The Hero Incognito - John Obi Mikel

To the fans who watch the beautiful game, who never really understand how important a defensive midfielder is, the likes of Sami Khedira, Scott Parker, Sergio Busquets, Michael Essien and Alexandre Song dictate the game on how it is played. They decide whether the game will be fluid or rigid. Midfielders bring the thoughts of goals and creativity in your mind and not the one who see’s a defender make a forward run and runs back to cover for him. That’s just one of the few responsibilities on the shoulders of central defensive midfielders (CDM) . FIFA gamer? Then you know perfectly well what I’m talking about.

John Obi Mikel, the hidden hero for Chelsea. Play back the game in Munich and you will see how Frank Lampard and Mikel completely controlled the midfield as they bit-by-bit broke down dangerous attacks by the Bavarians. Lampard being the more “attack-minded” one, Mikel had the responsibilities of making sure that the ball moved around the defenders and the forwards. Close your eyes and recap the three previous seasons . You would soon realize that Mikel and Ashley Cole have been Chelsea’s most consistent performers at the grand stage. Essien’s injury made sure Mikel got a regular place under Ancelotti and they were also forced into buying another midfielder in the form of Ramires.

Mikel always gets the stick from the fans for any kind of mistake, which I just don’t understand. If we can still keep faith in John Terry, Frank, Didier and Petr why not have a bit more faith in the guy who literally controls the Chelsea midfielder along with Lampard? Halfway through the season, in our match against Liverpool, Mikel was robbed off the ball by the Liverpool attackers about 5 yards from the box. Maxi Rodriguez went on to calmly put the ball in the back of Petr Cech’s net. Let’s analyze. For a person who has been providing the balls for Chelsea that have led to many counterattacks, ending in almost certain goals, should he be replaced by a natural center back like David Luiz?

The departure of Claude Makelele forced pundits into agreeing that the Chelsea midfield would never be the same. But Mikel’s consistent performances for Chelsea showcased his true potential and established why Mourinho wrestled with Lyon and Manchester United to sign him for 16 million. Fans realized how empty their midfield was when Makelele left and the exact same will happen when Mikel leaves. With rumors brewing that Everton’s holding midfielder Marouane Fellaini is London bound, Mikel might just find it hard to keep his place in the squad. At the age of 25 , he has won it all, both in domestic and Europe. I personally respect him for all he has done for us, from someone who was tipped to fail, he has become Chelsea’s Hero Incognito.

Notes: The internet has always amazed me, especially hypocritical football fans. I was sent an email yesterday from a very disappointed Manchester fan after Hazard joined Chelsea. Whether he was a United or City fan, I couldn’t make out from his intellectually imperfect grammar. Manchester United fans were all over the table when Hazard announced that he would be joining a Manchester club next season, but a few weeks later, he announced that he would be wearing blue next season. United fans with their ears all open, said he wasn’t worth it and Luka Modric would be a much better buy. Once again Hazard changed his statement saying that he would join either Manchester United, Manchester City or Chelsea and United fans christened him as the next Cristiano Ronaldo. Finally when he signed for Chelsea and Shinji Kagawa joined Manchester United, the fans once again re-quoted themselves calling Kagawa the better player when half the people had never even seen him play. On this topic, with all due respect, I am going to keep mum as only time will tell on who is the better buy and as a Blues fan , I just hope Eden shines at the Bridge. You may call him a person with a big ego or a maniac or a show-off and attention grabber but at the end of the day you just have to agree with the fact that the boy does have skills.

Advice of the day to Chelsea fans : After last night’s Euro’s , thou shall google Andriy Shevchenko and finally realize that he was a former Chelsea player. Good luck Sheva, forever in our hearts!

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