NAIROBI, June 21, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – 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.”
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.
“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.”