By Ayobami Okerinde

Former Nigerian and Chelsea midfielder, John Obi Mikel, has likened interim head coach of the Super Eagles, Augustine Eguavoen, to Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti.

This commendation comes on the heels of Nigeria’s strong showing in the AFCON 2025 qualifiers against Benin Republic and Rwanda.

Eguavoen was named interim coach of the team after the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) failed to agree to a deal with German tactician Bruno Labbadia.

Mikel, who played under top managers during his career, compared Eguavoen to his former Chelsea coach, noting on his Obi One Podcast that Eguavoen, who also coached him at national levels, lets players freely express themselves on the pitch.

“I know the interim manager now, Augustine Eguavoen, who managed me when I was a kid. U-17, he was my coach, took us to the World Cup.

Fantastic guy, lovely guy, a manager who gives you all the freedom in the world to express yourself, speaks to you really well.

“He reminds me so much of Carlo Ancelotti, no jokes about that, his man management is top. He speaks to players really well. He is so humble. He communicates with players really well, puts his arm around you.

“He gets his players on his side, that’s so important. You could see coming in on short notice and getting the team to play so well. You can’t teach them so much in such a short space of time.”