A love letter to John Obi Mikel as he becomes Nigeria Super Eagles captain

Dear John Obi Mikel, 

Or is it Mikel John Obi? I wanted to tell you how much I love you. 

Your humble words upon receiving captaincy sum you up: “I want to promise you that I would not let you down.”

I think it is great that you have finally been recognised for your services to football as the captain of the Super Eagles. 

You will also be presented with an award with Nigeria on a truly Good Friday but I know it isn’t the spotlight that interests you. 

You look great in green or blue but not in red, and how we all laughed when you rejected Manchester United for West London.

You have more trophies than Steven Gerrard with two league titles, four FA Cups, two Capital One cups, a Europa League and Champions League to boot! 

You never complain but I know the Blues give you a hard time now and again. We saw you in all your glory against Crystal Palace and know your hard work is never in vain. 





We know you are the master of keeping possession, reaching a pass accuracy of 90.7%. That is more than any Chelsea player, even though many are sideways or backward.

Your father runs a transport company and you certainly have a good engine. You are the man we call African Zidane. 

A man who can score against Paris Saint-Germain. After John Terry you are the longest serving blue and if he leaves it will be too painful to lose you. 

Please convince Antonio Conte that we need you. After 10 years of service a divorce would be too painful. 

We will be at your testimonial and you could be the last of the originals from the Jose Mourinho faithful. 

By Naz Kinsella in conjunction with a Chelsea fan