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.
Are you kidding me? Mikel should be better as a Deep Lying playmaker..or should be played in a 4-3-3 on the left or right,not as the holding midfielder,as a Free Role player. You’ve said it yourself,how can Mikel go back to being a Defensive minded player after his display in the Confederations cup? He played like he was Iniesta,and his passes are top notch. He is 26,and it’s time he plays in his natural position,or depart for another club. He should be given a fair shot at the Playmaker role atimes. Let Mikel not bother about defensive duties and you’d see the best of him! Mikel is world-class,and he hasn’t even started playing at his consistent best yet!.
Thats what I think!.
I like the way u have made the point of lampard. Chelsea should change formations,maybe 334
I personally think mikel can play as a deep lying defensive playmaker. There should be a communcation between the 2 pivot defensive midfielders.. May be when mikel is in advance role to attack then lampard must stay back to defend and when lampard too is at the right place to attack mikel als stays back…. He can play like modric, yaya toure or fellani…. Essien too use to play that role when he pair with lampard
Mikal is a holding midefider and not a playmaker
Good read.. but I think we can use him in a 4-3-3 as a CM as he is very strong and can hold of tackles.
Cech
Azpi Cahill/Iva Terry/Luiz Cole
Romeu/Josh mc
Ram/oscar Mikel/Lamps
Bruyne/Moses Mata/Oscar/lamps Hazard/Schurrle
Torres/Lukaku
I have not mentioned my preferred first team. But you can clearly see we have so many options.. The future looks very bright for Chelsea. KTBFFH 🙂
A very well written article,and i agree with the points you raised
i think mourinho should play mikel as a play maker their by his game will improve
i think mourinho should play mikel as a play maker their by his game will improve
Let Mikel be our Pirlo…. Deep Lying Playmaker Simple!
Obi mi, Well, as a true play maker or deep lying play maker all i want is that he should be giving free hand to work and not rubbish instruction that will kill him more, now that everyone have seen what he can do as a play maker. I think this is the right time for him to be giving chance. He is lot better than anyone in that position. Ready for the argument. He’s better that mata in that area. He can’t be easily tackled away on the ball, can help the team by gaining ball back from opponent. He’s full with many qualities not just someone that will be waiting for pass before creating chance for his strikers. Long killing passes and short destructing passes are all his qualities. He will tear any opponent apart with passes and goal. Mou, you converted our guy please return him to his normal position, you will who heaven and the earth by doing so. Blue for life.
Can I have what your smoking please? Making a statement that Mikel is better than Mata as a playmaker is like saying Messi is the worst player in the world.
win not who.
Mr Iroko, u don start abi? Lol
It z simple..he shud jes maintain a balance between both
..play defensive for Chelsea, playmaker for Nigeria? Now that’s just selfish! Consider the guy career too will you?.
True, he is the best holding midfielder we got right now; but after that confend cup ? Naa ! He deserve a shot at his natural position or least maintain a balance between both. His range of passing is WoW! He was Nigeria’s midfield maestro. Why kill his midfield brilliance? Cause we don’t have another DM?
Like I said, that’s just selfish.
He has a career to make the most of. Not being an underrated player. We are in the market for a DLP, we got a 2 in 1 in mikel. Let him move on if we don’t know his worth. He deserves better than being a “pass to the next man” type of DM (is he even best at DM?)
KTBFFH!
What about Mata, Oscar, Kdb?
looking back to 2005 when messi was the best youth player mikel was the second, and he achieved this feet as a play maker, i could remember how Chelsea and Man united fought a year long battle over mikel because of is qualities, but today nobody noticed mikel in Chelsea team be he has been instructed to always play very defensive, what a shame, and messi is always on the rise. play mikel up front and you will never regret that decision……
Eniola I agree with you
And the worst part is that most chelsea fans dont appriciate him
Mou. thought that he’s done so well by converting Mikel to defensive role, but he’s not. He just limited Mikel’s chances of becoming world best player. Check out Mikel’s goal at the confederation cup, it was lined up to be voted for as the goal of the tournament. Now, my question is, when will Chelsea see Mikel as a playmaker and not DM ?, secondly, Is Mou. going to allow Mikel to leave this summer as offers are in place for him?.