Why I Turned Mikel Obi Into A Defensive Midfielder – Jose Mourinho

Jose Mourinho, the former Chelsea and Manchester United manager, has detailed why he switched John Mikel Obi from attacking to defensive midfielder during his time at Stamford Bridge.

The former Nigerian international, who joined Chelsea in 2006, was regarded as one of the world’s top young playmakers at the time.

During Mourinho’s time at the London club, he worked alongside him.

The Portuguese, on the other hand, converted the 36-year-old to a defensive midfielder.

Mourinho, who is now in charge of AS Roma in Serie A, explained his decision.

“I liked everything about Mikel. If you go through all the positional [defensive] midfield players that I have had during my career, there are lots of similar things,” Mourinho said on the ObiOne Podcast.

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“Aside from Claude Makelele who was small, I had them all tall and physically strong. They also knew how to occupy space and they have what I call ‘the simplicity of football’, which is fundamental in that position.

“The team needs balance, with or without the ball. A defensive midfielder needs to be humble in the sense that they recognize that the team is more important than themselves.

“With me at Chelsea, Mikel was a fantastic positional midfield player, very quick thinking, one touch, two touches, everything was simple, and the game was flowing.”

Mikel played 249 league games for Chelsea, winning the Premier League twice. He also won the FA Cup four times and the UEFA Champions League and Europa League four times.