Super Eagles coach
Sunday Oliseh has warned John Mikel Obi that he risks losing his Super Eagles
playing spot if he refuses playing as a defensive midfielder for Nigeria.
Mikel
Obi has had a resurgence this season while playing as a defensive midfielder at
Chelsea but opts to play offensive midfield when donning colours of the Super
Eagles, a trend Oliseh wants to end.
Defensive midfield was
also the same role Mikel played when he broke out internationally under coach
Samson Siasia at the 2005 FIFA U20 World Cup in the Netherlands.
“With the national
team, it’s not what you want that matters, it is what will bring us results,”said
Oliseh in a radio interview. “If you don’t want to do that, I will play players
who want to help us, like I did against Swaziland. My personal opinion is that
he should be given a more central defensive role, like (Guus) Hiddink is using
him. He should be the umbrella for the two central defenders,” Oliseh said.
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