Nigeria crashed out of the Confederations Cup in the group stages after a fairly impressive tournament, but were unlucky not to make it through to the next round. The Nigerian team had seen 2 Chelsea representatives take the pitch in Brazil – Omeruo and Mikel. The latter was very impressive in his attacking role as he found goal in phenomenal fashion vs Uruguay. Nonetheless, Mikel’s great performances as a playmaker sprouted up a question about his club role – playmaker or holding midfielder?
Before I get into that, let’s talk about how well Mikel did:
John Obi Mikel has been rated the best Super Eagles player at the FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil. (completesportsnigeria.com)
Nigeria crashed out of the tournament at the group stage Sunday night after losing 3-0 to reigning World and European champions,Spain at the Estadio Castelao in Fortaleza but FIFA,through its castrol index picked the Chelsea of England midfielder as the 20th best player after the completion of the group stage games and the best Nigerian player at the tournament.
The Castrol Index uses the latest FIFA tracking technology to capture data on each player, which will then be analysed by a team of Castrol Performance Analysts. Every pass, tackle and move on the field is measured and assessed to see if it has a positive or negative impact on a team’s ability to score or concede a goal. The team of Castrol Performance Analysts crunch all the data to award each player a Castrol Index score out of 10 – the stronger the player’s performance, the higher their score.
Mikel was awarded 8.45,the highest by any Super Eagles players at the tournament. He is also the only Nigerian player who made the top 20 list.
John Obi Mikel played in a different role than he’s accustomed to at Chelsea, he was the playmaker for Nigeria. He was found in forward positions, attacking and trying to split the defense with a pass. An unlikely sight at Chelsea, Mikel managed to score a rather spectacular goal vs Uruguay, said to be voted the best goal of the tournament (no confirmation).
Here’s what Mikel said regarding his more advanced role and his goal:

“I always try to do what my coaches tell me. At Chelsea, I have to play for the team and be more defensive. But in Nigeria, the coach allows me to express myself and I enjoy myself. Now, I have to find a balance between the two because it is important for my future.”

“I was very happy to score the goal. When Ideye passed the ball to me, I knew I just needed to beat the defender, and as soon as I did that, I just needed to be calm and put the ball where I wanted it.”

“It felt great to score a goal after so long. Now maybe I can score more”

And while Mikel impressed as a playmaker, it doesn’t seem as if he’ll get that chance at Chelsea with the likes of KdB, Juan Mata, Oscar,  Josh McEachran, etc. all keen on that position and Mikel, at the moment, is Chelsea’s best defensive midfielder, so his position remains pivotal to Chelsea’s success. Mikel is needed in that role for his country as he is one of the more talented players on the team, but at Chelsea, we have a beaucoup of players that are equally, if not more talented in the advanced position, while Mikel is the more talented in the holding midfield position.
It’s a great sight to see Mikel’s attacking midfield capabilities revealed on such a big stage and he has impressed in that role and we tend to forget that Mikel was an attacking midfielder when Mourinho first bought him and that he’s made him into one of the best holding midfielders in the Premier League and that’s exactly why he should stay there.
People have simply forgot about Mikel over recent seasons. Although he lacks pace, the Nigerian has all the tools to be amongst the top defensive midfielders in the world. Mikel has good positional awareness and tackling technique. While he does not show it at Chelsea, the Nigerian has a good range of passing as well. John Obi Mikel has been a quiet backbone of the Blues defense for years but has often been made the scapegoat by some fans, as it’s obviously sacrilege in some Chelsea circles to say anything negative about the great and mighty Frank Lampard. Mikel does a lot of work in the holding role with his retention of the ball, precise passing and good movement. Mikel is hugely underrated and has a calming influence on the Chelsea side, he is the most effective screen of the back four currently available. Playing anyone else there has simply resulted in a very unstructured team that are cut through too easily by average sides.
So for me, the answer is simple, Mikel has to play as a holding midfielder at Chelsea as he is an invaluable asset in that position. For the national team, he plays in a more creative role for the national team, where he can be more attack-minded and aggressive on the ball and that’s where he belongs for Nigeria.