Nigeria coach Samson Siasia has advised Chelsea player John Obi Mikel to quit the Blues if he wants to re-capture his flair and attacking instincts. According to Siasia, Mikel lost his flair when he moved to the London outfit 5 years ago. This is a statement i could not agree with more. Mikel was never a defensive midfielder.
Nigeria was recently banned by FIFA for government interference and it is still not clear whether the world governing football body will withdraw its suspension in time for the Super Eagles next Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in March next year.
Speaking to MTN Football.com, Siasia was quoted as saying that Chelsea’s system ‘destroyed’ Mikel.
“The system in Chelsea actually destroyed Mikel’s game. Mikel is an offensive player, but when he moved to Chelsea, they changed him because they had a better player offensive wise like Frank Lampard who can score goals,”
I don’t think he is playing in his natural position because we all saw what Mikel played in 2005 and everybody loved him for what he did, he can keep the ball and create chances for the strikers to score goals.
In 2005, Mikel was the heart of the Nigerian U-20 team. He not only led them to runner’s up position, but he was also voted the second best player of the tournament behind Lionel Messi.
“That was why Chelsea actually gave him a contract, but getting there they had two top players, Lampard and Michael Ballack. Lampard scores goals and so what (Jose) Mourinho did was to bring Mikel back because how many goals has Mikel scored? He brought him back so that Lampard and Ballack played offensive.”
Although Siasia paid glowing tribute to Mikel, he made it clear that the only way Mikel would become a great player is if he quit Chelsea.
“Mikel is a fantastic player, but if you want to be a great player, you have to take risks, do something extra. As a defensive midfielder, you do not have to do much; you just win the ball and pass to the other player. The offensive player takes on more responsibilities,”
“He has to start playing more offensive to become the Mikel we knew. But if it would be difficult to change the way he is playing, he has to move to another club.”
If Mikel were to return to his former playing position, i like many know that he would definitely become an indispensable part of Ancelotti’s line up.
