The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Mikel

  • ‘Minor’ knee injury rules Mikel out of QPR match

    ‘Minor’ knee injury rules Mikel out of QPR match

    Super Eagles midfielder, John Mikel Obi has been ruled out of today’s Premier League home game against QPR after failing to recover from a ‘minor’ knee injury.

    The Nigerian international is among the 25 man squad released by Coach Stephen Keshi for the double header 2015 Cup of Nations qualifying matches against the Red Devils of Congo and Bafana Bafana of South Africa this month,

    The 27-year- old was in action for 80 minutes before being replaced by Nemanja Matic  in the team’s 2-1 win over Shrewsbury Town in the Capital One Cup on Tuesday.

    Chelsea revealed the absence of Mikel in the clubs injury news on the club’s official website on Friday.

    “John Mikel Obi misses the home game against QPR on November 1 due to a minor knee injury”, the club said on its website.

    Also Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho, who confirmed Diego Costa’s and Ramires’ fitness, said  Mikel and Loic Remy will not be available against QPR at Stamford Bridge.

    “Costa is available, it’s good news for us,” Mourinho said. “It’s been difficult for us having only one striker [Didier Drogba] available. When you have two the situation improves.

    “We don’t have Mikel, it’s not good for us because he is always an option, but the fact we have Ramires back is a compensation for that loss. The situation is a bit better,” Mourinho noted.

     

  • Igiebor backs Mikel

    Igiebor backs Mikel

    Nosa Igiebor has come to  the defense of his Super Eagles teammate, John Obi Mikel, as the Chelsea man continues to come under intense scrutiny and criticism.

    Mikel has been chiefly blamed for the Super Eagles’ recent calamitous and ponderous displays and also heavily criticised for his often lethargic performances but Igiebor, who knows a thing or two about playing with Mikel, says the former Lyn Oslo playmaker doesn’t deserve as much blames as he’s getting.

    “I don’t think he deserves as much blame as he’s getting because he has done well in my opinion.

    “I know it’s natural for the fans to criticise you when the team isn’t doing and they probably have the right to do so but it happens when you don’t win.

    “But I would say he did well really, maybe not his best but he has done well,” Igiebor opined.

    The former Real Betis of Spain midfielder however admitted that Mikel did tire out in the second half of both games, but reckoned that it was the case with the entire team.

    “I think maybe he got tired in the second half of the games, but it wasnt just him, it was the entire team. It affected everybody not just Mikel,” he added.

    Meanwhile,Igiebor added that it would have been a whole lot different had Nigeria won any or both games.

    “I think it would’ve been different if we had won.It’s easy to see faults when you don’t win and that exposes you to criticism but to me Mikel did well and that’s it,” he concluded.

  • NSC Chief: Drop Mikel

    NSC Chief: Drop Mikel

    Institutional deputy director of Sports at the National Sports Commission, Dr Ademola Are has urged coach Stephen Keshi to act brave and drop Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel in today’s AFCON 2015 qualifiers against South Africa.

    “I think Keshi should drop Obi, let him be brave enough to do it, playing with Obi at the World Cup and in the last game against Congo failed to deliver the expected result, it is about time he tries something else by dropping him,” Are told SL10.ng

    “Keshi dropped Joseph Yobo from his starting team at the Nations Cup when it was clear he was becoming a liability to the team, I trust him to do same to John Obi Mikel, it’s about time.”

    Are remained optimistic that the Eagles will do well against South Africa and maintained that Keshi is still the right man as coach of the Super Eagles,but urged Nigerians not to expect too much from today’s game.

    “I am confident in the Eagles, one game won’t make me lose faith in them. Keshi is still the man despite the mistakes he made in the last game and I am confident they will get a good result against South Africa, but Nigerians should not expect a victory as South Africa are also a quality side,” he added.

    “A good result in my opinion will be a keenly contested draw or a hard fought win. I don’t see the Eagles losing though.”

  • Eagles camp bubbles

    Eagles camp bubbles

    • As Mikel, Onazi, six others  arrive

    Lunch time in Calabar for the Super Eagles technical crew was a delight yesterday, as camp suddenly upped to 17, with more players expected before training in the evening after only nine players trained in the morning session.

    Head Coach Stephen Keshi and his assistants were grinning from ear to ear as Ahmed Musa, Ogenyi Onazi, Efe Ambrose, Kenneth Omeruo, Juwon Oshaniwa, Sone Aluko, John Mikel Obi and stand-in captain Austin Ejide arrived on time to have lunch with the rest of the team.

    The spirit in the camp  is very buoyant with the arrival of the super stars and Keshi said he expects the best from the players on Saturday in the game against Congo.

    The national team Head Coach also announced that he has decided to replace Vincent Enyeama, who is absent for personal reasons with El Kanemi of Maiduguri first choice keeper, David Obiazor.

  • Ice Bucket Challenge: Terry nominates Mikel

    Ice Bucket Challenge: Terry nominates Mikel

    Chelsea captain, John Terry has nominated Super Eagles’ star John Mikel Obi for the The Ice Bucket Challenge,  designed to raise money and awareness for the neurodegenerative illness ALS.

    Terry became the latest football star to take the Ice Bucket Challenge following Chelsea’s 3-1 victory over Burnley in the EPL last Monday and took the opportunity to take revenge on a former manager.

    The Blues skipper managed to thank Ashley Cole and Stiliyan ‘Stan’ Petrov for nominating him before tipping a bucket of freezing water over his head and letting out a scream that would scare a banshee.

    And then the veteran defender nominated Frank Lampard, Mikel and Rafa Benitez.

    Terry was at his commanding best on Monday as Chelsea overcame a shaky start to beat Premier League newcomers Burnley at Turf Moor.

    Despite winning the Europa League that season, Benitez failed to win over the Chelsea faithful after comments made when he was Liverpool boss.

    He left Stamford Bridge to find some success in winning the Coppa Italia with Serie A side,Napoli.

    The ice bucket challenge, social media’s latest craze, is designed to raise money and awareness for the neurodegenerative illness ALS.

    Other players to have taken the challenge include Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, Daniel Sturridge, Darren Fletcher and Paul Scholes.

  • Chelsea top EPL table

    Chelsea top EPL table

    • Mikel plays for 10 minutes

    Super Eagles star,  Mikel Obi featured for ten minutes as Chelsea came from behind to defeat newly promoted side Burnley 3-1 away from home in their first game of the season.

    Chelsea went behind in the first half as Scott Arfield rifled in a shoot that left Thibaut Courtois stranded but the Blues responded with two quick goals from new signing Diego Costa and German International Andre Schurrle.

    Branislav Ivanovic sealed victory for Chelsea in the 34th minute with a simple finish from a Cesc Fabregas corner to make it 3-1 as the Blues top the EPL log.

    Mikel’s compatriot Victor Moses was sent on a season long loan to Stoke City for the 2014-15 season but the former Lyn Oslo star preferred to stay and fight for his place amid transfer speculations.

     

  • Mikel ‘staying’ at Chelsea

    Mikel ‘staying’ at Chelsea

    Super Eagles midfielder, John Mikel Obi, is unlikely to leave Chelsea this summer despite reports claiming he is being touted around Europe.

    “Mikel has been given assurances by manager Jose Mourinho.

    “Although he is not the first choice, he`s the first person Jose turns to when he wants a particular job done,” kickOffNigeria.com quoted an unnamed source as saying to VitalFootball.

    “The manager knows he can just slot him in there and he`ll do a great job.”

    “Jose has told Mikel he is still part of his plans for next season.”

     

  • I worked hard for Eagles at World Cup – Mikel

    I worked hard for Eagles at World Cup – Mikel

    Super Eagles midfielder, John Mikel Obi, has defended his World Cup performance, claiming he tried to play for the team rather than seek glory.

    The Chelsea midfielder continues to be the brunt of criticism following what has been widely perceived as a disappointing World Cup display, but the 27 year-old claimed he is being unfairly criticized.

    “I tried to do my best to work hard for the team. We play together and nobody wants to be a Maradona because in our team, everybody has to play for each other,” Mikel told KickOffNigeria.com.

    “All I wanted to do was work hard for the team and not to look for glory, but people don’t see that.

    “You don’t always have to dribble everybody to help the team. And the coach knows that I was doing my best.”

    Mikel admitted that his game fell short of the standards he set at the Confederation Cup last year, but said there was a slight change in styles.

    “The Confederations Cup was a learning experience for us, and I think I was a little more forward there, but now I had to do more work for the team.

  • Mikel returns to Chelsea Monday

    Mikel returns to Chelsea Monday

    Super Eagles midfielder, John Mikel Obi, is expected to join the rest of the Chelsea squad for pre-season training on Monday.

    Mikel, along with Nigerian compatriot Victor Moses, were given extended breaks after their World Cup exertions, and are now set to report for club duty, according to John Shittu.

    “Mikel has been on break resting. But he is going to Austria on Monday to meet up with the rest of the team,” Shittu, who looks after Mikel’s affairs, told KickOffNigeria.com.

    “I don’t know where people got the information that he was left out of the squad. He played at the World Cup, and he got a break from the club.

    “It’s the same thing with some of the other players who got to the same stage.”

    Regarding Mikel’s immediate future, Shittu said the player will stay at Chelsea. “For now, he is not going anywhere. He will fight for his place. But this is football, and anything can happen at any time.”

  • Inter snub Mikel for Medel

    It has been reported that Chelsea are desperate to get John Obi Mikel off the wage bill before the close of the summer transfer window, with the midfielder proposed to several Italian teams for a transfer fee in the region of 6 million Euros.

    The Nigeria international is surplus to requirements at Stamford Bridge following the acquisition of Fabregas and the imminent arrival of German World Cup winner Sami Khedira from Real Madrid.

    Before the World Cup, the Nigeria international was heavily courted by Inter Milan, but after an indifferent performance for the Super Eagles at the tournament in Brazil, the Nerazzurri shifted their focus to Yann Mvila and promptly signed him.

    And the powers that be at the Serie A outfit have almost concluded transfer talks with another defensive midfielder Gary Medel (Swansea City), writes fcinternews.it.

    Few months back, the ball was in Chelsea’s court but the club were dillydallying and failed to strike terms with Inter Milan.

    Now, the tables have turned and the Londoners have proposed Mikel to Inter Milan, but a deal is unlikely to materialize because of the reasons earlier mentioned.