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“I don’t want to get sacked” – 2013 AFCON winner reveals he has no interest in coaching the Super Eagles

Mikel Obi won the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League in subsequent seasons for Chelsea under Roberto Di Mateo and Rafael Benitez.

2013 AFCON-winning midfielder, John Mikel Obi has revealed he has no plans to take up a coaching role with the Super Eagles in the future, Soccernet.ng reports.

Mikel, 36, enjoyed success in a playing career that spanned nineteen years, winning several trophies with his club and national side, winning the AFCON tournament in 2013.

Speaking with CNN in a recent interview, the former Chelsea midfielder revealed he’d prefer an administrative role if he were to get involved with the Super Eagles in the future.

“I would love to get involved with the Super Eagles, but not as a manager. I don’t want to get sacked, and I don’t think I can handle that very well. I want to be involved with the national team as someone trying to fix the problems from the top,” the two-time English Premier League Champion said.

The ex-Super Eagles captain made sure he passed his point across, citing that success on the football pitch doesn’t start on the field, but behind the scenes, and that’ll be his preferred work area.

“If it means to be a mediator between the players and the NFF to make sure things are run properly and have the right people managing what we should do together to make sure that we succeed. Success doesn’t happen only on the pitch but from the top. So for me, that’s where we should start,” the four-time FA Cup winner added.

Mikel, in recent times, has been in vocal support and admiration of the Super Eagles and is supporting them to go all the way to win the AFCON tournament in Ivory Coast.

Adefolahan Guerreiro

Adefolahan is a multilingual journalist and writer at Soccernet Nigeria. With a Bachelor's degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering and a track record of involvement in College sports, Adefolahan is focused on crafting engaging football content and utilising his language skills and extensive sports knowledge to enhance content accessibility for a global audience. He has interviewed Nigerian stars like Finidi George, Junior Lokosa, and Abraham Onahi Ogbu.

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