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| Nigeria's John Obi Mikel with the African soccer ultimate trophy |
Ivorian Yaya Toure is the reigning African Player of the Year but the multi-million dollar question on the lips of African football pundits is whether somebody can unseat the Man City enforcer in the flagship awards?
There is no doubt Yaya Toure is the front runner for this award as the winner of the last two editions is still at his peak. He scored two goals in the last Cup of Nations including a spectacular free-kick against Tunisia at the group stage. Though the Elephants failed to go past the quarters, he has served as the pillar of the Ivorian team in the 2014 World Cup qualifiers, netting four goals in the process. At Manchester City, he is a cult figure and has been the driving force for the club. For the current 2013-14 season, the midfielder has found the back of the net several times.
CAF couldn't have said more than this about Toure but in my opinion, another notable player who could give the Ivorian and Man City midfield dynamo a run for his money is Chelsea and Nigerian midfielder John Obi Mikel.
CAF says Mikel is enjoying probably his best moment in football. A regular with the star-studded Chelsea, he played an influential role in the buildup to the 2013 UEFA Europa League crown. In September 21 this year, he broke his goal duck in the English Premier League with his first goal in 185 matches in a 2-0 win over Fulham. Also, he netted a cracker against Uruguay at the FIFA Confederation Cup in Brazil in July besides claiming a gold medal with the Super Eagles at the Africa Cup of Nations. He was also instrumental for Nigeria in the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
This writer believes Mikel could cause a major upset in January 9, 2014 in Lagos, Nigeria.
Obi Mikel has distinguished himself very well for club and country. For instance, many pundits underrated his contributions for Chelsea but he was, no doubt, one of the consistent performers for Chelsea that saw them win the Europa Cup.
Mikel has also remained the fulcrum of the Super Eagles. In fact, the Nigerian national team is built around Mikel and he deserves more commendations for wining the Europa Cup with Chelsea as well as the Cup of Nations trophy with Nigeria in the year under review.
I think Mikel did much better in the 2013 Cup of Nations and the World Cup qualifiers than Yaya Toure, hence my belief that the Nigerian may unseat Yaya Toure.
Even on the club level, albeit debatable, Yaya Toure was not miles ahead of Mikel. At least, Mikel, played a pivotal role in the Chelsea setup that won the Europa Cup.
He also helped his Nigerian colleagues to conquer Africa after a 19-year wait while Toure and his galaxy of Ivorian stars got bundled out of the African Cup in the quarter final stage.
Even though a decision by CAF to award Senegalese international El Hadji Diouf the 2001 African player of the year ahead of Ghana's Samuel Osei Kuffour was one of the most unpleasant surprises in the history of the awards, I for see another surprise, but this one will be a pleasant one when the Nigerian will be named as the 2013 African best player.
I believe the period that always put the European leagues ahead of our own Cup of Nations and our own World Cup qualifiers is past and gone so if we want to honour a true African best player, then we must look deep into who did extremely well for his national team in the Cup of Nations and World Cup qualifier before we look at club performances. In other words, let's put our continental competitions ahead of European leagues, at least, just for this year, so that we can juxtapose the contributions of the final shortlisted players in the Cup of Nations and the World Cup qualifiers.
As for Didier Drogba, this writer is still wondering why the Ivorian super star made the final list this time. Don't get me wrong, he has been and will remain one of the finest strikers on earth but I don't think he did enough to make the final cut in 2013.
CAF believes Drogba at 35 is yet to lose his shine after scoring three goals as the Elephants reached a third successive World Cup appearance. They say the former Chelsea talisman bounced back from a disappointing spell in China and has been banging in the goals in Turkey. He scored five in 13 appearances during Galatasaray’s triumph in the 2012-13 season and still scoring in the current season, in all competitions for Galatasaray, including the UEFA Champions League.
But is that really enough to put Drogba in the final three?
For the purpose of argument, I want to narrow the list to just Toure and Mikel and debate dispassionately about who really contributed immensely to his national team and even his club in the year 2013. I am doing this because I can state with all certainty that Drogba remains a ranked outsider in this race.
The fact that Mikel was a cynosure for his countrymen and Africans in the Cup of Nations as well as the World Cup qualifiers, coupled with the fact that he was instrumental for Chelsea in 2013 are enough justifications why Obi Mikel must win the award ahead of Toure.
Toure is, no doubt, a true genius in the colours of Man City; he sometimes also carry the Elephants of Ivory Coast on his shoulders but the only thing the Ivorian can boast of is the fact that he played a key role in Ivory Coast's qualification to the World Cup. And that is it!
But in 2013, Mikel can boast of the fact that he did not only lead the Super Eagles to Nations Cup glory but also made an impression in the Confederation Cup in Brazil, helped qualified Nigeria to the World Cup and also helped Chelsea win the UEFA Europa Cup.
Below are the fact file of the three finalists:
Name: Didier Drogba
Date of Birth: March 11, 1978
Country: Cote d’Ivoire
Club: Galatasaray (Turkey)
Name: John Obi Mikel
Date of Birth: April 22, 1987
Country: Nigeria
Club: Chelsea (England)
Name: Yaya Toure
Date of Birth: May 13, 1983
Country: Cote d’Ivoire
Club: Manchester City (England)
