Its not his first time of handing himself a compulsory break or going AWOL, thereby missing in action for the Super Eagles. But this time, nobody knows exactly what the true report is.
Chelsea midfielder, John Obi Mikel is said to have shunned the Super Eagles for a vacation in Dubai with his russian girlfriend. Surprisingly, information has gone round stating that the midfielder has also been ignored calls from Super Eagles coach, Steven Keshi, after he jetted out.
Now this is where confusion is bound to set; Keshi has however disproved his former statement, claiming that he discussed with Mikel before leaving him out of the squad for the upcoming AFCON qualifers. And this is where I stop to ask myself this question: "who is fooling who"?
The gaffer has now come out to say he has no problem with Mikel and that he spoke with him before inviting his fellow players for this game. According to him, Mikel is not needed at this moment but this came two days after he stated clearly in an interview that all his attempts to reach the Chelsea guy had proved futile since he left for Dubai. By now, I expect you all to smell thesame rat I'm already smelling!
The 'big boss' as he is fondly called has called on 26 home based players for Chad and Kanu Nwankwo, indirectly taking a swipe at Mikel, has however advised that players should take matters involving the national team with both hands.
The former Super Eagles captain has charged Nigerian players to understand the essence of representing the country, regarding reports that John Obi Mikel ignored Stephen Keshi’s call to be a part of the Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Chad.
The former African footballer of the year then went to say players should understand that they represent a whole country whenever they play for Nigeria, and stated clearly that playing for the National Team is much more significant than playing for a club side.
I fully agree with 'Papillo' and I also believe one thing the players always forget is that playing for the Super Eagles, and by that, I mean the national team, is bigger and much more significant than wearing the colours of any club side not minding the stature. I think it is high time we made whoever comes in to realise the essence of wearing that green and white shirt. They must realise that each time they do that, they are carrying the hopes and expectations of 170 million Nigerians on their shoulders, which is a herculean task.
We don’t ever want to come second because it is not a good mentality and that is the way we can get them to get results for us.
This is where I'l incur the wrath of Chelsea fans but the truth must be told because I wish to be set free; a player like Mikel must be made to understand that Chelsea football where he plies his trade is not even as big as the Nigerian national team as well as he himself (in fact that's not a topic for discussion).
Written by Vocal Geebz for soccernet.com.ng
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