'Speaks to players really well' - Mikel likens Eguavoen to Real Madrid coach in terms of man-management

Former Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel has lavished praise on Super Eagles caretaker coach Augustine Eguavoen by likening him to Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti in terms of his man-management skills.

With the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations winner in the dugout, Nigeria recorded a commanding 3-0 win over Republic of Benin last Saturday before playing out an entertaining goalless draw with Rwanda on Tuesday. 

Having played for the Golden Eaglets under the guidance of the 59-year-old Eguavoen, Mikel is familiar with his working methods.

Mikel earning caps for Nigeria at U17 level has an interesting backstory as he wasn't initially selected for the squad.

He unexpectedly showed up at the training camp but was eventually dropped by the coaching staff, led by Ganiyu Salami, who believed his performance fell short of expectations.

Former Technical Director of the Nigeria Football Federation, Bitrus Bewarang was displeased Mikel was axed from the U17 squad and handed a written note to the player’s guardian, Bright Okafor, urging the coaches to reverse their decision, and the rest is history. 

In his first stint as coach of the Super Eagles, Eguavoen gave Mikel his senior debut in a friendly against Libya in August 2005.

Mikel revealed that the secret to Eguavoen's success is his humility and skill in effectively managing the Super Eagles stars. 

Speaking on The Obi One Podcast, Mikel said: "I know the interim manager now, Augustine Eguavoen who managed me when I was a kid. U17, he was my coach, took us to the World Cup.

"Fantastic guy, lovely guy, a manager who gives you all the freedom in the world to express yourself, speaks to you really well.

"He reminds me so much of Carlo Ancelotti, no jokes about that, his man management is top. He speaks to players really well. He is so humble. He communicates with players really well, puts his arm around you.

"He gets his players on his side, that's so important. You could see coming in short notice and getting the team to play so well. You can't teach them so much is such a short space of time.

"It's about the communication, it's about the man management of making the players so relaxed so they can perform and that's what I saw when I watched the game because the team performed really well, the first game, and also the second game. Of course we didn't win it but there was so much positivity.

"The team played really well yesterday and I thought we could have won the game."

Mikel concluded by saying that the Nigeria Football Federation should consider naming Eguavoen as the permanent head coach of the Super Eagles.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

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