Roberto Di Matteo describes John Obi Mikel as unsung hero

By Saheed Afolabi

Roberto Di Matteo has described former Nigeria international, John Obi Mikel as an unsung hero in the Chelsea team.

Mikel played under Di Matteo at Chelsea and the former Super Eagles captain held it down for the Italian in the holding midfield role while doing the dirty job for the attacking midfielders.

Di Matteo said he understands Mikel role because he played in the same role with the Nigerian as e former Chelsea gaffer believes Mikel work rate wasn’t appreciated well enough of the fans.

“I played in the same position as you so I knew exactly what you go for in a game and what you felt,” Di Matteo was quoted by The Obi One Podcast.

“The role that you played in our team is a little bit of an unsung hero role. You have to do a lot of work that the fans or the critics in general don’t really understand or appreciate but because I played a similar role I knew exactly how important you were for the team.”

Mikel had 91 caps for the Super Eagles and scored six goals. He won seven trophies at Chelsea, one champions league winners medal, two FA Cups and two Premier League titles.