Why I was always scared of playing against Didier Drogba– Mikel Obi

Mikel Obi and Didier Drogba were teammates for the English Premier League side, Chelsea, winning many trophies together

Former Super Eagles star, Mikel Obi, has reflected on his memories from the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations and revealed the one player who always made him nervous on the pitch, Soccernet.ng reports.

The former Super Eagles captain confessed that he was often intimidated by playing against Ivorian football legend Didier Drogba during their careers. While both Mikel and Drogba were teammates at Chelsea FC, facing Drogba at the international level was a different story.

In a video shared on CAFonline’s social media, Mikel explained that he feared Drogba because the Ivorian forward had a knack for scoring goals in almost every game they played against each other.

“Obviously, the player I never wanted to meet, that I was lucky I didn’t meet quite a lot, was Didier Drogba. You know, I was always scared of meeting him. Because I knew at some point in the game he will score.” he said.

Watch the video here:

Recall the 2013 AFCON tournament when Nigeria took on Cote d’Ivoire in the quarterfinals, winning 2-1 thanks to a thunderous strike from Emmanuel Emenike and Sunday Mba’s goal, which advanced Nigeria to the semifinals against Mali.

Reports from that time suggested that the Nigeria Football Federation had already inquired about return tickets for the Super Eagles, as they were considered underdogs against the formidable Ivorian team.

In the upcoming AFCON tournament, Nigeria has been placed in the same group as the host nation, Cote d’Ivoire, setting the stage for another potential showdown.