Read interview after the cut.
WHO IS JOHN MIKEL OBI? LOOK AT YOU, YOU HAVE BEEN HERE SINCE YOU WERE 19, DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF TO BE AFRICAN OR EUROPEAN, AND AFRICAN OR AN ENGLISHMAN?
(Laughs) I think I am, Still obviously consider myself to be African. I am from Nigeria, there is a saying that says never forget where you from. So yeah! I have been here for such a long time. I have enjoyed and still enjoying my time. I think you can say I am a bit European but full African.
WHAT ABOUT YOUR FRIENDS,DO THEY TEND TO BE MORE AFRICAN?
Yeah, my friends are quite from Africa, most of them from Nigeria especially. I met a few friends when I moved here and since then we have been friends and stayed as friends but I still have few European friends, people that I see from time to time, so it’s quite a mix but it’s all good.
SO HAVE YOU KEPT FRIENDS IN NIGERIA,DO YOU STILL SEE THE SAME FRIENDS OR IS IT JUST FAMILY?
I still have friends that I grew up with, people that helped me all the way when I was growing up and in my football career, as well as when I was back home when I was a kid so I still see those people, I still remember them, So everytime I go back home I make time for them, At the same time, I spend time with my family.
BECAUSE WHEN YOU FIRST CAME HERE THERE WERE LOTS OF AFRICANS ALREADY PLAYING HERE, EITHER THEY WERE PLAYING IN AN AFRICAN COUNTRY OR BORN IN AN AFRICAN COUNTRY
Yeah I mean we did, there were lots of African players in the premier league. I think now the numbers is starting to drift down a little bit.
WHY?
I don't know, I don’t know the reason why. I really don’t know the reason why.
HOW MUCH IS THE AFRICAN CUP OF NATION IN THE MONTH OF JANUARY INFLUENTIAL?
I think you can say that might be one of the reasons why clubs refuse to sign more African players,because African cup of Nations would be played every two years,so I think since when I came over here they have been more African players.
ANY FATHER FIGURE AMONG THE PLAYERS?
Geremi, when I first came. Geremi was the oldest in the team and all the Africans respected him.
DO YOU KNOW HIM BEFORE THEN?
No, I didn't know him before I moved over here. He helped me a lot. I remember anytime Mourinho wanted to talk, he always says to Geremi tell Mikel or them, Didier was obviously and was as well and Makelele was, despite the fact that he plays with France, he was kinda African. The guys really really helped me to settle down here. Then me and Kalou became very very close friends like Tom and Jerry; and we were cool. Very nice guy fantastic, we still keeping in touch.
I WOULD SAY THAT THE MOST LAID BACK IN THE HISTORY OF CHELSEA FOOTBALL CLUB WAS CELESTINE BABAYARO (MIKEL LAUGHS) I THINK YOU WOULD HAVE TO BE THE SECOND MOST LAID BACK. IS IT SOMETHING FROM THE NIGERIAN CULTURE?
Hmmm. I don’t know, I think it may be something to do with Nigerians; sometimes we can be very laid back. We know exactly what we want and exactly what people expect from us. I think we do things in a very calm way, not in a very hasty way, I think in Africa your parents tend to bring you up in a way that you don’t rush things, because when you do, you make a lot of mistakes, thats why i think we laid back because we do not rush into decisions.
>b>YOU WERE A TEENAGER, YOU CAME ON GOOD MONEY FOR A TEENAGER, YOU HAD TO MAKE SOME DIFFICULT DECISIONS AT THAT STAGE?
No, that was not easy because I spent a year without playing football, When I left Lyn Oslo and FIFA said you couldn't play for Chelsea, You couldn’t play for Manchester United and PFA as well said the same, so I stayed a year without playing football, Because every morning you don’t know what to do. you don’t know where to go. I think the most important thing was that I had peoples, friends and family. They were very close to me and they really helped me through the difficult time, Every time I was down they tend to help quite a lot in making me feel things were going to be better. As you know for a teenager to be out for a year from things I love doing. It was quite tough, it was really tough back then.
THEN WHEN YOU JOINED YOU BOUGHT A WHOLE HOUSE BELONGING TO MAKELELE, HE WAS AIMING TOWARDS THE END OF HIS CAREER AT 32 AND THIS TEENAGER MOVES IN NEXT DOOR TO HIM.
I know, I didn't even knew he was living there. One morning, I was going and I saw him, I was surprised and it was Makelele coming out. I think Makelele is someone who everyone looked up to as a senior player who was always there to advise or give advice.
SO YOU MOVED NOT INTO LONDON, BUT SOMEWHERE NEAR THE TRAINING GROUND,WHAT DICTATED THAT DECISION?
To be more focus, the London life is not easy if you are teenager and you don’t have your family with you. It is easy to lose focus.
SO YOU LIVED IN THIS HOUSE ALONE?
Yeah.
HOW ARE YOU COSMETICS SKILLS?
(Laughs) I think for a year or two, I lived alone and after that I got someone who helps around the house.
IS IT A HOUSE OR IT IS JUST A LUXURIOUS OR TURN OFF OR ARE YOU SOMEONE WHO TAKES GREAT CARE IN DECORATING AND PERFECTING?
Yeah, Yeah I am, I like spending a lot of time in my house so I want to make it to my taste, when I am inside I feel quite relaxed and quite comfortable, that sometimes I don’t feel I need to go to London or I want when I come into my house, I should feel relaxed because this is home. I want spend most time in my house and I enjoyed it.
JUST GIVE US A LITTLE PICTURE OF YOURSELF TO START WITH. YOU DROVE INTO TRAINING WITH YOUR CAR THIS MORNING.WHAT DID YOU DO IN THE CAR? DID YOU LISTEN TO SOMETHING? OR WERE ON THE PHONE,WHAT DO YOU DO ON YOUR WAY TO TRAINING
Listening to music, Kiss FM. I always listen to Kiss FM when I drive to training, I think that is something that always makes me feel my ‘yeah, you are going to training’, if I’m driving to London i listen to CD but if I am coming to training I always listen to Kiss FM.
OK SO IF YOU ARE GONNA GO FROM HERE TO LONDON WHAT CD WOULD YOU PLAY?
Erm. Hiphop CD or R$B or sometimes Nigerian/African music.
GIVE US YOUR FAVOURITE NIGERIAN OR AFRICAN ARTISTE
(Laughs) I have my brother and my record label, My younger brother has a record label and sometimes I do listen to their music and also 2face, Nigerian artiste and lot of them.
CAN WE GET THE CAMERA TO GO REALLY CLOSE ON HIS HANDS (MIKEL): HOLD YOUR HAND, HOLD YOUR HANDS UP,SO THAT THE CAMERA CAN VIEW YOUR FINGERS AND ON YOUR EAR.THEY CALL ME MR BLING.,WHERE IS YOUR BLING? WHAT HAPPENED TO MR BLING?
(Laughs) That was 6 years ago.
HAVE YOU GIVEN ALL THAT AWAY?
Completely, completely.
JOHN MICHEAL OBI, WHICH TOURNAMENT WAS IT THEY CALLED YOU JOHN MIKEL OBI?
Under 17 Tournament.
SO ALL AFTER THAT YOU ARE MIKEL
Yeah. Somebody I'm not gonna say who, but one of the coaches told me something that really surprised me and he said everyone got Mikel wrong, he is not the guy who needs the rocket at the back side every three weeks, he is the guy who needs the arm around the shoulder.
I think every player needs that, every player needs a bit confidence. If a manager shows you that he believe in you, even if you are not as good as he wants you to be, you will be good, I think when you hear a lot of player say, he is down, he doesn't have any confidence in me. He is playing with no confidence, it is really true because if a manager doesn't put his aim around you and tells you that he believes in you and say listen you are my man. You play, you don’t care what people think, you do the job he wants in the team, you will take that confidence that the manager has in you into the pitch and you would do things you don’t believe you could do.
YOU FEEL THERE HAVE BEEN PERIOD WHERE YOU LACK CONFIDENCE?
I think so, I think if I am gonna be totally honest with you, every manager that has been here always had the believe in me, If you look at every manager that has been here, I have always started, I have always been a starter in the team, maybe after a few games or many games, then will get a bad result and you know, he will start changing the team, sometimes that is where it comes down to the engine of the team and it comes down to me, you know there is possibility,it comes down to me because you are the man who is supposed to be there, you are the man whose to dictate the team play,you are the man who don’t protect the back four, you are the one who has to do this and that to protect everyone.so the whole thing comes down to you and where you get dropped and you start lacking that confidence but I think under the tenure of Morinho, Carlo Ancelotti, Roberto Di Matteo, I felt like I could do anything and play loads (lots) of games.
YOU WON THINGS WITH CHELSEA TOO QUICKLY,IS THERE SOMETHING YOU KNEW THAT TURNED YOU INTO A SERIAL WINNER,WAS IT THERE ALL THE TIME?
It was, I think when i was growing up and i look back at things, when i was little I always wanted to win even when i was playing football on the street.I have always wanted to win but when i came to this club with Jose Mourinho in the team and with the of John Terry,Frank Lampard and when i saw the mentality that they had then, Then am thinking why do these guys always want to win,we won last week and they want to win this week again, so that mentality started building.
SO IT WAS MORE EXTREME?
Yeah, It was more extreme, I had a winning mentality but when I came here it was more extreme, I have never seen that before.
DO YOUR PARENTS DO COME OVER TO ENGLAND?
Yeah.
DO THEY LIKE IT?
They love it, I tend to go back home play out more because they love back home, my parent love to stay back home with my brothers, my sisters that are married with kids so lots of grandkids who they spend lots of time with.
YOU WERE FORCED TO DEALING WITH CERTAIN ISSUES THAT WEREN’T YOUR MAKING, THE FIRST ONE WAS OVERSEA WHEN YOU JOINED US AND YOU SAID YOU COULDN'T PLAY FREELY,WHETHER LYON OSLO HAD SOLD YOU TO MANCHESTER UNITED.MORE RECENTLY THERE ARE ISSUES WITH THE JOHN TERRY AND ANTON FERDINAND.
Yeah.
THERE WAS THE MARK CLATTERNBURG AND THERE WAS YOUR FATHER GETTING KIDNAPPED,HOW DO HAVE YOU DEALT WITH WITH ALL THAT,HOW HAVE THER AFFECTED YOU.
I think one thing is good and I don’t speak, people don’t see what you go through in life you know, everything you have mentioned and you know there have been things that I have to deal with on my own, obviously my dad been kidnapped as well was terrible, that was the highest. Calling my family everyday, it lasted for ten days, my mum on the phone crying and my brother and sisters crying, everyone. I had to be the strong one. I'm the second to last born in the family but I was the one who said it was going to be fine. I didn't know where my dad was but I was just saying it gonna be okay.
WERE YOU THE ONE WHO IS IF NECESSARY EXPECTED TO PROVIDE THE NEED TO GET HIM FREE?
Yeah, That is me.
DID YOU EVER GET ANY CORRESPONDENT OR ANY COMMUNICATION ON THAT?
Yeah because The Nigerian President spoke to me and he said 'you have been a great servant of this country, we all love you and Nigerians love you, don’t worry I will get your dad, give me a couple of days'. So I gave him couple of days and everything was sorted.
DID YOU HAVE NIGHT THAT YOU DIDN’T SLEEP?
Yeah, I didn’t sleep for ten days, but I do come in everyday and pretend everything was fine,but it wasn't, I was dying inside and even the day my dad was kidnapped, I went to Stoke and play. AVB called me himself and said I understand what has happened but I need you in the team.
WAS THAT A GOOD TEAM?
Yeah, I felt he needed me and he believed in me, that was when he first came in,he said I need you in the team to play but it is up to you and i said ok, I go and play and you know I have always love the club and i just wanted to serve this club, to win things with the club, I gonna play and I travelled with the team and I remembered that night my mum on the phone was crying saying are you going to be okay to play this game. I was like mum the team needs me and I know dad is not here but the team needs me and hopefully I will play and everything will be sorted.
HERE YOU ARE NOW IN THE MID-TWENTIES MOVING UP 3 YEARS ON TWENTY
Laughs.
DID YOU FEEL YOUR LIVE HAS BECOME MORE NORMAL?
Yeah.
WHENEVER THERE’S A SPECULATION ABOUT YOU BY THE MEDIA ABOUT YOU MOVING SOMEWHERE ELSE,BOTH YOU AND YOUR AGENT .AGENT ARE ALWAYS LIKE THIS BUT CHELSEA HAVE ALWAYS SAID NO,HE IS PERFECTLY HAPPY.HE LOVES IT HERE,THATS WHERE HE WANTS TO STAY,WHY DO YOU LOVE IT HERE?
I think it because of how long I have been here, I think in football when you have been somewhere for a long time, its everywhere, if you have been in a job for a long time, you feel comfortable with the people you work with like they are your family. The player here,lot of them have all gone, if you look at the players who have been here for a long time, you will be talking about 5 or 6. I kind of know the players, it's my home, when I stop playing, I would still live where I live and everyday I come here I feel happy and I still feel happier and I still feel like the first I signed and obviously the manager who brought me here is back and you never know until the club say ok listen, thank you very much, your service is not needed anymore. You know then maybe I have to leave but at the moment I am happy.
IT'S LUNCH TIME, WHAT ARE GOING TO DO?
I am gonna go home and play with my dogs for a bit.
DOGS, WE GONNA TALK ABOUT YOUR DOGS.
I have got two Rottweilers. 'Troy' and 'diva' so I am gonna go home now and put up my hands and play with team for an hour or half.
-areafather
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