John Obi Mikel about the game with the heroes, the kidnapping trials and a monumental transfer rope firing

John Obi Mikel was speechless.

"I could not run, I could not do anything, I was frozen."

It was his first training session with Nigeria's senior team and Mikel had applauded for his hero: Kanu.

"When I was a kid, Kanu was the man," the midfielder had written in an article in the Tribune of the players last year.

"Nwankwo Kanu and Jay-Jay Okocha, they were the kings of Nigeria football, I wanted to be them.

"There is this picture that I have in the head of me and my friends running around looking for a television so we can watch Kanu play for Arsenal." Electricity sometimes cut for a week and you had to go around the city in search of a cafe, a brewery or a place with a generator.

"Every Saturday at 3 pm, they have always shown the Premier League, and Nigerians love Arsenal, so it was usually Arsenal on television.

"We would watch Kanu doing his thing on the field, then we would go out on the streets after the match and try to imitate his gesture or turn."

A superstar has been made in these streets. Mikel would follow Kanu in the national team, England, London, in the Premier League.

Mikel's career seemed guaranteed to lead to the top when, in 2005, he shone at the FIFA World Junior Championships. A photo was taken of three players after the final between Argentina and Nigeria.

In the middle, a teenager, Lionel Messi, won the Golden Ball after being named as the star of the tournament. To her right? Mikel, 18, holding the silver ball trophy in his left hand, was awarded the second best player in the competition.

No wonder Manchester United and Chelsea were so desperate to sign it. Just months before the start of this tournament, Mikel was found at the center of a fierce fight between the two Premier League clubs.

In a rather remarkable transfer, Mikel had initially signed for United – posing with the t – shirt – before claiming that he "was not doing it of his own free will – I had put a lot of pressure on the make".

Complications and lawsuits followed before Mikel finally joined Chelsea. Rather than getting into the game, she said, it's much easier to let the player explain what happened.

"It's been more than 10 years and I'm still asked a question about my stay in England," he says.

"Well, my dad was not too happy about what had happened either.He wanted me to go to Manchester United because he liked Alex Ferguson." Back in Nigeria, a lot People were saying that I should go to United because of working with young players, while Chelsea just bought superstars.

"And it's true, I was only 18 years old and Chelsea had players like Lampard, Ballack and Makélélé in the middle of the field.Many Nigerians doubted that I could even be part of the Chelsea team if I could went there.

"So … why did I refuse the biggest club in the world?"

"I'm going to tell you what happened … All these people on both sides fought against me … Agents, managers, strangers, guys handing me papers." Sir Alex Ferguson called me on the phone. One side and I had Roman Abramovich, on the other side, putting me in London, hiding where few people knew where I was.It was really confusing and I was a kid , you know?

"After a while, a FIFA member called me in. He said," Look, we know you're young and these two clubs are fighting you. We can not decide for you. You can not go where you want to. You must tell us.

"I had been thinking about it for a long time – it was the biggest decision of my life

"You know what made me decide." Chelsea had hired three other Nigerian players with me, and they stayed with me in London to keep me company.These guys, their lives depended on the decision I made. I went to United, they left.If I went to Chelsea, they will have a career.No matter how long it lasted, it was important to me.Just to give them a chance, you know ? "

Not even Mikel imagined a decade later he would still be at the Bridge.

Jose Mourinho described the midfielder as "pure gold" when he joined the Blues but, with players like Lampard and Ballack playing at the most advanced positions, the Portuguese boss threw Mikel into a more defensive and destructive role.

When Guus Hiddink took over Chelsea, he quickly noticed and identified Mikel's importance in this position.

"If the team does not want to defend well or does not have the right balance, then you will concede a lot of goals," he said.

"I think John Obi can be one of the key figures to restore that balance. He reads the game very well, he knows where his opponent's strength is and knows how to fight it.

"He has a very good sense, he does not do it in a brutal way, he is very elegant. Someone who can defend so well is very beautiful. "

In his early years in his home country, he was perceived as an attacker and throughout his career he was used in a more advanced role for Nigeria, playing the role of No. 10 in the majority of his 85 appearances.

"I played while my father was in the hands of bandits"

He is a hero in Nigeria, on and off the pitch. In 2016, before the Olympics, the Super Eagles were about to be fired from their hotel because of unpaid bills.

Mikel came to the rescue, taking more than £ 30,000 of her own money to finance accommodation, meals and training facilities.

He will say later, "I thought, I will not let that happen, if I can help, I'll try to help you."

Just hours before the World Cup match between Nigeria and Argentina last summer, Mikel learned that his father had been kidnapped. After learning from family members that he had to contact the kidnappers directly, he would have had to pay a ransom for his father to stay alive.

"I played while my father was in the hands of bandits," Mikel was quoted as saying to the Guardian.

"I had to suppress the trauma. I took a call four hours before the kickoff to tell me what had happened.

"I was emotionally upset and I had to decide if I was mentally ready to play. I was confused. I did not know what to do, but in the end, I knew that I could not drop 180 million Nigerians. I had to shut up and go to represent my country first. I could not even inform coaches or NFF staff and only a very close circle of my friends knew it.

"It was said that they would fire at my father immediately if I reported to the authorities or to anyone. I also did not want to discuss it with the coach because I did not want my problem to be a source of distraction for him or the rest of the team on the day of such an important match. As much as I wanted to discuss with the coach, I could not.

"Fortunately, my father was released Monday afternoon. I thank the police for their relief efforts and the support I received from friends and family. Unfortunately, my dad is now in the hospital and is receiving emergency care as a result of the torture he suffered during his capture. "

It was the second time that Mikel was faced with such trauma and such torture. the second time, his father had been kidnapped. Seven years earlier, he had been abducted while returning home from work in the Nigerian city of Kano, after telling how he had been "kept in a terrible place".

In the field, Mikel emerged as a key Chelsea player at this stage and played every minute of the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final of the winning 2012 Champions League campaign.

He had come a long way since the age of 12 who had attracted the attention of scouts who played at the Pepsi Football Academy in his country.

Two years ago it was clear that Mikel's time in Chelsea was coming to an end. He had options. Valencia, Marseille and Inter Milan were enthusiastic, but he opted for China and a lucrative weekly salary of more than £ 140,000.

But the competitive fire has not stopped burning and it has not settled in China, either on the ground or elsewhere. He wants to play in a competitive and challenging division and, at age 31, he still feels that he has a lot to offer.

There is hope in his home country that he has now found a club that will allow him to return to the national stage before the Africa Cup of Nations this summer.

Nigerian fans are extremely proud of Mikel's achievements for their club and their country. They have not forgotten his efforts for the national team on and off the pitch. They did not forget the trophy he had raised alongside Messi in 2005.

And neither him.

"I'm still so upset that he scored two penalties in the final and he beat us," said Mikel.

"Listen, in my opinion, Messi is the greatest player of all time.This is a genius.There will never be another Messi."