John Obi Mikel

Mikel John Obi (born April 22, 1987 in Jos, Nigeria ) is a Nigerian footballer. He is a central midfielder who currently plays for Chelsea . He was born John Michael Nchekwube Obinna, the son of a former civil servant. "Nchekwube" means "hope" and "Obi" is a nickname for the Igbo name "Obinna" (meaning "Father´s heart"). Obi was playing top-flight football for Plateau United aged 15 and, by 2003, was gaining headlines for his country at the FIFA Under-17 World Championships held in Finland . After a brief spell in South Africa with Ajax Cape Town , Mikel gained global recognition in 2005 by starring at the FIFA World Youth Championship where Nigeria beat all opponents and made it to the final but lost only to Argentina by 2–1. During the 2003 FIFA Under-17 World Championships, commentators continually misspelled his middle name of "Michael" as "Mikel." He decided to keep the new name, saying that it had a special ring to it.