John Obi Mikel boasts a star-studded list of managers he’s played under.
The former midfielder is best known for an 11-year spell at Chelsea where he won every major club honour at his disposal.
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Although his time in west London was a successful one, Mikel endured prolonged spells of upheaval in the dugout,
Including both temporary and permanent managers, the Nigerian played under a staggering 11 managers.
But his extensive trophy haul wasn’t affected by the changes, thanks in part to the array of world-class tacticians at his disposal.
Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, and Antonio Conte are just a snippet of the names Mikel worked under on his way to scooping two Premier League titles, four FA Cup triumphs, a Champions League winners medal and Europa League success.
Mikel conceded that each manager had their own way of dealing with players with some adopting a stronger stance than others.
“Carlo Ancelotti is a fantastic guy, the best manager in Europe,” Mikel told talkSPORT. “He won the Champions League with AC Milan and Real Madrid and the Premier League title with Chelsea.
“He’s quiet but loud when he has to be but when he needs you to do something he lets you know. But his man management is the best.
“I’ve never played under a manager that knows how to get the best out of players just by speaking to you, putting his arm around you and just wanting to know how you feel.
“I’ve played under different managers that all have different ways of dealing with players.
“Mourinho was very harsh and critical. Sometimes he crossed the line.
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“Andre Villas-Boas was different. He would just pull you out and explain to you. Rafa Benitez was the same.”
One former manager stands out above the rest for Mikel who he says allowed him to express himself with freedom on the pitch like no other.
“I’ve been lucky to play under so many great managers but the one that gave me the freedom to perform the way I wanted to play was Roberto Di Matteo,” Mikel added.
“He took over and thought, ‘I’m going to let the senior players control what happens on the pitch and I’m going to manage the whole situation’.
“I’m going to give them the system I want to play and the senior players can lead the team.
“That’s exactly what happened. He took them along with him and he made them feel so important.
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“Sometimes that works really well and the partnership between the manager and the senior players becomes so strong.”
Another manager that Mikel starred under was Avram Grant, who initially arrived at Stamford Bridge at the club’s director of football.
He was quickly handed the role as first-team manager after the sacking of Mourinho in 2007 despite not holding the required UEFA coaching badges at the time.
But Grant quickly settled into his role by taking Chelsea on a 16-game unbeaten run resulting in a second placed Premier League finish.
He also led the Blues to the Champions League final where they were eventually beaten on penalties by Manchester United in Moscow.
Mikel fondly remembers his time with Grant even if there were some hilarious and puzzling moments along the way.
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On one occasion, Grant gave a full team-talk to the Chelsea squad despite his tactics being constructed for 12 players instead of the required 11.
“We were looking at the board and thinking, hold on a minute there’s 12 players there. He was like ‘oh really there’s 12? Sorry’,” Mikel recalled.
“He wiped it out but he gave a whole speech with 12 players in it. How he did that, we have no idea. It was crazy.
“It’s incredible how he did that because you move players on the board to show them where to be but he did all that with 12 without knowing there was one extra player.
“Avram Grant is a great person,” Mikel added. “He knew when he took over at the football club that we were in the Champions League group stages but then we got to the final in 2008 where we lost to Manchester United.
“We knew that he wasn’t tactically very good and the likes of JT (John Terry), Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba had to make sure everything was done properly.
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“They led the team, they spoke to players on the pitch and individually as well to make sure we got to the Champions League final.
“He was very smart. He knew that all he had to do was just speak to the players and manage and guide us.”
Mikel continued: “There’s so many stories like when he came to us with a book full of tactics. He was angry about something and slammed the book on the table.
“We all looked at the book and there was nothing in it!
“But he’s a great guy. He always told us how he was amazing friends with Michael Jordan. I saw him the other day in Munich and had a chat with him.”
