Mikel Obi @ 33: A Fulfilled Career

By Chuks Ekpeneru

On the occasion of his 33rd birthday on Wednesday, Chelsea FC shared a video of John Mikel Obi’s first goal for the Blues.

Mikel was born 22nd April 1987 in Jos, Plateau State and began his career with local club Plateau United.

It was from there he joined Norwegian club, Lyn at the age of 17 in 2004. In 2006, he made a controversial transfer to English club Chelsea after Manchester United claimed they had already signed him. He stayed with Chelsea for 11 years, before moving to China with Tianjin TEDA in 2017.

After two years in China, he returned to England on a short-term deal with Middlesbrough, before joining Trabzonspor on a free transfer in July 2019. In a 14-year international career between 2005 and 2019, he played 88 times for Nigeria, scoring six goals.

He first came to limelight when he he represented Nigeria in the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship and won the Silver Ball for the second-best player at the tournament (behind Lionel Messi) as Nigeria finished runner-up to Argentina.

He made his debut for the Nigeria senior team on 17 August 2005, when he came on as a second-half substitute in a 1–0 friendly win over Libya.

Mikel couldn’t make the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa due to injury.

At the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, Mikel was a key player for Nigeria as they went on to win their third continental title. He was named by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in the team of the tournament

Mikel made his FIFA World Cup debut during the 2014 tournament in Brazil, earning a man of the match award in the Super Eagles’ opening game against Iran and helping the team to reach the knockout stage for the first time since 1998.

In a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Algeria, Mikel scored a goal and assisted his Chelsea teammate Victor Moses in a 3–1 victory.

In July 2019, he said that the 2019 African Cup of Nations would be his last tournament for Nigeria. He retired at the end of the competition, in which Nigeria came third

He won several titles with Chelsea. These include Premier League 2010 and 2015.

FA Cup 2007, 2009, 2012

Football League Cup: 2007

FA Community Shield: 2009

UEFA Champions League: 2012

UEFA Europa League: 2013

Africa Cup of Nations: 2013

Summer Olympics bronze medalist: 2016

Individual

FIFA World Youth Championship Silver Ball: 2005

CAF Most Promising Talent of the Year: 2005

Chelsea Young Player of the Year: 2007, 2008

Mikel has a set of twins with his Russian partner, Olga Diyanchenko

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