Chelsea manager Italian Roberto Di Matteo has confirmed that Nigerian International and Chelsea player John Mikel Obi is one of the English Club’s unsung heroes.
Di Matteo said it is just unfortunate for the Nigerian player that his value most of the time passes without fame from the media and football lovers. The Chelsea manager said the player mans the anchor role where it is sometimes difficult to get chances for goal scoring in the London club as the Super Eagles player to bag his first-ever goal in 135 Premier League appearances for his club.
Di Matteo said on the official website of the club that the Nigerian is a very important player in the Chelsea squad even though he is usually underrated by the media and the fans alike but he is really rated high by Chelsea going by his functions on field because most of the times he does the dirty work for other players to shine on.
Chelsea are presently leaders of the Premier League with a four-point and from this weekend they will be facing a difficult series of fixtures one of which is with Tottenham Hotspur spearheaded by former Chelsea coach Villas Boas after which they travel to Ukraine to meet Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League next week, after which they will hosting Manchester United in the league cup and Premier League games.
But over the weekend, John Mikel Obi lashed in a goal for the Super eagles of Nigeria in the 2nd leg of the African Nations Cup qualifiers when he scored a penalty against Liberia in game that ended in favour of Nigeria with a 6-1 score line.
According to Di Matteo, Mikel has always been there for Chelsea whenever his attention is needed but other players take the glory for his performances that is forwards players in the squad and this can be evidenced by his contribution last season into the clubs victory as the end of last season and start -up this season too is not below par.
-CHANNELSTV
but the gbaguans in this write up na wah o
Di Matteo….pls allow Mikel to take a penalty in premiership