Mikel Obi: History, Career, and Net worth
John Michael Nchekwube Obinna popularly known as Mikel John Obi. he is the son of Michael Obi, who runs an inter-state transport company in jos. His father who is a member of the Igbo ethnic group named his son accordingly. ” Nchekwube” means ” HOPE” and Obi is a nickname for the Igbo name “Obinna” meaning ( Father’s wealth ). Mikel Obi is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Chinese club Tianjin Teda in the Chinese Super League and the Nigeria National Team. Mikel Obi John is age 31, born on the 22nd of Apirl 1987 in Jos, Nigeria but hails from Anambra State. He is 1.88m ( 6 ft 2 in ). Mikel John Obi has been recorded to have scored 76 goals in total.
Relationship Of Mikel Obi
John Mikel obi is a married man. He got married to a Russian woman by name Olga . They are blessed with two lovely daughters who now resides with him now in China.
Career Path
John Michael Nchekwube Obinna is a popular celebrity, who started his football career at the age of 12 after he was picked as a talented footballer from over 3,000 young talents to play in “PEPSI FOOTBALL ACADEMY” a team which at that time was well known for travelling across Nigeria scouting young footballers with the potential to play professionally. Obi stood out and was later picked to play for top-flight club Plateau United, a side that had previously developed stars like Celestine Babayaro, Victor Obinna and Chris Obodo, among others that went on to success in European leagues.
John Obi Mikel, made headlines for his country when he played at the FIFA Under- 17 World Championships held in Finland. Following the tournament, he went on to a trial at South Africa club Ajax Cape Town, ultimately joining Oslo-based club Lyn Football in Norway. During preparations for the 2003 FIFA Under-17 World Championships, the Nigerian Football Association (NFA) 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.” On 31 July 2006, he stated that he prefers to be called Mikel John Obi instead of John Obi Mikel, as he had most commonly been called. In the summer of 2005, Mikel played for Nigeria at the FIFA World Youth Championships held in the Netherlands. He had an excellent tournament until Nigeria reached the final, where they lost 2–1 to Argentina.Obi won the Silver Ball after being voted the tournament’s second-best player.
Mikel John Obi Events in his Career Path
Chelsea
2006–07 season
On 12 September 2006, Mikel made his first start for Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League against Bulgarian club Levski Sofia and took a powerful shot which the goalkeeper failed to save. Mikel received many positive comments for his performance in the match. He scored his first goal for Chelsea in their 6–1 FA Cup victory over Macclesfield Town on 6 January 2007. He also scored against Nottingham Forest in the following round of the competition.
2008–09 season
Mikel saw a great deal of playing time due to an injury to Michael Essien. During this period of increased action, Mikel performed admirably in the role. His ever-improving game was praised by Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari, and his importance to the team was underlined when he provided the free kick that Salomon Kalou scored to equalise against Manchester United. He played so well in 2008–09 that he was nominated for the club player and young player of the season. On 24 January 2009, Mikel was charged with drunk driving, just hours before an FA Cupgame against Ipswich Town. Mikel was not due to play in the game as he was serving a suspension. Although he had all that trouble on 22 July, Mikel signed a new five-year contract with Chelsea.
2010–11 season
Mikel and Chelsea started the new 2010-11 Premier League campaign where they left off from the 2009–10 season, playing strong defense and adding deadly finishing. Mikel played the full 90 and helped keep three clean-sheets in the first three games as Chelsea eased past West Bromwich Albion 6–0 on 14 August, crushed Wigan Athletic 6–0 at the DW Stadium seven days later and edged past Stroke City 2–0 on 28 August,
2011–12 season
Following the appointment of former Chelsea midfielder Roberto Di Matteo as interim head coach, Mikel appeared in 16 of the club’s last 20 games and started in 14 of them, and began to play some of his best football for the club. Mikel played the full 90 minutes in Chelsea’s 2–1 victory over Liverpool in the 2012 FA Cup Final on 5th may 2012, picking up a yellow card in the 36th minute.Th 2011-12 Premier League campaign saw Mikel appear in 22 league fixtures, starting 15 of them, as well as playing in eight fixtures leading up to the team’s appearance in the 2012 Champions League Final against Bayern Munich.
The final which took place in Munich on 19th May, Mikel played the full 120 minutes as the sides played out a 1–1 draw. Chelsea played a tough defensive battle and Mikel was hailed by Sky Sports pundit Jamie RedKnapp as playing an excellent game, putting in “a performance that they didn’t think he had in him, as Chelsea claimed a 4–3 victory in the penalty shootout.
2012–13 season
Mikel started all of Chelsea’s first five games of the new 2012-13 Premier League season, and also played in the Community Shield against Manchester City and Super Cup against Atletico Madrid. In November, Mikel was named on the shortlist for the African Footballer of the Year along with former Chelsea teammate Didier Drogba. On the 5th of December 2012, Mikel signed a contract extension with Chelsea, keeping him at the club until 2017.
2013–14 season
On 21 September 2013, Mikel scored his first-ever Premier League goal in a 2–0 win against Fulham. He scored his second goal of the season in Chelsea’s third round tie with Derby County on 5th of January 2014, heading in the opening goal in an eventual 2–0 victory. He made his 200th Premier League appearance for Chelsea on 3 February, coming on as a late substitute in a 1–0 away victory at Manchester City.
2014–15 season
On 30 August 2014, Mikel, who substituted Willian on the 75-minute mark, set up Diego Costa’s second goal after intercepting up Muhamed Besic backheel pass. Chelsea went on to win 6–3 against Everton at Goodison Park. Mikel scored a rare goal against Sporting CP on 10 December in a 3–1 victory at Stamford Bridge in the 2014-15 Champion League.
International career
Mikel represented the Nigeria Under 20 team at the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship and won the Silver Ball for the second-best player at the tournament (behind Lionel Messi ) as the Africans 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. He did not play for the national team again prior to being named in the squad for the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations.
In Nigeria’s first group game, against Gahan, Mikel was an unused substitute. However, he was introduced into the second game against Zimbabwe early in the second half. Within ten minutes of coming on, he had supplied both the corner that resulted in Christian obodo heading the game’s opening goal, and scored Nigeria’s second goal. He made his first international start in Nigeria’s final group game, a 2–1 victory over Senegal.
In 2007, Mikel was suspended from all Nigerian national teams after manager Berti Vogts dropped Mikel from the team’s squad for the Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Niger for failing to attend their previous match against Uganda. Mikel cited an injury, but because he did not attend an independent check by Nigerian officials, he was dropped. This, and his refusal to play for the Nigerian under 23 side, resulted in his suspension by the Nigerian Football Association. After apologizing, he was called up to the national squad for the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations in Ghana. At the tournament, he scored one goal and registered one assist in a match against Beni to help Nigeria qualify for the quarter-finals against hosts Ghana, where they lost 2–1 to their West African rivals. Mikel had been called up for the under-23 side in preparation of the team’s last Olympic qualifier on 26 March 2008, needing a win to qualify. His failure to show up for any of the qualifiers again setting off some controversy with the U23 team coach Samson Siasia, who dropped him from the Olympic squad amidst significant furor from the media.
On 5 June 2010, Mikel was ruled out of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa due to injury. He had been struggling to recover from a knee problem after undergoing surgery in May, though there were also reports that an ankle injury was to blame for Mikel’s withdrawal. At the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, Mikel was a key player for Nigeria as they went on to win their fifth continental title. He was named by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in the team of the tournament alongside teammates Vincent Enyeama, Efe Ambrose, Victor Moses and Emmanuel Emenike. 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 Wolrd Cup qualification match against Algeria, Mikel scored a goal and assisted his Chelsea teammate Victor Moses in a 3-1 victory.
Honours
Chelsea
- Premier League: 2009-10, 2014-15
- FA Cup: 2006-07, 2008-09, 2011-12
- Football League Cup: 2006-07
- FA Community Shield: 2009
- UEFA Champions League: 2011-12
- UEFA Europa League: 2012-13
Nigeria
- Africa Cup of Nations: 2013
- 2016 Summer Olympics: Bronze Medal
Individual
- FIFA World Youth Championship Silver Ball: 2005
- African Young Player of the Year: 2005, 2006
- Chelsea Young Player of the Year: 2007, 2008
Net worth
John Michael Nchekwube Obinna popularly known as Mikel John Obi has been recently estimated to be worth $60million.
