Former Super Eagles’ captain, John Mikel Obi has sent a thank you message to his heartthrob, Olga Diyachenko for giving him a special surprise splash on his 33rd birthday, even as they spent the time together in self-isolation with their two daughters, megasportsaerena.com reports.
It was a symbolic moment for the family, as Mikel showed his love and loyalty to his Russian partner and their twins by instigating his exit from Trabzonspor of Turkey, in order to be with them during the lockdown occasioned by coronavirus, s rather than continue playing matches with the Turkish Super Lig club.
He was eventually called to question over his protestations via social media and, though the Lig was eventually suspended later on, it came three days after he had already reached a quickfire agreement to leave Trabzonspor by mutual consent, and he gleefully returned to England to reunite with Olga and the kids.
She has now rewarded him somewhat with a special birthday bash at home on Wednesday, even as many messages rolled in for him from fellow-footballers, coaches, officials and fans, as well as one of his former clubs, Chelsea of England and Confederation of African Football (CAF).
It turned out to be a special 33rd birthday for Mikel, who got 90 caps with the Eagles, before calling time on his international career shortly after helping the team win bronze at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, three years after he captained the under-23 squad, Olympic Eagles, to the same level at Rio 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil.
At club level, Mikel (fondly called The Catalyst) made 372 appearances for Chelsea across ten seasons, during which he won the English Premier League twice, FA Cup four times, League Cup twice, UEFA Champions League once and Europa League; after which he moved to join Tianjin Teda of China, returned to England with Middlesbrough after two season and then to Tuirkey.
The well-respected holding midfielder, who earlier played for Plateau United of Jos and Lyn Oslo of Norway, featured at the FIFA World Cup in 2014 and 2018, played in five editions of the Africa Cup of Nations, which he won in 2013, and was part of Nigeria’s silver-winning under-20 team, Flying Eagles at Holland 2005 World Youth Championship 9WYC).
It was at Holland 2005 that he emerged second most valuable player behind Lionel Messi, such that he caught the eye of Chelsea’s scouts, who prevailed on the London club to move swiftly for the then exuberant youngster, and they pulled the plug from under EPL rivals, Manchester United to get his contract.
Significantly, Chelsea were not to be left out of the birthday felicitations on Wednesday, as The Blues posted on Instagram: “33 today! 🥳 Have a great birthday, @Mikel_John_Obi! 🏆💙;” while CAF tweeted : “Happy Birthday to Nigeria’s retired midfielder John Obi Mikel!
The most emotional splash for Mikel, though, would be what he got from his Russian partner, Olga, who gave him a quarantine birthday special, along with their twin daughters, Ava and Mia, even as they stayed quarantined at home together.
Mikel wrote in appreciation of all the greetings he got from all over the world, especially that from his heartthrob: “Thank you for all the kind messages and wishes! And thank you my love @olga_allegra for organising the most special surprise.”