The Super Eagles have had quite a horrid time adjusting to the prolonged absence of daring midfielder and skipper, John Mikel Obi.
Mikel has not featured for the Nigerian national team since he led the squad to the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
The skipper chose to stay off international duty for Nigeria to focus on his club career and his family. So far Mikel has been an amazing addition to Middlesborough FC, where he is a crucial part of the team and a people’s favorite. Some would even say the player is too big a star to be in the league with Boro.
Nigeria is, however, yet to experience this new virtuoso side of the midfielder. It is uncertain if Mikel will make a comeback to the team anytime soon.
Having noticed the difficulty in Nigeria’s midfield without the experienced skipper, Emmanuel Okocha, elder brother to Super Eagles veteran, Austin Jay-Jay Okocha, has called on Gernot Rohr to facilitate Mikel’s return to the team before the 2019 AFCON finals in Egypt.
Okocha, in his message, compared Mikel to other top midfielders across the world, stating that his experience is still very critical to the success of the Super Eagles.
“Look at how he performed against one of the best midfielders the game has seen at the last World Cup, he stood his ground against Luka Modric and co. and it was just unfortunate he didn’t get enough quality support from his fellow midfield players for us to come away with a better result against Croatia. Against Argentina, he did very well too.
“At [the moment], we do not have many creative players in the team’s midfield and that is sad. Take a look at our midfield in that game without him. Versus Seychelles, most of them were just there.”
Emmanuel Okocha is a former footballer who played for the Enugu Rangers, as well as the national team.
Featured image source: Goal.com