All that was left was for the referee’s assistant to raise the board and indicate that the injured Ogenyi Onazi would be replaced by Ramon Azeez after the Lazio player was stretchered off following a devastating Blaise Matuidi tackle in the second-round game against France.
The Almeria of Spain midfielder had already been instructed by Coach Stephen Keshi on what was expected of him and all that remained was mere formality. But once John Mikel Obi got a whiff of Keshi’s substitution plan, everything changed.
According to top team official who spoke with AfricanFootball.com, the Chelsea midfielder kicked against the introduction of Azeez in place of the injured Onazi. Instead, Reuben Gabriel was asked to come in.
“Mikel made it very clear to Keshi that he did not wish for Ramon to play alongside him in the midfield and that was why Azeez was asked to sit down and in his place Reuben was brought in,” the source was quoted to have said.
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The player power wielded by Mikel in the Super Eagles was such that coach Keshi asked the midfielder if he wanted to be replaced during the Bosnia-Herzegovina match, after he appeared struggling for energy.
“Should it be the player or the coach who should effect a substitution?” asked a baffled top official.
Mikel played all 360 minutes in Nigeria’s games in Brazil despite posting average performances against Iran, Bosnia, Argentina, and France.
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