and scored Nigeria’s second goal.

He made his first international start in Nigeria’s final group game, a 2-1 victory over Senegal. As of February 7 2007, Mikel has earned five international caps and scored one international goal. During the cup, Mikel said that he had been instructed not to make any public comments about his club career.[14] FIFA is to investigate claims that Mikel had received death threats.

On September 12, 2006, Mikel made his first start for Chelsea in the Uefa Champions League against Levski Sofia and took a powerful shot which the goalkeeper failed to save and Didier Drogba pounced on the rebound. Mikel received many positive comments for his performance in the match. However, since being sent off in a match against Reading on October 14, 2006, Mikel was fined on three separate occasions by Chelsea for turning up late to training. At the time Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho was also believed to have strong reservations about his lifestyle outside of Stamford Bridge and the club was reportedly considering offloading the player.

Mikel was dropped for over a month, during which his father Michael voiced his concerns over his son’s behaviour. After improved punctuality and showings at training sessions, Mikel earned a recall for Chelsea’s Champions’ League group away game against Werder Bremen on the November 23, 2006. Mikel scored his first goal for Chelsea in their 6-1 FA Cup victory over Macclesfield Town on January 6, 2007.

He also scored against Nottingham Forest in the following round of the competition. During Chelsea’s triumph in the League Cup in 2007, Mikel was sent off in injury time after clashing with Kolo Toure, the incident was followed by a huge fracas, in which Emmanuel Adebayor of Arsenal was sent off, Francesc Fabregas and Frank Lampard were booked and Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger were involved in a kerfuffle on the pitch.

Mikel was sent-off for the third time in his career in September 2007, when Mike Dean dismissed him for a tackle on Manchester United defender Patrice Evra. Chelsea appealed against the red card but the three-match suspension was upheld. He was also sent off in the semi-final of the League Cup against Everton, for a challenge on Phil Neville. Despite this, he came back strongly to round off what has been a good first two seasons for him at Chelsea.

The summer of 2008 saw veteran midfielder Claude Mak�l�l� transferred to French club PSG, leaving the defensive midfield position vacant. Throughout the 2008/09 season, Mikel saw a great deal of playing time due to an injury to Michael Essien. During this period of increased action, Mikel performed admirably in the role. His ever-improving game was praised by Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari, and his importance to the team was underlined when he provided the free kick that Salomon Kalou scored to equalise against Manchester United.

He played so well in the 2008–09 season that he was nominated for the club player and young player of the season. On January 24, 2009, Mikel was charged with drunk driving, just hours before an FA Cup game against Ipswich Town– Mikel was not due to play in the game as he was serving a suspension. Although he had all that trouble on 22 July, Mikel signed a new five-year contract with Chelsea.

On 13 February 2010, Mikel provided a long ball for Didier Drogba to latch onto and fire past goalkeeper David Marshall as Chelsea beat Cardiff City 4-1 in the FA Cup Round of 16. Mikel provided another assist for a Drogba goal in a 5-0 win over FA Cup finalists and relegated side Portsmouth on 24 March, as Chelsea cut United’s lead at the top of the table to one point. Mikel played the full ninety minutes in Chelsea’s 7-1 smashing of Aston Villa three days later as Chelsea kept pace in the title race with Manchester United.

In their next Premier League game against United, Mikel played excellent as a marshall in midfield as Chelsea climbed above United in the table with a 2-1 win at Old Trafford, thanks to goals from Joe Cole and Drogba.

Under new manager Carlo Ancelotti, Mikel continued to perform with efficiency in his defensive midfield role as he notched up 32 appearances for the Blues and in May 2010 received Premier League and FA Cup winner’s medals as part of Chelsea’s first ever league-cup double winning team. Mikel and Chelsea started the new Premier League campaign where they left of the 2009-10 season, playing strong defense and adding deadly finishing. Mikel played the full 90 and helped keep three clean-sheets in the first three games as Chelsea eased past West Brom 6-0 on 14 August, crushed Wigan Athletic 6-0 at the DW Stadium seven days later and edged past Stoke 2-0 on 28 August.

Mikel was the preferred option in defensive midfield as teammate Michael Essien spent most of the season on the sideline with knee injuries. The injury to the versatile Essien forced the club to play new signing Ramires more often in the second half of the season. Mikel featured in 28 Premier League campaigns for Chelsea as the London side finished in second place, nine points behind champions Manchester United. Following the disappointment of not winning a title and an abismal 1-0 loss to Everton on the final day of the season, Italian manager Carlo Ancelotti was sacked by the club.

Before the start of their league campaign, Mikel’s father was abducted in his native Nigeria on 10 August; despite this, Mikel started in the club’s opening fixture against Stoke City at the Britannia. Mikel came close to claiming his first Premier League goal for Chelsea in an inspired game as the sides played out a 0-0 draw in new coach Andre Villas-Boas’s first game in charge.

Due to Michael Essien’s long term knee injury, Mikel found more playing time, but around Christmas time he lost his place to Chelsea’s new signing Oriol Romeu. Following a run of disappointing fixtures including a catastrophic 3-1 loss to Napoli in the Champions League Round of 16 first leg and a 1-0 defeat to West Brom, Villas-Boas was sacked by Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich. In both of these matches Mikel was an unused substitute for The Blues. Following the appointment of former Chelsea midfielder Roberto di Matteo, Mikel appeared in 16 of the club’s last 20 games and started in 14 of them, and began to play some of his best football for the club.

Mikel played the full 90 minutes in Chelsea’s 2-1 victory over Liverpool in the FA Cup final on 5 May 2012, picking up a yellow card in the 36th minute. The Premier League campaign saw Mikel appear in 22 league fixtures, starting 15 of them, as well as playing in eight fixtures leading up to the team’s appearance in the Champions League final against Bayern Munich.

In the final in Munich on 19 May, Mikel played the full 120 minutes as the sides played out a 1-1 draw. Chelsea played a tough defensive battle and Mikel was hailed by Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp as playing an excellent game putting in “in a performance that I didn’t think he had in him; he was putting out fires everywhere,” as Chelsea claimed a 4-3 victory in the penalty shootout.

Following his performance Mikel told reporters that it was “best night of our lives.” Mikel’s strong performances in the final stages of the season and his impressive display in Munich helped Chelsea secure Champions League football next season despite finishing in sixth place, knocking London rivals Tottenham Hotspur into the Europa League.

Honours

Chelsea
Premier League: 2009–10
FA Cup: 2006–07, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2011–12
League Cup: 2006–07
FA Community Shield: 2009
UEFA Champions League: 2011–12

Individual Awards
U-20 World Cup Silver football 2005
African Young Player of the Year: 2005, 2006
Chelsea Young Player of the Year: 2007, 2008.

https://www.nigeriagalleria.com/Nigeria/Personality-Profiles/Footballers/Mikel-Obi.html
Did you study history in school?
Re: Tribute To Mikel Obi As Sunset For His Int'l Retirement After AFCON 2019 by Tonymegabush1(m): 1:09pm On Jul 17, 2019
All of una way dey beef mikel uche nu ga adikwa ya ooooo maka ula na nti mmadu
Re: Tribute To Mikel Obi As Sunset For His Int'l Retirement After AFCON 2019 by ofiko123(m): 1:13pm On Jul 17, 2019
Mikel has paid his dues let him retire in peace...

1 Like

Re: Tribute To Mikel Obi As Sunset For His Int'l Retirement After AFCON 2019 by Nobody: 1:27pm On Jul 17, 2019
he should only redeem his lost glory
Re: Tribute To Mikel Obi As Sunset For His Int'l Retirement After AFCON 2019 by Chukalemon(m): 1:46pm On Jul 17, 2019
Mikel hasn't retired yet
Re: Tribute To Mikel Obi As Sunset For His Int'l Retirement After AFCON 2019 by Ladygenny: 2:33pm On Jul 17, 2019
He will be missed, how I wished he lifted the �
Re: Tribute To Mikel Obi As Sunset For His Int'l Retirement After AFCON 2019 by Austineva(m): 2:44pm On Jul 17, 2019
Great guy. U have my love
Re: Tribute To Mikel Obi As Sunset For His Int'l Retirement After AFCON 2019 by olajizz01(m): 2:53pm On Jul 17, 2019
Herdsmenson:
messi is the real GOAT.

Nobody can compete with him
But Mikel was exceptionally good at that 2005 even than Messi,if not the whitemen partial, they would have been the winner of the tournament.
Re: Tribute To Mikel Obi As Sunset For His Int'l Retirement After AFCON 2019 by robosky02(m): 4:30pm On Jul 17, 2019
Mikel Is Better Than Okocha… Here’s Why


Super Eagles supporters are currently arguing with themselves on social media over who is the better player between 1996 Olympic Winner Austin Jay Jay Okocha and 2013 AFCON winner John Obi Mikel

Jay Jay Okocha is regarded as one of the best midfielders to have played the game despite his inability to win many major club trophies, while Mikel is regarded as one of Chelsea's all-time legend.

Throughout the 18 years of his playing career, the former Bolton and Paris St-German star managed to win two major trophies with PSG and one AFCON glory.

On the contrary, Mikel Obi won many trophies during his days at Stamford Bridge and helped the Super Eagles to their third AFCON glory in 2013.
The 32-year-old has been a great player for Nigeria since his days with Samson Siasia's Under-20 team whom he led to a second-place finish behind Argentina in the 2005 World Youth Championship.


Since his professional debut with FK Lyn 14 years ago, Mikel has won nine trophies in club football, including one Champions League, three FA Cup, one League Cup, one FA Community Shield and one Europa League.

Okocha is no doubt the most skilful player of the two but his inability to win many trophies was his greatest undoing and that's why many fans believe the former Lyn youngster has an edge over him.

Irrespective of their individual achievements in club football, Mikel and Okocha are Nigerian legends who deserve much respect and accolades from fans.
Mikel currently seeking for a new club after playing for Championship side Middlesbough while Okocha retired from active football in 2008.
Re: Tribute To Mikel Obi As Sunset For His Int'l Retirement After AFCON 2019 by pek(m): 4:45pm On Jul 17, 2019
robosky02:
Full Name: John Michael Nchekwube Obinna
Date of Birth: 22 April 1987.
Nationality: Nigerian
Country of birth: Nigeria
Place of birth: Jos
Position: Midfielder
Height: 186 cm
Weight: 86kg
Foot: Both
Past clubs: Chelsea FC
In the team since: Jul 19, 2006


Early Life

Mikel John Obi (born April 22, 1987) is a Nigerian footballer. [s]He is an attacking midfielder who currently plays for Chelsea.[/s]
He was born John Michael
https://www.nigeriagalleria.com/Nigeria/Personality-Profiles/Footballers/Mikel-Obi.html
This turned me off completely. Copy and paste is a disease. Op, learn to edit intelligently. Someone who doesn't know may believe that trash there. FYI, there is a difference between sunset and sun set. The latter is the right one to have used.

1 Like

Re: Tribute To Mikel Obi As Sunset For His Int'l Retirement After AFCON 2019 by robosky02(m): 6:13pm On Jul 17, 2019
Mikel is indeed an amazing player

Started

AFCON in Egypt 2006

Ended

AFCON in Egypt 2019

Re: Tribute To Mikel Obi As Sunset For His Int'l Retirement After AFCON 2019 by Nobody: 6:39pm On Jul 17, 2019
robosky02:
ok done thanks

Oya modify ur post grin
done
Re: Tribute To Mikel Obi As Sunset For His Int'l Retirement After AFCON 2019 by Angelfrost(m): 6:43pm On Jul 17, 2019
Niyiboi:
What went wrong with Mikel Obi? I remembered his comparison with Messi back then in 2005 u20 world cup.

Bench warming.... And playing defensive roles instead of attacking roles. God "bless" the special one. cry

1 Like

Re: Tribute To Mikel Obi As Sunset For His Int'l Retirement After AFCON 2019 by robosky02(m): 8:09pm On Jul 17, 2019
International
Total match played for
Nigeria senior team

Year. Apps Goals
2006. 5. 1
2007. 4. 0
2008. 8. 1
2009. 5. 0
2010. 7. 0
2011. 8. 0
2012. 2. 1
20131 6 1
20141 3. 0
2015. 3. 0
2016. 5. 1
2017. 4. 1
2018. 5. 0
2019. 5. 0
Total 90. 6

Re: Tribute To Mikel Obi As Sunset For His Int'l Retirement After AFCON 2019 by robosky02(m): 9:26pm On Jul 18, 2019
REAKING – Super Eagles Captain Mikel Obi announces retirement from International football
Mo Saliu 0 July 18, 2019 12:59 pm


Super Eagles Captain, John Mikel Obi has retired from international football.

The former Chelsea and Middlesbrough midfielder made the announcement on Thursday afternoon after leading the Nigerian team to a bronze medal finish at the 2019 African Cup of Nations.

 




Mikel, 32, took to his Instagram page to make the much-awaited announcement.

 

Read post:

Egypt is a country where I’ve started and have finished my National career. In 2006 I played my first official championship for my Country. 2019 African Cup of Nations marks my last championship for National Team with Super Eagles. 

My national career started in 2003 under 17 World Cup and I’m grateful for the national team for placing me on the world arena and giving me an opportunity to show my skill and have an incredible National and International career. 

At the age of 32, it’s time for me to retire from the National team and let the youth take over, who’ve done an amazing job securing a bronze medal at AFCON 2019. 

Thank you to all my Nigerian supporters and to my Country for all the trust, support and love you’ve shown me over the past 15 years.

Mikel out!

 

Mikel represented the Nigeria under-20 team at the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship and won the Silver Ball for the second-best player at the tournament (behind Lionel Messi) as the Africans finished runner-up to Argentina.

 

He made his debut for the Nigeria senior team on 17 August 2005, when he came on as a second-half substitute in a 1–0 friendly win over Libya.

 

At the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, Mikel was a key player for Nigeria as they went on to win their third continental title. He was named by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in the team of the tournament alongside teammates Vincent Enyeama, Efe Ambrose, Victor Moses, and Emmanuel Emenike.
Re: Tribute To Mikel Obi As Sunset For His Int'l Retirement After AFCON 2019 by robosky02(m): 4:02pm On Jul 19, 2019
Badboibipo:
This guy was supposed to be our national treasure. He just went on to have a mediocre career and never reached his youthful potential. He joined the likes of pato, Giovanni dos Santos , Theodore Walcott and many others who couldnt reach the hype they started with. Well done obi , we will miss your presence on the pitch

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