Nigeria
and Chelsea star Mikel Obi could not arrive in Lagos on Wednesday for
the Glo-CAF award night as originally planned. Instead, the midfielder
will arrive in Lagos on Thursday aboard a regular flight but will depart
from the country aboard a Chelsea flight specially arranged for him by
the Stamford Bridge team.
An assistant to the player told The PUNCH that the team’s training schedule made it impossible for Mikel to be in Lagos on Wednesday.
He said, “He was meant to be here with
us on Wednesday but he could not get clearance from the manager. The
coach insisted that he trained with the team on Wednesday for the
weekend before leaving and so an alternative arrangement had to be put
in place.”
By the latest schedule, Mikel will not
pass the night in Nigeria as he is billed to leave for London
immediately after the event holding at the Eko Hotel in Lagos. The
midfielder who scored his fourth Chelsea goal on Sunday against Derby
County in an FA Cup match has been a regular in Jose Mourinho’s recent
games and he is expected to play a major role on Saturday when they face
Hull City in a Premier League match.
The Super Eagles player has been largely
tipped to win the African player award ahead of the Cote d’Ivoire duo
of Yaya Toure and Didier Drogba. Yaya also stayed back in England and
played for Manchester City against West Ham in the League Cup semi-final
match on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, in the African Nations
Championship, Eagles Team ‘B’ will have their first training session in
South Africa on Thursday night following their arrival in Cape Town on
Saturday. The Nigerians will play their opening Group A match against
Mali on Saturday in Cape Town. The match against Mali is billed to hold
by 8:30pm local time (7:30 Nigerian time).
Report from South Africa confirmed that
the Eagles were received on Wednesday by the Nigerian ambassador to the
country, Mr. Sunday Yusuf. The players were led by assistant coach
Daniel Amokachi, who is standing in for Stephen Keshi.
The envoy told the players, “Nigerians
are now used to winning, especially here in South Africa and I’m sure
you will not let the nation down.”
Amokachi, who spoke on behalf of the team, assured him that the team will do their best at the tourney.
PUNCH NG
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