Sweden, the springboard to star status for Kenyan football players
Compared to some of the other African countries known for their football exports, Kenya has lagged behind in recent decades. However, this has not stopped our local players from attracting attention, and many have had the opportunity to show their talents in foreign leagues and competitions.
Nothing excites Kenyan football fans more than watching homemade talents enjoy success, which is undoubtedly the reason why they also like to predict results. They also tend to use foreign gaming companies when backing up their favorite players and teams. For detailed insights on the best and most reputable betting sites, https://www.sbo.net/ has developed a complete guide that covers everything from odds and offers to free tips and strategies.
Of particular interest is that among the most successful Kenyan players came the first chance to show their talents abroad in Sweden, where many have established themselves in the professional game. Moving to the Scandinavian country also provided the platform on which their careers could be built, before they continued to flourish at the highest level.
Victor Wanyama
Recently joined https://kenyanreport.com/ as the patriarch of what has become a sports dynasty, the sons of Noah Wanyama have continued to have great success. The first to break into European football was McDonald’s Mariga Wanyama, in the Swedish clubs Enköpings and Helsingborgs, and his younger brother Victor also signed for the latter in 2007. McDonald continued with a solid career in both Italy and Spain, while Victor went to Belgium side Beerschot.
After two excellent campaigns in Belgium, Victor Wanyama continued to flourish as a powerful defender in Celtic, winning back-to-back Scottish Premier League titles and the Scottish Cup, plus the 2012-13 SPL Young Player of the Year award. In July 2013, he became the most expensive player sold by a Scottish club, and the first Kenyan to play in the English Premier League, and came to Southampton for £ 12.5 million.
Already an established Kenya national team player by now, Wanyama continued to impress and after three campaigns with the Saints, he moved to Tottenham Hotspur for 11 million pounds in June 2016. After a strong first season, much of Wanyama’s time at Spurs would be ruined by knee injuries. However, he was part of the team that reached the UEFA Champions League final 2018-19, and took home a second place medal when they finally lost 2-0 against Liverpool.
After making just 4 appearances during the 2019-20 season, Tottenham announced the transfer of Wanyama to the CF Montréal football team in the Major League, where he is one of their designated star players. Last year, Wanyama helped CF Montréal qualify for the CONCACAF Champions League. He announced his departure from international football in September 2021, after making 64 appearances and scoring 6 goals for Kenya.
Michael Olunga
Michael Olunga’s worldwide career began at the Liberty Sports Academy, with loan spells at Kenyan Premier League teams including Tuska, Thika United and Gor Mahia. His impressive points record led to an early call to Kenya’s national team in 2015, together with his first move abroad to Swedish Djurgården’s 2016, where the talented young striker scored 12 goals in 27 Allsvenskan appearances.
On the move again in 2017, Olunga switched to the Chinese Super League side Guizhou, although after struggling to settle down, he joined the Spanish La Liga team Girona for the rest of the 2017-18 campaign. While there, Olunga scored three goals in his debut against Las Palmas, becoming the first Girona player and the first Kenyan to score a hat-trick in La Liga. Despite interest from several European clubs, Olunga chose to move to Japan in August 2018.
Olunga was hugely successful with Kashiwa Reysol in Japan, as his ability to score reached new heights. He scored eight goals in a match when Kashiwa beat Kyoto Sanga 13-1 in November 2019, and ended the 2019-20 season with 29 goals in 33 matches, which helped his club get back to the J1 League. During the 2020 season, Olunga was the top scorer in J.League with 29 goals in 35 matches, won J.League’s MVP award and as https://panafricanfootball.com/ reported that he was also voted as the 2020 outstanding sports personality in Kenya.
On the move again in January 2021, Olunga went to Al-Duhail in the Qatar Stars League for about 6 million euros, where he scored 20 goals in 22 matches and finished as top scorer in the AFC Champions League. The 27-year-old striker has 21 goals in 38 internationals for Kenya, which means there is plenty of time to break the national team record of 35 goals, set by Harambee Stars legend William Ouma between 1964 and 1977.
Swedish bands remain strong in Kenya
When the last Kenya squad was announced in November 2021, before the matches against Uganda and Rwanda, three of the Harambee Stars team were at Swedish clubs. 26-year-old defender Eric Ouma is in AIK, 27-year-old midfielder Eric Johana Omondi is in Jönköping, while 22-year-old striker Anthony Wambani is in Vasalunds.
Other members of the Kenya squad have also had periods in Sweden during their careers, including 24-year-old defender Joseph Okumu and 29-year-old midfielder David Ochieng. This shows that for many of the leading Kenyan prospects, moving to Sweden is often the springboard to star status for our most talented players.