Victor Wanyama

Victor Mugubi Wanyama (Kenyan English: [wɑˈɲɑːmɑ] (listen); born 25 June 1991) is a Kenyan professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Major League Soccer club CF Montréal and captains the Kenyan national team.[4]

Victor Wanyama
Wanyama playing for Tottenham Hotspur in 2017
Personal information
Full name Victor Mugubi Wanyama[1]
Date of birth (1991-06-25) 25 June 1991[2]
Place of birth Nairobi, Kenya
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[3]
Position(s) Defensive midfielder
Club information
Current team
 CF Montréal
Number 2
Youth career
2006–2008 JMJ Youth Academy
2006 Nairobi City Stars
2006–2007 AFC Leopards
2007–2008 Helsingborg
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2011 Beerschot 51 (2)
2011–2013 Celtic 61 (10)
2013–2016 Southampton 85 (4)
2016–2020 Tottenham Hotspur 69 (6)
2020– CF Montréal 21 (2)
National team‡
2007– Kenya 64 (7)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 13 November 2020
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 15 November 2020

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 on 7 November 2012.[5] On 11 July 2013, Wanyama moved to Premier League club Southampton for £12.5 million making him the most expensive player sold by a Scottish club, surpassing the £9.5 million Russian club Spartak Moscow paid for Aiden McGeady in 2010.[6]

He has earned 60 caps for the Kenyan national team since making his international debut in May 2007 at the age of 15.

Early life

Wanyama attended Kamukunji High School, which fields a successful football team. Upon leaving High School, he also played with JMJ Academy for three years during which time he also joined Kenyan Premier League clubs Nairobi City Stars and AFC Leopards.[7] In 2007, he joined Allsvenskan club Helsingborg but after the departure of his brother McDonald Mariga to Serie A side Parma in 2008, Wanyama returned to Kenya.

Club career

Beerschot AC

After a successful trial, Wanyama signed for Beerschot AC on a four-year contract in summer 2008. He made his debut in a League match at the end of the 2008–09 season. In September 2009, he was fined €100 and given a three-match suspension for a violent tackle on Matías Suárez of Anderlecht.[8]

In the summer of 2010 Scottish Premier League club Celtic attempted to sign Wanyama but Beerschot did not allow him to leave. Russian club CSKA Moscow also attempted to sign him, but they failed as well.[9]

Wanyama scored his first goal for Beerschot on 11 December 2010, a 77th-minute equaliser against Westerlo. In April 2011, he received another three match suspension after video evidence showed he had elbowed Brecht Dejaeghere of K.V. Kortrijk.[10]

Celtic
Wanyama playing for Celtic in 2012

On 9 July 2011, Wanyama finally completed a £900,000 move to Celtic, after the Scottish club had failed to sign him the previous year.[11][12] He signed a four-year contract and in doing so became the first ever Kenyan to play in the SPL. Wanyama chose 67 as his squad number to honour the Lisbon Lions, Celtic's 1967 European Cup-winning team.[13][14] Wanyama made his Celtic league debut in a 1–0 loss to St Johnstone on 21 August 2011. He played in central defence rather than his favoured central midfield role.[15] He came on as a late substitute in a 4–0 win over Motherwell,[16] and played for the whole second half in a 2–0 League Cup win over Ross County.[17] On 29 September 2011, he started in Celtic's 1–1 draw with Italian team Udinese in the Europa League. This was his first European match for the club.[18] On 10 December 2011, Wanyama scored his first goal for Celtic in a 1–0 win over Hearts at Celtic Park, a tremendous 25-yard strike which hit the top corner.[19] His performances during December earned him the Scottish Premier League young player of the month award.[20] He scored his second Celtic goal on 2 January 2012 in a 3–0 win against Dunfermline at East End Park.[21] Wanyama scored in Celtic's 2–1 win against Dundee United at Celtic Park[22] and in the 4–0 victory against Hearts at Tynecastle.[23]

On 20 October 2012, Wanyama scored twice against St Mirren at St Mirren Park, the second of which was a half volley from 25 yards out.[24] On 25 October, Wanyama's agent released a statement saying that he had turned down an improved contract offer from Celtic, stating that his wage demands could not be met by the club amid speculation of interest from clubs in England.[25] On 7 November, Wanyama opened the scoring with a powerful header as Celtic shocked Barcelona in the Champions League group stage, by beating them 2–1 at Celtic Park.[26]

Wanyama received a nomination for the PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year for 2012–13,[27] but the winner was announced as Leigh Griffiths[28]

Southampton
Wanyama with Southampton in 2014

After much speculation and a previous breakdown in talks, on 11 July 2013, Wanyama signed for Premier League side Southampton for a fee claimed to be £12.5 million,[29] making him the first Kenyan to ever play in the Premier League.[30]

Wanyama said:

Southampton is a good club and it has good players, so I just want to train hard and work hard to be a part of the starting XI. We'll see where that will take me. It feels great and I am happy to be here. There were other options, but Southampton is a club with ambitions so I chose to come here. I'm very grateful to be here and I'm looking forward to playing in the Premier League.

He made his debut on 17 August 2013, in a 1–0 away win against West Bromwich Albion.[31] Wanyama made 24 appearances in his first season, but injuries hindered his efforts to make much of an impact in the team.[32]

Under new manager Ronald Koeman, Wanyama came into his own in the 2014–15 season.[33] He scored his first goal for the club in a 1–0 league victory over Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium on 20 September 2014, after replacing James Ward-Prowse in the 69th minute.[34] His next goal came in an 8–0 trouncing of Sunderland on 19 October 2014.[35] Wanyama would score his third goal for the Saints in spectacular fashion, a 40-yard shot after Eldin Jakupović's poor clearance fell straight to him, in what proved to be the only goal in a win over Hull City.[36] His performances saw him awarded the league's African Player of the Month for September,[33] with him stating "It is wonderful being recognised as someone who has done well for his club."[33]

Tottenham Hotspur
Wanyama (left) alongside Spurs clubmates in a league clash with Manchester United in 2016

On 23 June 2016, Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur announced that they had reached an agreement with Southampton for the transfer of Wanyama,[37] signing a five-year contract for a fee of £11 million.[38] Wanyama had previously worked with Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino who brought him to Southampton in July 2013.[39] Wanyama scored his first goal for the club on his home debut against Crystal Palace, in the 82nd minute of a 1–0 league win for Spurs.[40] The goal made him the 138th different player to score for the club, extending its record for the most variety of goalscorers for a single club in the Premier League.[41]

Early in the 2017–18 season, Wanyama injured his knee in the match against Chelsea and was sidelined for over four months.[42] He returned to training in mid-December.[43][44] On 2 January 2018, he made his first appearance after his injury, as a substitute in the away match against Swansea City.[45] His equalizer in Tottenham's 2–2 draw with Liverpool on 4 February 2018 was voted the Premier League Goal of the Month.[46]

Wanyama picked up a knee injury in a pre-season game of the 2018–19 season against Barcelona.[47] He made his first start of the season two months later in the EFL Cup game against Watford that Spurs won on penalties.[48] At the end of August 2019 Tottenham had agreed to sell Wanyama to Club Brugge for £13 million, however Wanyama had "concerns over the move" and the deal broke down.[49]

CF Montréal

On 3 March 2020, Tottenham announced that it had agreed to transfer Wanyama to Major League Soccer club Montreal Impact (now CF Montréal), where he will become a Designated Player.[50][51]

On 11 March 2020, Wanyama made his competitive debut for Montreal at Stade Olympique in the first leg quarterfinal of the CONCACAF Champions League where he was named in manager Thierry Henry's starting side. Wanyama provided an assist to Saphir Taïder – who Wanyama was briefly teammates with at Southampton in 2014 – in a 1–2 defeat by Honduran champions C.D. Olimpia.[52][53]

International career

Wanyama made his debut for the Kenyan national team in May 2007, aged just 15 in a friendly against Nigeria.[7] He also played in all six of Kenya's 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. He became the captain of his national team in 2013. He represented the national team at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.[54]

Career statistics
Wanyama in Celtic colours, 2012
As of match played 8 November 2020.[55][56]

Club
Club Season League Cup League Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Beerschot AC 2008–09 Belgian First Division 10––––10
2009–10 Belgian Pro League 20010–––210
2010–11 30240–––342
Total 51250–––562
Celtic 2011–12 Scottish Premier League 294404050–424
2012–13 3265120102–499
Total 61109160152–9113
Southampton 2013–14[57] Premier League 2301000––240
2014–15[58] 3232040––383
2015–16[59] 301002030–351
Total 854306030–974
Tottenham Hotspur 2016–17[60] Premier League 364301071–475
2017–18[61] 181500010–241
2018–19[62] 131102060–221
2019–20[63] 20001010–40
Total 6969040151–977
CF Montréal 2020[63] Major League Soccer 212––1010232
Career total 287242611603231036428

International goals
As of match played 14 October 2018. Kenya score listed first, score column indicates score after each Wanyama goal.[64]
International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competition
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1 15 November 2011Nyayo National Stadium, Nairobi, Kenya18 Seychelles4–04–02014 FIFA World Cup qualification
2 7 June 2015Stade Amahoro, Kigali, Rwanda34 South Sudan1–02–0Friendly
3 29 May 2016Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani, Kenya42 Tanzania1–11–1
4 24 March 2018Stade de Marrakech, Marrakesh, Morocco50 Comoros1–02–2
5 14 October 2018Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani, Kenya52 Ethiopia3–03–02019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
6 7 June 2019Stade Robert Bobin, Bondoufle, France54 Madagascar1-01-0Friendly

Honours

Source:[65]

Celtic

Tottenham Hotspur

Individual

Personal life

Wanyama comes from a sporting family. His brother McDonald Mariga is also a professional footballer,[67][68] while his other brothers Thomas and Sylvester Wanyama are also footballers in the Kenyan Premier League. His father, Noah Wanyama, was a footballer for A.F.C. Leopards in the 1980s,[69] and his sister Mercy is a professional basketball player in the USA.[70]

Wanyama is managed by ExtraTime,[71] and has a boot sponsorship deal with Adidas.

In 2015, Wanyama participated in the production of a short film about football in Kenya called Mdudu Boy, written and directed by actress Ella Smith.[72]

References
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