John Obi Mikel Celebrates His 32nd Birthday Today

John Obi Mikel Turns 32 Today.

John Michael
Nchekwube Obinna (born 22 April 1987), variously known as John Obi
Mikel, John Mikel Obi or Mikel John Obi, is a Nigerian professional
footballer who captains both English club Middlesbrough and the Nigeria
national team as a defensive midfielder.

Mikel was born in Jos,
Nigeria, as John Michael Nchekwube Obinna, the son of Michael Obi, who
runs an inter-state transport company in Jos, the capital of Plateau
State. As his father was a member of the Igbo ethnic group, “Nchekwube”
means “hope” and “Obi” is a nickname for the Igbo name “Obinna” (meaning
“Father’s heart”

.

Mikel
started his football career at the age of 12 when picked as a talented
footballer from over 3,000 young talents to play in Pepsi Football
Academy, a team that at the time was well known for travelling across
Nigeria scouting young footballers with the potential to play
professionally. Obi stood out to scouts and was later picked to play for
top-flight club Plateau United, a side that had previously developed
stars Celestine Babayaro, Victor Obinna and Chris Obodo, among others,
that went on to success in European leagues. Later known as John Obi
Mikel, he made headlines for his country at the FIFA Under-17 World
Championships held in Finland. Following the tournament, he went on to a
trial at South Africa club Ajax Cape Town, ultimately joining
Oslo-based club Lyn Fotball in Norway.

During preparations for
the 2003 FIFA Under-17 World Championships, the Nigerian Football
Association (NFA) mistakenly submitted “Michael” as “Mikel” for the
tournament in Finland. He decided to keep the new name, saying that it
had a “special ring to it.” On 31 July 2006, he stated that he prefers
to be called Mikel John Obi instead of John Obi Mikel, as he had most
commonly been called.

In the summer of 2005, Mikel played for Nigeria at the FIFA World Youth Championships held in the Netherlands. He had an excellent tournament until Nigeria reached the final, where they lost 2–1 to Argentina. Obi won the Silver Ball after being voted the tournament’s second-best player.

Biography source:- Wikipedia