Mikel John Obi has run his course at Chelsea after a decade of success
Mikel John Obi has enjoyed a decorated 10-year career at Chelsea. As the English game and club evolves, his time as a Blue may be coming to a close.
Mikel John Obi was one of the most vaunted talents in football in 2005. He led Nigeria to a big splash in FIFA World Youth Championship, placing second behind Argentina. Mikel was voted second-best player at the tournament, behind none other than Lionel Messi.
Following the tournament, Mikel was involved in a sordid transfer saga. In an era when Chelsea were gaining a reputation as transfer market buccaneers, young Mikel was the subject of a harrowing ordeal in whch three clubs battled for his signature. Ultimately in June 2006, he was officially a Chelsea player, joining up with Chelsea’s two-time title winning squad under Jose Mourinho.
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Jose Mourinho famously decided to convert this young player, who had until that point excelled as a No. 10, into a midfield anchor. This was a key position in Mourinho’s 4-3-3 formation. Mikel’s competition for that spot was Claude Makalele.
Mikel’s learning curve was steep but he persevered. Within a few seasons, he had effectively made that role his own. His calm touch at the base of midfield provided Chelsea the platform for great performances in Europe and England. His composure in high pressure matches against Barcelona, Manchester United and other big clubs helped Chelsea toward memorable results and trophies.
His performances in those matches were key to Chelsea’s Champions League title. Alongside Frank Lampard, Mikel formed an impenetrable blue wall in midfield. The midfield pair first held out against Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona and then faced down a fearsome Bayern attack. Mikel John Obi remains one of the unsung heroes of that most unlikely triumph.
Mikel has won everything there is to win in a Chelsea shirt. He was Young Player of the Year twice. He played a match for Chelsea having just learned that his father had been kidnapped. His commitment to the cause and his comforting reliability have never been in question. Mikel has been a perfect team player for the club for over a decade. And yet, despite all of his success at the club and international level, many feel that he failed to deliver on his initial promise as a player.
The ascent of coaches like Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp has changed football significantly over the last decade. Teams no longer stay deep and compact, defending small spaces and exploiting spaces in behind the opposition. The game is more expansive, with high pressing and a new positional norms.
Anchoring midfielders must now protect massive spaces, being proactive and winning the ball back in the opposition half rather than in front of their own box. They need to be quick enough to keep up with the modern forwards and #10s.
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The first word that comes to mind when thinking about Mikel John Obi is “safe.” Feed the ball to him under pressure and he will keep it and move it on safely. Put him in front of your defense and he will keep them safe from danger. In the years of upheaval since Munich, both Chelsea and football at large have been traveling down a different direction.
Chelsea’s recent parade of managers have each relegated Mikel to the role of a squad player or, more accurately, a human final whistle. Mikel would come out to shepherd games to the finish and consolidate results. The more dynamic Ramires and David Luiz displaced him first, until Nemanja Matic all but spelled an end to Mikel’s chances of being a first choice midfielder. N’Golo Kante subsequently sealed Mikel’s fate. The game, sadly, has passed by him.
For many years Mikel and Ramires were Chelsea managers’ safety nets. They were ideal squad players, always professional, always up for the job and always with a big game performance in crucial moments.
In January, Chelsea offloaded Ramires to China for a decent amount. The club chose to make space for a young player instead of keeping an old, useful but one dimensional player. Maybe the time has come for the club to make the same call with Mikel John Obi.
Mikel takes up an international spot and minutes in cup games that would benefit a young player like Nathaniel Chalobah. At 29 years old, Mikel is at a crossroads. He could choose to leave and go to the Serie A. His skills would be more applicable there, but it would entail uprooting his family.
Or he could try and convince the Chelsea brass that he’s worth another contract by changing his game to suit the new manager’s needs. Other players have reinvented themselves in the face of a contract ending. Maybe Mikel will finally put that sublime technique of his to use higher up the pitch as he seemed destined to in the early years of his career.
As things stand, Mikel John Obi is out place and out of time at Chelsea. The club have to be willing to look past his loyalty, professionalism and dedication in order to keep the squad young, hungry and determined to prove themselves. Its time to call quits on this long and mostly happy journey that Mikel has had at the club.
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