John Obi Mikel has revealed that his father was kidnapped just before kick off in the game against Argentina. H e said he did not tell his ...
John Obi Mikel has revealed that his father was kidnapped just before kick off in the game against Argentina. He said he did not tell his coach as he did not want to destabilise the team. The kidnappers demanded $28,000 for the safe return of his father, Pa Michael Obi.
I played while my father was in the hands of bandits,” Mikel said. “I had to suppress the trauma. I took a call four hours before kick-off to tell me what had happened.
“I was emotionally distraught and I had to make the decision about whether I was mentally ready to play. I was confused. I did not know what to do but, in the end, I knew that I could not let 180 million Nigerians down. I had to shut it out of my head and go and represent my country first. I could not even inform the coaches or NFF staff and only a very tight circle of my friends knew.
“I was told that they would shoot my dad instantly if I reported to the authorities or told anybody. I also did not want to discuss it with the coach [Gernot Rohr] because I did not want my issue to become a distraction to him or the rest of the team on the day of such an important game. As much as I wanted to discuss it with the coach, I could not.
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