MK254
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- May 11, 2013
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On a cheery evening last Saturday, a young Kenyan export called Victor Mugubi Wanyama jogged onto a football pitch in Kingston Upon Hull, a small footballing town in northern England. He had come here to face the local team, Hull City FC, at the 25,000-seater KC Stadium, and the atmosphere was already electric even before the game started.
His team, Southampton FC, had won six of their seven previous matches, and pundits had projected that they would win this away clash as well. England manager Roy Hodgson sat quietly at the stands as the referee blew the whistle to kick off the game.
The Saints, as Southampton are nicknamed, noticed something interesting immediately; Hull had put their third-choice keeper Eldin Jakupovic between the uprights, and he did not look settled at all.
In the second minute, the Swiss international was wide on the left of his box when one of his defenders, Robbie Brady, turned the ball back.
The unsettled Jakupovic cleared it hurriedly, but only into the waiting, opportunistic boots of Wanyama, about 40 metres away. Taking advantage of the blunder, Wanyama delicately lobbed the keeper and put the ball in the net, and that single goal handed the Saints their seventh win in eight matches.
(READ: Victor Wanyama's 40-yard screamer punishes Hull blunder)
On the stands, it was too sweet to ignore. We are going to win the league! We are going to win the league! the fans started chanting.
The goal was Big Vics third of the season, and, in a way, it embodied the goal-ferreting, chance-scavenging strengths of the box-to-box midfielder.
Big in stature and ruthless in his tackles, the Harambee Stars skipper has over time proved that he can not only do the dirty work at the base of midfield, but also score not just goals, but beautiful ones too.
As Wanyamas football star shines in England, across the border in Italy, his elder brother MacDonald Mariga is going through some sort of a rough patch, while in France long-serving Stars striker Dennis The Menace Oliech fights tooth and nail to restore his fading career.
(READ: GACHUHI: Oliechs long farewell and the condition of being unwanted)
Harambee Stars striker Dennis Oliech during a past training session. PHOTO | FILE | NATION
Such is the contrast of Kenyas most famed footballers, who have not only carved a niche for themselves in the recent past, but also written rosy chapters in Kenyas football history books.
Mariga, for instance, not only became the first Kenyan player to play in the Italian Serie A in the summer of 2007, but also the first East African to win the coveted Uefa Champions League trophy in 2010 with Serie A giants Inter Milan, then under the tutelage of current Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho.
(READ: McDonald Mariga almost ready for action, says Parma coach Roberto Donadoni)
Harambee Stars midfielder McDonald Mariga during a training session ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations preliminary match against Comoros on May 16, 2014 at Nyayo Stadium. PHOTO | MARTIN MUKANGU | FILE |
NATION
FANTASTIC HEADER
Oliech also had his fair share of fame when, in 2005, he sealed a deal with French Ligue 1 side FC Nantes from Qatari club Al-Arabi for $3.7 million (about Sh280 million), becoming the first and only Kenyan to have ever played in the top-tier French league.
However, of the three, it is the 23-year-old combative midfielder who continues to make headlines for the right reasons owing to his fine performances at the heart of Southamptons midfield in the lucrative English Premier League.
From scoring a fantastic header against the football gods that are Barcelona in the Uefa Champions League match on November 7 2012 at Celtic Park, to sealing a move to EPL in the summer of 2013, success has come in droves for the indefatigable midfielder.
Just last month, he added another feather to his decorated cap after he was voted the English Premier League African Player of the month of September.
In light of the trios success, and amidst an insatiable desire to play professional football in the European elite leagues, Kenyan and Ugandan footballers have over the years flown to Europe in droves to chase after their lifelong dreams, guided by the hope that, like Wanyama, they can make it big in the trillion-shilling soccer industry.
Whereas a few have accomplished the mission, most have seen their dreams nipped in the bud. Back home, many more toil day-in, day-out in the hope of one day getting their big break, which in this case means playing in the worlds most celebrated leagues.
Beneath the soaring expectations of these players, however, lies a tale of many others who came close to securing the dream ticket to European leagues but ended up returning home either frustrated or completely broken.
FAILED IN TRIALS
While a handful have been fortunate enough to excel like Arnold Origi (Lillestrom, Norway), Ayub Timbe (Lierse, Belgium), and Johanna Omollo (Antwerp, Belgium), many more have gone and returned after failing the most basic of a football players evaluation trials.
Harambee Stars' forward Ayub Timbe (right) vies for the ball with Comoros' Bachirou Fouad during their Africa Cup of Nations Group first-round qualification match at Nyayo Stadium on May 18, 2014. PHOTO | CHRIS OMOLLO | NATION
Kenya is, however, not alone in this. In Uganda, for instance, speedy winger Emmanuel Okwi failed to make the cut at Austrias league side Red Bull Salzburg, while Isaac Ntege, formerly of Kampala City Capital Authority FC, failed to pass the test at Albanias FK Tirana, the same club where AFC Leopards defender James Situma and ex-Thika United forward Francis Kahata recently played
From Tanzania, the exciting Mrisho Ngassa failed trials with EPL side West Ham United in 2009, while compatriot Thomas Ulimwengu could not make it big in Europe after he stumbled at Hamburger SV in the German Bundesliga and at AS Monaco in France.
This string of failures has raised a lot of concern, with many local football fans wondering why East Africas home-grown players almost always fail to impress in their attempts to join the paid ranks. Is it because they rush to turn professional, or are the standards just wanting?
AFC Leopards midfielder Charles Okwemba, who at one time plied his trade with Omani side Al-Hilal (now renamed Salalah FC), says the failure of Kenyan players abroad stems from a litany of factors, among them poor attitude, indiscipline, impatience and an unwillingness to work hard.
AFC Leopards midfielder Charles Okwemba celebrates after scoring during a past Mashemeji derby match at the Nyayo Stadium. PHOTO | FILE | NATION
Most of our players who move abroad fail to realise that they are out there on a special mission; that in the eyes of their employers, their business is to play football... and to play well, Okwemba said in an interview with DN2.
No one wants to know your off-the-pitch issues. It, therefore, goes without saying that one must have a high degree of discipline to succeed; hard work and focus are paramount. You have to impress your coach and go beyond duty to meet the set targets.
GREAT DEAL OF EFFORT
Okwemba says that the thin line between Kenyan players and their West Africa counterparts is the latters aggressiveness and willingness to put in a great deal of effort.
I know of players who seek favours from coaches in order to play, and coaches who field players who are out of form. When such a player goes abroad, he is definitely bound to run into deep trouble.
Citing the success of Wanyama, Mariga, Oliech and Origi, Okwemba avers that humility and hard work should take precedence for any aspiring player.
You cannot come from a match and then go partying the whole evening, and you must also observe restraint before match day. A player must set limits for himself and be conscious of what he intends to achieve in his career.
On the other hand, BlackBerry, who had a colourless two-year experience in Denmark and brief stints in Tanzania and Armenia, opines that a number of factors, ranging from unfriendly weather to language barriers, also work against African players abroad.
Gor Mahia's Kenyan George 'Blackberry' Odhiambo celebrates his goal against Mathare United during the Tusker Premier League match on October 19, 2014 at City Stadium. Gor won 1-0. PHOTO | CHRIS OMOLLO | NATION
The former Harambee Stars forward, however, claims that his failure to excel in Denmark was as a result of a rogue agent, whose identity cannot be revealed here, and whom he claims drove a wedge between him and the club after stealing some of the clubs merchandise.
The truth is that some of the agents we deal with are fraudsters. A number of them are not Fifa-licensed and in the long run they end up messing up the players, said the former Azam forward who has struggled to fit in the current Gor Mahia squad.
Muhoroni Youth coach Francis Baraza, who helped scout BlackBerry in 2007 by handing him his first professional contract at Sony Sugar before the forward joined Gor Mahia, thinks misplaced priorities also have a hand in some of these failures.
The problem affecting our players is pride and indiscipline. Many of them do not want to endure hardship. Take the case of a player based in Awendo with a girlfriend in Nairobi. The mostly likely scenario is that the player will go out of his way to travel to Nairobi every weekend to spend time with his girlfriend. When a player takes that road, he is surely on his way to self-destruction, Baraza says.
GET CARRIED AWAY
The Scotland-trained tactician who guided Sony Sugar to its first and only league title in 2006 adds: I have seen many players who rush abroad before attaining full maturity. Many of them get carried away by media coverage and end up ruining their careers. Football is a step-by-step venture and one must never jump the queue.
Former Harambee Stars coach-turned football commentator Jacob Ghost Mulee echoes Barazas sentiments, reiterating that upcoming players need to take time to develop before considering moves abroad.
But Mulee also observes that there is a great need for talent identification and nurturing from an early age to attain the right levels of technical development.
Neither Oliech nor Wanyama just woke up one day and walked into the top clubs that they currently play for. It has been a long journey for them. Players need to realise that breaking into the first eleven in Europe takes a lot of determination and patience, says Mulee.
Mulee is also of the view that every player must recognise his self-worth and draw a clear roadmap before venturing abroad.
Why would a Kenyan Premier League player undergo trials in South Africa yet he plays competitive football week in week out at home? South Africa is not Europe and an above-average player in the KPL should walk straight into the first team of most clubs in the South African top flight league.
When it comes to the big league game, 'Big Vic' is the East African exception - Football - nation.co.ke
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