Football is a game that not only requires skills and physical strength, but a lot of emotional strength too. John Obi Mikel, the captain of the Nigerian team, displayed the peak of emotional stability during the match between Nigeria and Argentina.
The former Chelsea midfielder has come out with the horrifying details of what he has been going through even before he took the field in the match against Argentina.He came to know just a few hours before the match started, that his father Pa Michael Obi has been kidnapped and the captors demanded 21,000 pounds ransom money. The kidnappers pretended to be the police and took Obi when he was on his way to a funeral. Mikel was told to keep shut and was threatened that his father would be shot if he informed the authorities about the incident. Mikel revealed that he didn’t inform his coach or teammates because he didn’t want the issue to be a distraction for the rest of the team just before such an important game. “I was emotionally distraught but had to make a decision about whether I was mentally ready to play the game,” Mikel said. “At the end I knew that I could not let 180 million Nigerians down. I had to shut it out of my head and go and represent my country first,” he said.
The 31- year old has already shown immense character, opting to play even after breaking a bone in his hand in the 2-0 win over Iceland. However, this is not the first time that his dad was kidnapped, with the earlier incident taking place in 2011. The police rescued Obi six days after the kidnapping and have sent him to the hospital for recovery.
