MIKEL: THE 'ODOGWU'
Nigeria Olympic captain John Obi Mikel has been handed a nickname by his teammates at the ongoing Rio Olympics following his fatherly role and influential performances for the team.
The 29-year old has been a huge source of motivation for the Dream Team both on and off the pitch, and has now been aptly nicknamed ‘Odogwu’, which is an Igbo word that means ‘hero’, when loosely translated.
Mikel has been a leading light amongst the players and interestingly, his leadership qualities have been required more off the pitch, following the challenges the team has had to endure before and during the Games in Brazil.
The Chelsea midfielder has been spending his personal resources to bail out the team as they continue to encounter money problems, the latest being his benevolence in paying the sum of $4,600 for hotel bills accrued by the extra officials accompanying the team.
And on the pitch, his importance and influence has also gone a long way in helping the team progress to the semifinal.
He scored one and created the other in the 2-0 quarterfinal win over Denmark, and has been impressive in the overall for the Nigerians.
He will be expected to star again when they face Germany in the semifinals on Wednesday scheduled for 8pm Nigeria time. Dream team of Nigeria will have to be at alert as the young German side is full with goal scoring heroes as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment