FORMER Chelsea Manager, Jose Mourinho offers insight on how good John Mikel Obi was at Chelsea during his time in charge of the London club.
Mikel Obi joined the Blues in 2006 and was an integral part of Jose Mourinho's team as Chelsea dominated the Premier League which made Mikel Obi be regarded as one of the best midfielders in the world.
Mourinho, who now manages Italian club AS Roma, shared an insight into how good Mikel Obi was during his days at Chelsea.
“I liked everything about Mikel. If you go through all the positional midfield players that I have had during my career, there are lots of similar things.
“Aside from Claude Makelele, who was small, I had them all tall and physically strong. They also knew how to occupy space, and they have what I call ‘the simplicity of football’, which is fundamental in that position.
“The team needs balance, with or without the ball. A defensive midfielder needs to be humble in the sense that they recognise that the team is more important than themselves.
“With me at Chelsea, Mikel was a fantastic positional midfield player, very quick thinking, one touch, two touches, everything was simple, and the game was flowing,” Mourinho said on the ObiOne Podcast.
Mikel who is also regarded as a Chelsea legend made over 200 appearances for the Blues winning the Premier League trophy twice, four FA Cup titles as well as the UEFA Champions League and Europa League.
