Former Chelsea and Manchester United supervisor, Jose Mourinho has defined why he modified John Mikel Obi from an offensive midfielder to a defensive midfielder throughout his tenure at Stamford Bridge.
The previous Nigerian Worldwide, who arrived at Chelsea in 2006, was considered among the best younger playmakers on the earth at the moment.
He labored below Mourinho through the Portuguese’s tenure on the London membership.
The 36-year-old was, nevertheless, modified to a defensive midfielder by the Portuguese.
Mourinho, now answerable for the Serie A facet, AS Roma, revealed the explanation behind his motion.
“I preferred every thing about Mikel. In case you undergo all of the positional[defensive] midfield gamers that I’ve had throughout my profession, there are many comparable issues,” Mourinho stated on the ObiOne Podcast.
“Other than Claude Makelele who was small, I had all of them tall and bodily robust. Additionally they knew methods to occupy area and so they have what I name ‘the simplicity of soccer’, which is prime in that place.
“The group wants stability, with or with out the ball. A defensive midfielder must be humble within the sense that they acknowledge that the group is extra vital than themselves.
“With me at Chelsea, Mikel was a implausible positional midfield participant, very fast pondering, one contact, two touches, every thing was easy, and the sport was flowing.”
Mikel made 249 league appearances for Chelsea successful the Premier League title twice. He additionally gained 4 FA Cup titles 4 occasions in addition to the UEFA Champions League and Europa League.