They
are indeed living legends and inspiration to many youthful players in Kenya and
the world over. Twendeafricapost presents them in no particular ranking order.
Dennis Oliech
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| Dennis Oliech |
Currently
playing for Gor Mahia FC in Kenya, Oliech started playing football for
Dagoretti Santos in his earlier years before joining Mathare United. In 2003 he
signed for Al Arabi in Qatar until late 2005 when he joined Nantes FC in France
for a fee of US$3.7 million.
In
2007 FC Nantes were relegated and Oliech joined French side Auxerre. In the 2007-2008
Season he scored 3 goals in 24 games .He featured twice in the Champions League
while at Auxerre. Oliech was the Club’s top scorer when it was relegated in 2011.
Oliech
ended his six year stint at Auxerre when he joined French Ligue 1 side AC
Ajaccio on two and half year contract. He however terminated his contract in
early 2015 on mutual consent.
Macdonald Mariga
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| Macdonald Mariga |
Mariga
started his playing career at Ulinzi Stars before moving first to Tusker FC and
then to Kenya Pipeline while still at school. Mariga was part of the Kamukunji
High School Golden Boys group, which also included striker Dennis Oliech.
Mariga,
a central midfielder moved to Sweden in 2005 to play for third division side
Enkopings SK. After one season at this club, he signed for Helsingborgs IF
before the 2006 season.
In
August 2007 Mariga moved to Parma FC in Serie B, Italy on loan. He played 35
times for Parma during the 2008-2009 season scoring three times to make them
gain promotion back to Serie A for the 2009-2010 season.
In
January 2010 he was set to join Manchester City, an EPL club but he failed to
obtain a work permit. In February 2010, the last day of the transfer window,
Mariga moved to Inter Milan. In March that year, he made history as the first
Kenyan ever to play in the UEFA Champions League, when he played against
Chelsea.
He
later proceeded to play for Real Sociedad in Spain. On 31 July 2017, he signed
a one-year deal with Spanish Segunda Division Real Oviedo. He indeed is one of
the finest central midfielder players Kenya has ever produced.
Victor Wanyama
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| Victor Wanyama |
Victor
Wanyama, the current captain of Harambee Stars, Wanyama joined Beerschot AC of Belgium
on a four year contract in 2008.On July 2011, he moved to Celtic FC in Scotland
on a four year contract. His performances during December 2011 earned him the
Scottish Premier League Player of the month.
Wanyama
became the first ever Kenyan player to score in the UEFA Champions League when
he scored the first goal in Celtic’s 2-1 win over Barcelona FC on 7th
November 2012.On 11 July, 2013, Wanyama moved to Premier League Club
Southampton for 12.5 million pounds making him the most expensive player ever
sold by a Scottish club.
On
June 2016, EPL bigwigs Tottenham signed a five year deal with Wanyama for a contract fee of 11 million pounds. At
Tottenham, he rejoined Coach Mauricio Pochettino who had signed him at
Southampton. He scored his first debut goal for Tottehnam in a 2-1 league win
over rivals Crystal Palace.
Micheal Olunga
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| Michael Olunga |
Currently playing for
Kashiwa Reysol FC in Japan League two, Olunga began his career with Liberty
Academy in the Nairobi County League when he was still a student at Upper Hill
School. He scored 22 goals for the side during the 2012 season. He signed for
Tusker FC one a one year deal from Liberty on 19th December 2012.
On 17th
February 2016 he joined Swedish side Djurgardens IF on a four year contract. In
the last 12 games of the League he scored 12 goals which earned him a fifth
place in the league’s top scorers.
Olunga had a brief
stint at Chinese side Guizhou Zhicheng in the year 2017. O September 2017 he
was loaned to Spanish side Girona FC for a one year deal. On January 2018, he
made his La Liga debut against La Palmas scoring a hat-trick in a span of 22
minutes. Thus he became the first Kenyan to score a hat-trick in Spanish La Liga.
Ayub Timbe Masika
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| Ayub Timbe Masika |
Currently
plying his trade with Chinese Side Bejing Renhe, Ayub Timbe went through
several academies in Kenya including Ligi Ndogo and JMJ youth Academy before
moving to the Anderlecht Academy in 2006. He stayed there for two years then
moved to the Beerschot AC Academy in Belgium.
In
May 2010 Ayub Timbe signed a 2 year contract with Racing Genk from Germinal
Beershot where he played for the reserve team and the following year he signed
a 4 year contract with the club. On August 2012, he scored his first goal for
Racing Genk against Swiss opponents, FC Luzern, in the UEFA Europa League
Play-off, that helped his team to win 2-0.
On 1 September 2014 he
was loaned to Belgian side Lierse for 2 seasons and two years later, he signed
a three year contract with the team. He indeed is a player who stands tall
among the great football talents of the country.
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