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Jose Mourinho has explained the reason behind the decision to change John Mikel Obi’s position during his managerial reign at Stamford Bridge.
Mourinho brought Mikel to Chelsea in 2006 following a well-publicised transfer tussle with Premier League rivals Manchester United.
Mikel thrived as a playmaker during his time with the Norwegian club, Lyn Oslo.
The player also played a similar position at the youth level for Nigeria.
At Chelsea, Mikel turned the Nigerian into a defensive midfielder – a position he excelled in.
Mourinho revealed the factors that made him alter Mikel’s playing position.
“I liked everything about Mikel. If you go through all the positional[defensive] midfield players that I have had during my career, there are lots of similar things,” Mourinho said on the ObiOne Podcast
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“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 recognize 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.
“He was not a guy to win a race of 100 meters, but everything was fast with him on the ball and he understood the situation of the game.”
Mourinho managed Chelsea twice, first between 2004 and 2007, and from 2013 to 2015.
Mikel featured in 249 league games for Chelsea and won the Premier League title twice.
The 36-year-old also won four FA Cup titles, as well as the UEFA Champions League and Europa League.
