In the 18 matches that John Obi Mikel has played under Chelsea ’s interim coach Guus Hiddink over two sessions, the Blues are yet to lose, winning 15 and drawing three.
| Mikel Mania in focus: Nigeria star revived under Guus Hiddink | |
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If
you want to call the Nigerian Hiddink’s lucky charm, you can go ahead,
but we still need to answer the pressing question, "what it is really
about Mikel’s game that suits Hiddink’s plans to a tee?"
The
midfielder was lauded to the heavens after his display against Crystal
Palace last Sunday as he helped the Blues record their biggest win in 12
months.
After
the win over Palace, Hiddink had the following to say about the
Nigerian midfielder, “He is the ideal player in my option to bring
balance to the team.”
Mikel under Mourinho
Unfortunately
for many a Jose Mourinho fan, the Super Eagles talisman was not deemed
worthy of a starting berth in the Special One’s tactical plan – which
worked very well last season but faltered spectacularly this term.
In
five games under the regime of Mourinho this season, Mikel played only
177 minutes [including coming on for Cesc Fabregas in the 92nd minute
against Arsenal] and starting only twice; at home against Liverpool, and
he was replaced with scores tied at 1-1 and away at Everton, where he
provided the assist for Chelsea’s goal, scored by Nemanja Matic. He was
again taken off with the Blues chasing the game at 2-1.
In
the 17 matches that Chelsea played before sacking Mourinho, the
preferred midfield duo of Matic and Fabregas showed that there was an
imbalance but Mourinho persisted with the two players and got sacked –
appropriately if performances since his exit indicate.
Would things have been different for Mourinho if he'd turned to Mikel more regularly?
Mikel, now under Hiddink
Mikel
has played in all three matches under Hiddink, a total of 225 minutes.
Former Liverpool midfield enforcer, and now television analyst, Graeme
Souness said after the Crystal Palace win, “I don't think I've ever seen
John Obi Mikel play so well. He bossed that area.”
Hiddink also continued his lavish praise: “He played very well but also in the previous game.
"If
the team is not willing to defend well, or hasn't got the right
balance, then you'll concede a lot of goals. I think John Obi can be one
of the key figures in bringing back that balance.
“On
this podium very talented players can explore their qualities. He reads
the game very well, he knows where the strength of the opponent is and
knows how to combat that.
“He
has very good sense, he doesn't do it in a brutal way, he's very
elegant. Someone who can defend so smoothly is very beautiful.”
Reading those words, it's little surprise that Mikel is being known as the African Zidane!
We
are talking about Mikel here – a player that divides Chelsea fans one
way or another. That eulogy reads like Shakespearean poetry, and the
plaudits did not stop there, the Chelsea fans who travelled to the
Palace game at Selhurst Park were singing his name to the rafters by the
end of the contest – the first time he has had such adulation since he
joined the club in 2006!
....we hail Our African Zidane, John Obi Mikel... RESPECT! #PMFootball pic.twitter.com/4wLOgnj0BX
— POOJA SPORTS PR.. (@PoojaMedia) January 4, 2016
What's changed? So, what has changed about Mikel’s game that he could shine so brightly against Palace?
Mikel's masterclass vs. Palace in numbers
In sport as in life, there is one sure thing that makes an athlete perform to his/her optimum and that is confidence.
Hiddink
has not changed anything about Mikel’s game – he will still pass back
to the goalkeeper if he sees no way forward, he will still pass over 5m,
and he will not run 5km during a match, but what he could do has been
improved because his confidence is back – he feels that the new manager
trusts him and be assured that Mikel will only get better this season.
“Since
the new manager came in we have been working really hard and as I said
before, the atmosphere has changed a bit," the player began.
John Obi Mikel's stats so far this season
“The
players seem more relaxed and as we are working hard in training, it is
now starting to show in the matches that we play,” Mikel told Sky
Sports after the Palace victory.
Mikel's
renaissance is a reminder of how quickly—and dramatically—things can
change in football. The Nigerian had appeared destined for the exit door
at Stamford Bridge under Mourinho, with the amount of minutes spent
watching football increasingly remarkably compared to the number of
minutes actually playing it.
Now, however, the only things going through the roof are his value, his confidence and his playing time. Long may it last.
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