Victor Wanyama

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Victor Wanyama

Wanyama training with Celtic in 2012
Personal information
Full nameVictor Mugubi Wanyama[1]
Date of birth (1991-06-25) 25 June 1991
Place of birthNairobi, Kenya
Height1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[2]
Playing positionDefensive Midfielder / Centre Back
Club information
Current clubSouthampton
Number12
Youth career
2006–2008JMJ Youth Academy
2006Nairobi City Stars
2006–2007AFC Leopards
2007–2008Helsingborg
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
2008–2011Beerschot AC50(2)
2011–2013Celtic61(10)
2013–Southampton15(0)
National team‡
2007–Kenya27(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 1 February 2014.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 10 September 2013

Victor Mugubi Wanyama (pronounced [ˈvɪktɜr mʊˈɡɑβɛ wɑˈŋɑmɑ]; born 25 June 1991) is a Kenyan footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder or a centre back for Premier League club Southampton and captains the Kenya national team.

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

Wanyama became the first ever Kenyan player to score in the UEFA Champions League when he scored the first goal in Celtic's historic 2–1 win over Barcelona on 7 November 2012.

Youth career

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.[3] 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 Matias Suarez of Anderlecht.[4]

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.[5]

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.[6]

Celtic

Wanyama playing for Celtic, 2012

On 9 July 2011, Wanyama completed a £900,000 move to Celtic from Beerschot AC, who had failed to sign him a year earlier.[7][8] 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.[9][10] 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.[11] He came on as a late substitute in a 4–0 win over Motherwell,[12] and played for the whole second half in a 2–0 League Cup win over Ross County.[13] 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.[14] 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.[15] His performances during December earned him the Scottish Premier League young player of the month award.[16] He scored his second Celtic goal on 2 January 2012 in a 3–0 win against Dunfermline at East End Park.[17] Wanyama scored in Celtic's 2–1 win against Dundee United at Celtic Park[18] and in the 4–0 victory against Hearts at Tynecastle.[19]

In October 2012, Wanyama scored twice against St. Mirren at Saint Mirren Park, the second of which was a half volley from 25 yards out.[20]

On 25 October 2012, 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.[21] On 7 November, Wanyama opened the scoring as Celtic shocked Barcelona in the Champions League group stage, by beating them 2–1 at Celtic Park.

Southampton

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 £12.5m,[22] making him the first Kenyan (and East African) to ever play in the Premier League.[23]

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, in 1–0 away win against West Bromwich Albion.[24]

International career

Wanyama made his debut for the Kenyan national team in May 2007, aged just 15 in a friendly against Nigeria.[3] He also played in all six of Kenya's 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. Wanyama also became Kenya's captain on 8 June 2013

Style of play

Wanyama quickly became a fans favourite at Celtic due to his consistency. He is a robust midfielder who can also play in defence. Wanyama is a box to box midfielder that is skilled in holding up the play with his strength, he has excellent tackling and has a general calmness on the ball.

Career statistics

As of 1 February 2014[25][26]
Club Season League Cup League Cup Europe Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Beerschot AC 2008–09 1 0 – – – – – – 1 0
2009–10 19 0 1 0 – – – – 20 0
2010–11 30 2 4 0 – – – – 34 2
Total 50 2 5 0 – – – – 55 2
Celtic
2011–12 29 4 4 0 4 0 5 0 42 4
2012–13 32 6 5 1 2 0 10 2 49 9
Total 61 10 9 1 6 0 15 2 91 13
Southampton
2013–14 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 15 0
Total 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 15 0
Career Total 126121416015216115

Honours

Club

Celtic

Individual

  • SPL Young Player of the Year: 2012–13
  • SPL Young Player of the Month: December 2011

Personal life

Wanyama comes from a very sporting family. His brother McDonald Mariga plays for Inter Milan, also as a midfielder,[27][28] while his other brothers Thomas and Sylvester Wanyama play for Sofapaka and Sony Sugar respectively. His father, Noah Wanyama, was a footballer for A.F.C. Leopards in the 1980s,[29] and his sister Mercy is a professional basketball player in the USA.[30]

Wanyama is managed by ExtraTime[31] and has a boot sponsorship deal with Nike.[31]

References

  1. ↑ Sh1.3 billion Arsenal swoop for Victor Wanyama ‘in the works’ – Football. nation.co.ke (2 June 2012). Retrieved on 11 July 2013
  2. ↑ "Victor Wanyama Profile". UEFA. Retrieved 27 September 2012. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Mugabe wants to cement position in Belgium club Standard Digital, 5 January 2010
  4. ↑ Wanyama suspendu trois matchs (Wanyama suspended three games) Footgoal, 29 September 2009 (French)
  5. ↑ Wanyama va rester au Germinal Beerschot (Wanyama stays with Germinal Beerschot) Footgoal, 16 April 2010 (French)
  6. ↑ Wanyama poursuivi (Wanyama continued) Footgoal, 18 April 2011 (French)
  7. ↑ "Wanyama is a Celt". Celtic FC. 9 July 2011. Retrieved 9 July 2011. 
  8. ↑ "Victor Wanyama wins work permit appeal to sign for Celtic". Scotzine.com. 8 July 2011. Retrieved 24 January 2013. 
  9. ↑ "Stipe Pletikosa and Victor Wanyama set to make Celtic bow". Evening Times (Herald & Times Group). 20 July 2011. Retrieved 23 September 2011. 
  10. ↑ "Germinal's Victor Wanyama completes switch to Celtic". BBC Sport. 9 July 2011. Retrieved 25 June 2012. 
  11. ↑ "‘When they scored the fans wanted more and we couldn’t handle it’". Herald Scotland (Herald & Times Group). 23 August 2011. Retrieved 30 August 2011. 
  12. ↑ "Celtic 4–0 Motherwell". BBC Sport. 10 September 2011. Retrieved 23 September 2011. 
  13. ↑ "Ross County v Celtic – 21 September". Eurosport (Yahoo! Sport). 21 September 2011. Retrieved 23 September 2011. 
  14. ↑ "Celtic 1–1 Udinese". BBC Sport. 29 September 2011. Retrieved 29 September 2011. 
  15. ↑ "Celtic 1–0 Hearts". BBC Sport. 10 December 2011. Retrieved 12 December 2011. 
  16. ↑ "Celtic's Victor Wanyama named SPL Young Player of the Month". STV Sport. 13 January 2012. Retrieved 8 February 2012. 
  17. ↑ "Dunfermline 0 – 3 Celtic". BBC Sport. 2 January 2011. Retrieved 3 January 2011. 
  18. ↑ Celtic's Gary Hooper and Victor Wanyama strike to sink Dundee United guardian.co.uk, 14 January 2012
  19. ↑ Hearts 0 Celtic 4: match report The Telegraph, 8 February 2012
  20. ↑ "Clinical Celtic warmed up for the Nou Camp with what turned out to be little more than a training exercise as they outclassed a feeble St Mirren". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 20 October 2012. Retrieved 24 January 2013. 
  21. ↑ "Scottish Football – Wanyama rejects Celtic deal". Eurosport (Yahoo!). 25 October 2012. Retrieved 26 October 2012. 
  22. ↑ "Victor Wanyama: Southampton sign Celtic midfielder for £12.5m". BBC Sport. 11 July 2013. Retrieved 11 July 2013. 
  23. ↑ "Wanyama makes Saints switch". Southampton FC. 11 July 2013. Retrieved 11 July 2013. 
  24. ↑ "West Brom 0 – 1 Southampton". BBC Sport. 17 August 2013. Retrieved 19 August 2013. 
  25. ↑ "V. WANYAMA Stats". Soccerway. Retrieved 19 January 2012. 
  26. ↑ "Victor Wanyama Stats". Soccerbase. Racing Post. Retrieved 19 January 2012. 
  27. ↑ Mariga confirmed at Parma Futaa.com, 31 January 2012
  28. ↑ Kenya's McDonald Mariga faces lengthy spell out BBC Sport, 13 April 2012
  29. ↑ Noah Wanyama hits the campaign trail Futaa.com, 18 October 2011
  30. ↑ Mercy Wanyama secures Kshs.20Million scholarship package MichezoAfrika, 6 August 2011
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 Victor Wanyama ExtraTime

External links

Southampton F.C. – current squad
2012–13 PFA Scotland SPL Team of the Year
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