Sunan John Obi Mikel kusan ya zama daban gaba ɗaya. A gasar Kofin Duniya ta ƙasa da shekara 17 da aka yi a Finland a shekarar 2003, rigarsa ta zo da 'Mikel' a bayanta a maimakon 'Michael' — kuskuren bugu da ƙungiyar kwallon kafa ta Nigeria ba ta da lokacin gyarawa kafin fara wasan. Ya sanya ta, ya haskaka a gasar, ya kuma yanke shawarar riƙe sunan. Wannan ƙaramin kuskure ya ba duniya ɗaya daga cikin sunaye mafi shahara a kwallon kafa na Afirka.
Ƙwararre matashi kan radar duk wani gano hazaka
Mikel yana da shekara 16 a lokacin kuma yana wani dan wasan tsakiya mai harin da kwazo — ba tukuna shi ne dan wasan tsaro mai tsari wanda zai zama daga baya. Ayyukansa a Finland sun kunno hankali tsakanin manyan kulubun Turai. Wakilan sun mamaye otal din ƙungiyar, ɗaya a cikinsu ya zo da akwati da ake zargin ya ƙunshi £50,000 a kuɗin hannu don jan hankalinsa zuwa wani kulub na Holland. Arsenal da Bayern Munich sun kasance a cikin waɗanda ke bibiyar ci gabansa.
Manchester United sun ɗauki matakin farko a zahiri, inda suka gayyaci Mikel zuwa Carrington don horarwa tare da Roy Keane, Paul Scholes, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Diego Forlan, Gary Neville, Nicky Butt, da Rio Ferdinand — koyaushe tare da ƙungiyar farko, ba tare da cibiyar ba. Yana tunawa cewa Sir Alex Ferguson koyaushe yakan sa shi cikin ƙungiya ɗaya da Keane a lokacin horarwa don kare shi daga hadarin bulalar Scholes da aka san da kaskantar da kai.
Chelsea sun shiga filin
Ƙa'idodin FIFA na lokacin sun hana canja wuri na yan wasan Afirka da ba su kai shekara 18 ba. Manchester United sun mayar da Mikel Nigeria suna jira mafita, amma Chelsea sun yi amfani da baicin kasancewarsa. Wakili na kulub din Landan ya zo da kwantirigin, kuma zuwan Roman Abramovich a matsayin mai kulub ya gamsar da saurayin gwada sa'arsa a Stamford Bridge. Claudio Ranieri ya so ya rattaba hannu da shi nan take, amma ƙa'idar shekara 18 ta ci gaba da aiki.
A maimakon mayar da shi gida, Chelsea sun shirya masa zama a Oslo don buga wasa tare da Lyn, sun haya masa ɗaki kuma suka kula da danginsa da abokai. Kulub din har ma ya tura ƴan wasan Nigeria uku — Chinedu Obasi, Emmanuel Sarki, da Ezekiel Bala — domin ya ji tare.
Taron manema labarai da ya canza komai
Da Mikel ya cika shekara 18 ya buga wasa da Lyn, Manchester United sun aika wakilinsu Oslo. Abin da ya biyo baya ya kasance ɗaya daga cikin mafi ban mamaki a rayuwarsa: an kulle shi cikin ɗaki tare da manajan Lyn, ba wakili, ba mai ba da shawara na doka, ba ma kiran waya ga danginsa, ya kuma sanya hannu a kan kwantirigin farko na kimanin £1.5 miliyan a cikin sa'a ɗaya kaɗai.
Taron manema labarai an riga an shirya shi. Abokan wasansa na Nigeria, waɗanda ya batar da su ba tare da gaya musu kome ba, sun gano labarai ne da ganin shi a talabijin yana sanya rigar Manchester United. An riga an ɗauke masa wayarsa. Hotunansa a wannan taro sun bayyana komai game da tunaninsa. Mikel ya ce: «Ina zaune a nan ina tunani a raina: 'Menene kuka yi?'»
Shekaru biyu na tsayawa a wuri ɗaya
Chelsea sun amsa da fushi ƙwarai. Kulub din ya zuba jari a kulawa da shi tsawon watanni kuma ya ƙi sake da abin. An ɓoye Mikel a otal din Lyn da Manchester United, amma wakilinsa ya sami nasarar fitar da shi a asirce ya hau jirage zuwa London. Chelsea sun ba shi zama kusa da filin wasa, ya kuma zauna can na kusan shekara ɗaya yayin da FIFA ke ƙoƙarin warware yanayin — ba tare da nasara ba — har zuwa lokacin da ƙungiyar kwallon kafa ta Ingila ta shiga tsakani.
A duk wannan lokacin, ba zai iya horarwa, buga wasa, ko ma kusanci kowane kulub ba. Yana samun kiran waya na danginsa suna kuka, suna son ganinsa buga wasa, yayin da shi kansa yana kuka kowace rana saboda sha'awar dawowar fagen wasa. José Mourinho shi ne shugaban Chelsea a lokacin, kuma Mikel ya yi ikirarin haduwa da shi duk da haramcin da aka sanya. A ƙarshe Chelsea sun ci nasara — amma bayan ɓatar da kusan shekaru biyu na aikinsa, wanda Mikel ke zargin kansa saboda sa hannun wawa a Oslo.
