Victor Wanyama, From Playing Bare Foot To Reaching The Champions League Final
21st June 2019
The uncompromising midfielder is an icon in his homeland, where football fanatics number in the millions but whose players rarely reach the highest level of the club game
- Victor Wanyama, who played until his bare feet bled on the streets of Nairobi as a child, will on Sunday make his Africa Cup of Nations bow, a few weeks after helping Tottenham to the Champions League final
- Wanyama is the figurehead of a Kenyan team that has its work cut out to advance from a group including Algeria, Sunday's opponents, and Senegal as well as Tanzania
- The Nairobi native, raised in a family of 11 children, made his debut on the dirt streets of Land Mawe, a neighbourhood at the time reserved for employees of the Kenyan railway company, for whom his mother worked
NAIROBI, Kenya-
Victor Wanyama, who played until his bare feet bled on the streets of
Nairobi as a child, will on Sunday make his Africa Cup of Nations bow, a few
weeks after helping Tottenham to the Champions League final.
Wanyama is the
figurehead of a Kenyan team that has its work cut out to advance from a group
including Algeria, Sunday's opponents, and Senegal as well as Tanzania.
The uncompromising
midfielder is an icon in his homeland, where football fanatics number in the
millions but whose players rarely reach the highest level of the club game.
"Victor is a
very popular guy because he is a bit laid back, not too flamboyant. He doesn't
like showing off," says Kenyan journalist Elias Makori. "He earns a
very tidy sum from Tottenham, but you don't see it showing around."
MUST
READ: 'We Are No Pushovers' Stars Captain Wanyama Declares; Raila Visits Team
In Cairo
Because of the
rugged midfielder, Tottenham have become fashionable in Nairobi, where fans
traditionally support Arsenal or Manchester United.
"He has
remained very humble, and he has not forgotten his humble origins," said
his cousin, Harrison Osotsi, noting that Wanyama is always keen to help young
footballers back home, providing equipment, or welcoming them to London in
groups.
The Nairobi native,
raised in a family of 11 children, made his debut on the dirt streets of Land
Mawe, a neighbourhood at the time reserved for employees of the Kenyan railway
company, for whom his mother worked.
"He used to
play barefoot, and sometimes he would bleed, but he kept going," his
cousin recalled. "When he got his first shoes, he had trouble getting used
to them ... he wanted to take them off, but he got used to them in the
end."
His father, Noah
Wanyama, a former Kenya international, remembers Victor following along to
training in his early days.
READ
ALSO: Sarri's Final Puff: Juventus A Step Up From Chelsea, Coaching Ronaldo A
Dream
"Victor and the
other boys would accompany me to the stadium and carry the sports bag for
me when I went for football training or playing (matches)," he said.
"They were quick to learn the tricks in the sport."
"I am
happy I did instil a lot of discipline and hard work in my
children," said Noah, who can boast of raising two sons that reached the
Champions League final. Victor's elder brother, Macdonald Mariga, was part of
Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan squad that won the title in 2010.
- International debut aged 15 -
Victor's rise was
rapid -- his first call-up to the national team came at just 15 for a friendly
against Nigeria.
A precocious, yet
raw, talent, he was sent to Sweden to toughen up before moving on to Belgium.
At 20 he signed for Celtic, where fans still fondly remember a goal he scored
during a 2012 Champions League victory over Barcelona.
A year later, he
became the first Kenyan to play in the Premier League at Southampton, before
switching to Tottenham in 2016.
After a strong debut
season with Spurs injuries hampered the next two seasons, though he returned to
start both legs of Tottenham's dramatic semi-final against Ajax only to watch
the loss to Liverpool in Madrid from the bench.
Despite that
setback, his journey "is a source of inspiration and motivation for other
players in the national team", says Makori.
"People look up
to him as a good leader, a mature person, somebody who knows how to invest your
money and how to behave as a leader."
Kenya, ranked 105th
in the world, will need their captain and best player to lead as in their first
Africa Cup of Nations since 2004.
"For me, the
coach, and for the rest of the staff, we are happy to have a player who is able
to compete at this level," says Kenya boss Sebastien Migne.
"It will help
us to send a message to our opponents. We have one of the finalists of the
Champions League in our team. In terms of confidence, it will be perfect for
us."