JOHN OBI MIKEL thrives on centre stage
Mikel thrives on centre stage Matt Spiroan , from Cairo When John Obi Mikel was replaced in the second half of Nigeria's African Cup of Nations semi-final against the Ivory Coast the game seemed to be up for the Super Eagles. Trailing to Didier Drogba's goal, Nigeria looked devoid of ideas without their teenage prodigy and not even the introduction of Jay-Jay Okocha, so often a match-winner in the past, could raise their flagging spirits. Mikel impact That Nigeria are already relying so heavily on the SFK Lyn Oslo midfield player says much about the impact he has made in Egypt. Rarely can a player have been hyped up so much before even featuring at the highest level, but the elegant 18-year-old, who is the subject of a much-publicised tug-of-war between Manchester United FC and Chelsea FC, wasted little time in showing people what the fuss was about. Playing with remarkable poise for someone so young and displaying the vision of a genuine creator, Mikel lit up the tournament wi