10 interesting facts you probably didn’t know about birthday-boy Mikel Obi

On Wednesday, former Super Eagles captain, John Mikel Obi added another year to his age, and Ripples Nigeria’s Ben Ugbana curates 10 interesting facts about the star footballer.

1. Mikel was born in the North.

An Igbo by tribe from south-eastern Nigeria, Mikel was born on April 22, 1987 in the city of Jos in Plateau State of northern Nigeria.

2. At 12, Mikel was already seen as a great talent

Mikel started his football career at the age of 12 when picked as a talented footballer from over 3,000 young talents to play in Pepsi Football Academy.

3. He began his professional career at Plateau United

The midfielder, who has now played in various countries including England, Norway, China and Turkey, actually began his beautiful career as a youth player in Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) club, Plateau United.

4. The name ‘Mikel’ came to be from a mistake by the NFF

John Michael Obi was his name until during preparations for the 2003 FIFA Under-17 World Championships when the Nigeria Football Federation mistakenly submitted “Michael” as “Mikel” for the tournament in Finland. He decided to keep the new name, saying that it had a “special ring to it.”

5. Mikel once battled ‘best player’ award with Lionel Messi

In 2005, Mikel played for Nigeria at the FIFA World Youth Championships held in the Netherlands. He had an excellent tournament, helping Nigeria reach the final, where they lost 2–1 to Argentina. Obi won the Silver Ball after being voted the tournament’s second-best player while Messi won the best player award.

6. Mikel is an AFCON winner and Olympic bronze medalist

The erstwhile captain of the Super Eagles has had a beautiful international career. He was part of the team that won the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, and also part of the Dream Team that won the bronze medal at Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympics.

7. Mikel once played for Nigeria while his father was in kidnappers’ den

During the 2018 World Cup, Pa Michael Obi (Mikel’s father) was kidnapped but despite his son’s knowledge of it, he went on to play the final group game against Argentina, without saying a word even to the coaches. This is considered as one of the most patriotic acts of Mikel in his 14-year international career that lasted from 2005 to 2019, during which he played 88 times.

8. A Rolls-Royce of a midfielder – Mikel was hailed most at Middlesbrough

Mikel was once called a Rolls-Royce of a midfielder during his short time at Middlesbrough, as his efforts almost got the Championship club promotion to the Premier League.

9. Mikel is one of only three Nigerians to have won the Champions League

Other than Finidi George, who won with Ajax in 1994-1995, and Nwankwo Kanu at same club and season, Mikel is the only Nigerian player to have won the UEFA biggest club crown. He did it with Chelsea in 2011-2012 season.

10. Mikel once chose family over contract

During the coronavirus pandemic, John Obi Mikel decided to let go of his contract with Trabzonspor just to reunite with his family in London.

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