SUPER Eagles midfielder Mikel Obi surprisingly picked up the man-of-the-match award yesterday after Nigeria's barren draw against Iran despite putting in a pathetic performance that was unacceptable for a player of his stature. Yesterday evening, Mikel was an embarrassing shadow of his usual self as Nigeria showed no fight, tenacity or creativity against a weak Iranian side that held them at bay for 90 minutes. For the duration of the game, Mikel kept passing the ball sideways and failed to take on the mantle of leadership as most commentators had expected him to. Being am player who has plied his trade at the highest level and won Uefa Champions League and English Premiership trophies with Chelsea, Mikel was widely expected to be the man running the show yesterday. However, he only managed to get one shot on target and several football fans have since been calling for coach Keshi to drop him for the next match. However, according to Fifa statistics, Mikel made 94 passes during the game, which is the best among other winners of the Man of the Match in the tournament so far. Brazilian playmaker Neymar made 49 passes, while Croatia's Dos Santo made 36 passes, Holland's Robbie Van Persie made 26 passes and Ivory Coast's Yaya Toure made 53 passes. Fifa's man-of-the-match award, sponsored by Budweiser is to reward individual excellence in each game and voting is done by football watchers via social media and the federation's website. Fans are able to vote on Twitter at the start of the second half of each game, by clicking on a picture of their chosen player and registering their vote via the hashtag ManoftheMatch. Fifa’s marketing director Thierry Weil, said the process gives fans the opportunity to be part of the sport they love. Voting is available in six languages - English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German and Arabic.
