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Wanyama, Victor
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Personal
Fullname: Victor Mugabe Wanyama aka: Victor Wanyama
Born: 25 June 1991
Birthplace: Nairobi, Kenya
Signed: 30 June 2011
Left:
Position: Midfielder (defensive), centre-half
Debut: Celtic 0-2 Wolves, 27th July 2011 (friendly)
Squad No.: 67
Internationals: Kenya
International Caps: 11 [complete at end of career]
International Goals: 0 [complete at end of career]
Biog
Hitting the ground running, Wanyama came into the Celtic squad which was already overburdened with midfielders with some wondering why he was bought. Joe Ledley was the primary defensive midfielder and so Wanyama was maybe a squad player. The first team was underperforming in his early days and this gave room for Wanyama to enter the fray. The arrival of this big burly chap was met with little fanfare. Not exactly widely known, he was hoped to add some defensive steel into the midfield that we otherwise lacked. Despite his supposed youthful age he set about his role with some gusto and settled in fast enough, and we'd found out we'd bagged a great player. Opinions changed fast and a succession of deft performances made him a popular figure. Strong, commanding and controlled he made his name a cert on the first team list and an increasing favourite of the support. Notably, due to the continuing woes of the central defence and the continuing injury issues, Wanyama was forced to move from holding midfield to centre-half. Not his best role but he more than adequately made the move when needed, but in Dec 2011 he scored his first goal, a screamer of a goal v Hearts which set up the victory. From then on in, there was nobody who was questioning his place in the side.
From early on he commandeered the midfield and gave the rest of the players space to freely move and play their own game. Strong in the tackles, he was wholly committed and gave his all. Generally an intelligent player, he'd be able to make the passes to put players through without needless gambles. In attack, he was difficult to defend against at set pieces due to his frame, and he able to head a shot as hard as some others could kick them. He was also unafraid to put his laces through the ball from long range, and with his strength he had a powerful shot. Not always the most accurate but more often than not he'd grab a number of goals with a thunderous shot.
With his strong defensive abilities, on occasion he'd also drop back into the centre half positions and play the game from there, and it I a measure of his ability that he was able to slot in there with ease. His best role though was as a defensive/holding midfielder which allowed a greater of his range of skills to come to the fore.
If there was a recurring problem it was that despite his good points, he was very much still a rough diamond. Daft needless challenges led to needless yellow cards and lost us possession. On occasion his habit to try to be a Beckenbauer led to counter possession by the opposition and lost goals. A boot up the pitch is unsophisticated but sometimes just do it and we can all discuss it later.
Domestic plaudits were never going to be sufficient and the big stage on the European front saw him catapulted to the forefront. After the 2-1 defeat to Barcelona in the Champions League, he was one of the standouts in the game, commanding the centre of the midfield and the 'hole' behind it. Barmy criticism tried to pin the first goal lost to him, but that was laughed off. Transfer speculation was mounting and Lennon slapped on a £25m tag. Some guffaws at this and then came the 2-1 victory against Barcelona. He was simply peerless! He scored the opener with a bullet header from a corner, and again he ruled that midfield with a great performance. People must realize that this Barcelona side were rated one of the greatest ever, and he'd overshadowed their entire midfield in consecutive matches (proving it was no one-off fluke). He had become the talk of the town across the football world, and parties were interested from all over.
2012 truly was his year and there was just no denying that fact. Storming and commanding, he was a bulwark in the midfield. His size gave the midfield the weight it required to take control of the game but he had even more to his game than just brute strength. With the increasing philosophy of packed out midfields and lesser reliance on strikers, any advantage in the midfield is vital. He even won a place in the Guardian newspaper's top 100 players in the world (at no. 81), and so highly regarded World Soccer magazine put him on their front cover in Feb 2013 as one of the Champions League top emerging talent.
One of the great knock on effects was the pride taken in Wanyama by his fellow countrymen back in Kenya. Watching pictures of family and friends bedecked in the Hoops was reflected further with their press and even politicians following suit. Sadly, the hope of some of them was that he would move to one of the current giant sides in the premier leagues, but that didn't stop them supporting Celtic to the hilt. There was a pride and hope he'd achieve success and prestige to give Kenya some recognised achievement in world football. It mattered much to them.
[.....]
Playing Career
[Table to indicate clubs played for, including dates, transfers and fees where known [e.g. soccerbase table]| APPEARANCES | LEAGUE | SCOTTISH CUP | LEAGUE CUP | EUROPE | TOTAL |
| 2011-2012 | |||||
| Goals | |||||
| Total Apperances | |||||
| Total Goals |
Honours with Celtic
[Indicate any known awards (player of the year, etc)] Pictures
Articles
- [...]
KDS
Quotes
"The feeling I got after the goal against Barcelona was just unbelievable! I've never felt anything like that in my life. It was better than sex. We didn't celebrate the win in any particular way. I drank an orange juice, that was quite enough."Wanyama to the Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad after the 2-1 victory v Barcelona (he scored a goal) (Nov 2012)
"I made the right decision to join Celtic. They are a family club, where I can develop in the best way. I'm happy at Celtic."
Victor Wanyama (Nov 2012)
Warm welcome from "The Sun" (sic!) July 2011
Kenya's Victor Wanyama has a taste for victory with Celtic
Kenya's Victor Wanyama has a taste for victory with Celtic
Andy Mitten
"Chicken," Glasgow Celtic's Kenyan midfielder Victor Wanyama says with a laugh.
"I'm addicted to chicken. I have it twice a day, sometimes more. Kenyan chicken, Scottish chicken, it doesn't matter. Something's not right in my life if I don't eat chicken. I've tried to hide the fact that I eat so much chicken at Celtic, but people are starting to realise. But I don't worry, chicken is good for you."
The only worry Celtic fans have about the increasingly impressive 21 year old, who scored twice in Saturday's 5-0 win at St Mirren, is that he will leave their club.
Vultures have been circling around the chicken enthusiast. Queens Park Rangers had their £6.5 million (Dh38.3m) - plus 20 per cent sell-on fee - turned down in August.
Celtic last week offered Wanyama an improved contract to take him beyond his current one, which ends in 2014. They want to tie him down to prevent him fleeing the roost.
"I want to play at the best level I can," he says.
"That's normal for every footballer. But I'm very happy at Celtic and I'm loving playing in the Champions League."
Signing for QPR may have meant the perceived glamour of the Premier League and games against Manchester United and Arsenal rather than Ross County or Inverness, but staying at Celtic means he plays in front of three times as many fans as at Loftus Road.
Plus, in the Champions League Celtic are the unlikely second placed team in Group G after drawing at home against Benfica and beating Spartak Moscow away.
Barcelona are the group leaders and the pair meet in Camp Nou tonight, where Wanyama's many suitors will be watching how he does against the Catalans.
"We're very happy with our form," the Kenyan says.
"We're working hard in the hardest league to play in the world, the Champions League. And we travel to Barcelona confident that we can avoid losing.
"We'll play as we always play and that's to win. We went to Moscow to win and we'll go to Barcelona to win.
"We'll travel with confidence and we'll travel with a huge support. We won't travel to defend."
Barca are not impenetrable at home. Spartak scored twice in the opening Group G game and were within 19 minutes of victory before Lionel Messi scored two to improve their 17-game unbeaten European home run, one that 4,900 travelling Celtic supporters hope will end tonight.
"They have players who can change games," Wanyama says.
"I look at Messi - and also Cristiano Ronaldo - as players who improve year on year.
"That's what I want to do. In the midfield, [Andres] Iniesta and Xavi are two players I really admire, then there's Xabi Alonso and Yaya Toure at Madrid and Manchester City. Yaya is the best African player, he's so strong and has great ability to run with the ball at speed."
Wanyama's journey from Nairobi, where he played in Kenya's 2-1 friendly defeat to South Africa last week, to Glasgow has not been straightforward, and begins with his brother, McDonald Mariga Wanyama, who is currently on loan to Parma from Inter Milan.
"I left Kenya at 16 to see my brother, who played at Helsingborg in Sweden. He was my idol and still is, he really helped me.
"I played there for six months as a youth player. The facilities were much better than in Kenya and it was the summer there so it wasn't so cold."
He returned to Kenya when his brother left for Parma. Then the younger brother was offered a trial with Beerschot in Antwerp, Belgium.
"On my first day I couldn't believe how cold it was. I ran back into the changing room and the coach asked what was wrong. I told him that it was freezing, that I'm from a country on the equator where I play football in 38° heat.
"I'd never played when it was 15°, let alone zero. The coach laughed and told me I had to get used to it. He gave me some gloves and a hat.
"It was still cold, so I put a second pair of gloves on and a coat. Then I didn't stop running because it was too cold when I stopped. The coach liked that."
He liked Wanyama enough to offer a contract, too. But life was tough for a 17-year-old boy far from home.
"Nobody spoke English," he says. "So I felt a little lost. I was speaking with my hands.
"If I wanted chicken then I had to pretend to be a chicken. It worked. People understood."
Wanyama got his poultry fix and started to settle. He was raw, but already an international footballer, having made his Kenya debut at the age of 15.
"It was just a few minutes, but I did well," he says.
Kenya have never qualified for the World Cup finals and have not played in the biannual African Cup of Nations since 2004.
The country was suspended by Fifa, citing government interference in the national side, in 2004 and again in 2006 and are currently ranked a paltry 128th in the world, 12 places behind the UAE.
"We had our problems with football in Kenya, but we're getting better," Wanyama says. "If I'd stayed in Kenya I'd be a very different player and it's the same for other players. We now have players in Belgium, France, Israel and Norway.
"The domestic league is improving too. Our aim, which I think is realistic, is to reach the finals [of the Cup of Nations]."
Football is becoming more popular in the East African country of 41 million. He concedes that Kenya is known for distance runners, and he says he considers David Rudisha, a compatriot who hold the world and Olympic record in the 800 metres, a friend.
"We're all very proud of our runners … but Kenyans love football too. The leagues in Italy, Spain and England are popular on television, but I prefer to support the local teams and my brothers who play for them.
"There can be more than 25,000 for a derby game in Nairobi between my old club AFC Leopards and Gor Mahia.
"It is like Celtic and Rangers."
Wanyama joined Celtic from Beerschot for £900,000 in 2011 and has played in Scotland's "Old Firm" game several times.
"I enjoyed it," he says, "and it's strange with Rangers not being around, but we have many games to concentrate on.
"We did well to reach the Champions League after beating my old club Helsingborg. Our manager, Neil Lennon, loves football and loves winning.
"Even in training, he always wants to win, win, win. He always wants 100 per cent from you, which helps you improve. I can see that he was a good player."
Wanyama, who wears number 67 to honour Celtic's 1967 European Cup winning side, is praised for his strength, tackling, passing and calmness in the heart of the team.
"I'll always give my best. I'll stay focused, hopefully keep on improving. I'm still young and have time to learn, but I feel like I'm getting better all the time."
The Celtic fans, some of the younger ones who have recorded: "Give me goals, Wanyama, in the Champions League" to the tune of Eddy Grant's Gimme Hope Jo'anna will agree.
"There's a player we call big Victor," goes the song, "he runs the midfield and the Celtic defence. But the best thing about our Victor is, his goalscoring is becoming immense."
Goals may be a tall order in Camp Nou tonight, but the Kenyan knows those fans will be behind him.
"No matter what happens in Barcelona, they will not believe the incredible atmosphere when they play in Glasgow," he says.
He will be up for that one in two weeks.
After some chicken, of course.
sports@thenational.ae
twitter Follow us @SprtNationalUAE
Forza Victor – Wanyama, Celtic and the view from Kenya
http://republicfootball.net/forza-victor-wanyama-celtic-and-the-view-from-kenya/
Feb 2013
By Republic of Football
Celtic Players Victor Wanyama
Forza Victor – Wanyama, Celtic and the view from Kenya
As part of the build up to Celtic’s do-or-die return tie in Turin we invited Collins Okinyo, Kenyan football journalist and close friend of Victor Wanyama, to share his thoughts on Celtic from a Kenyan point of view.
I am both delighted and anxious as Celtic prepare to clash with Juventus in what should definitely be a ding-dong battle despite the latter’s first leg 3-0 win.
The Celtic team has seen a remarkable turnaround this season that has not only excited fans in Glasgow but in every part of the world and even where I am in Kenya where every game is passionately followed to the end.
Celtic have found their place among the top teams in the world as the stats will show but the most important statistic for the passionate Celtic fans is that the team has finally found the players that can ignite their hopes in reclaiming the league and contending in the Uefa Champions League.
As a Kenyan football fan and African football journalist I first fell in love with Celtic years back long before our own bhoy and hero Victor Wanyama joined the team last season an event in itself made headline news in the country and throughout Africa.
Wanyama’s humility and down-to-earth attitude is evidence of his real talent, talent that I first saw in his days playing for Nairobi City Stars. I believe he is one of the key players that have helped Celtic in their vital transition and European renaissance. Instead of relying upon a more direct approach, Celtic now often play with poise and delicacy.
At the heart of the transformation has been Victor Wanyama who has ensured every team in the Premier League are on the hunt to sign him. Needless to say the fans at Celtic love Wanyama and he has often been the creative hub through which the tempo and a lot of the team’s attacking force are channeled.
Players of this type are premium commodities but Wanyama’s heart and spirit has been at Celtic where he has managed to prove himself to all.
I love the fact that Wanyama acknowledges Celtic showed trust in him, plucking from Belgian side Germinal Beerschot and at one time Victor told me that he loves the club so much he decided to take 67 as his squad number to honour the club’s great history.
In the height of the many rumours of interest from Manchester United and Arsenal, Victor told me: ‘I just want to concentrate on my football at Celtic and all these transfer rumours will not distract me at all.’ Those were words of a player committed to his team.
I vividly remember two months ago when I got a message from Wanyama telling me he was coming to Kenya to visit his family and that he had a very precious gift for me that was coveted Celtic jerseys for me and my son Prince John Essien that was one of my happiest days and I wear the strip with a lot of pride and respect.
Some Celtic fans have done one better than that and recently travelled all the way to Nairobi to do charity work in the sprawling Kibera slums in the heart of the city. This is a commendable move and shows what the club and its supporters around the world have a unique and long-lasting bond.
Wanyama has not only made his family who are also ardent Celtic fans proud but all Kenyans are excited and Victor Wanyama has become a big name throughout Africa because of his outstanding performances for Celtic. Yes we all agree that any player’s dream is to make it big, but I believe Victor has still a lot to offer Celtic who have never shied away from signing African players.
Collins Okinyo
Andy Mitten
"Chicken," Glasgow Celtic's Kenyan midfielder Victor Wanyama says with a laugh.
"I'm addicted to chicken. I have it twice a day, sometimes more. Kenyan chicken, Scottish chicken, it doesn't matter. Something's not right in my life if I don't eat chicken. I've tried to hide the fact that I eat so much chicken at Celtic, but people are starting to realise. But I don't worry, chicken is good for you."
The only worry Celtic fans have about the increasingly impressive 21 year old, who scored twice in Saturday's 5-0 win at St Mirren, is that he will leave their club.
Vultures have been circling around the chicken enthusiast. Queens Park Rangers had their £6.5 million (Dh38.3m) - plus 20 per cent sell-on fee - turned down in August.
Celtic last week offered Wanyama an improved contract to take him beyond his current one, which ends in 2014. They want to tie him down to prevent him fleeing the roost.
"I want to play at the best level I can," he says.
"That's normal for every footballer. But I'm very happy at Celtic and I'm loving playing in the Champions League."
Signing for QPR may have meant the perceived glamour of the Premier League and games against Manchester United and Arsenal rather than Ross County or Inverness, but staying at Celtic means he plays in front of three times as many fans as at Loftus Road.
Plus, in the Champions League Celtic are the unlikely second placed team in Group G after drawing at home against Benfica and beating Spartak Moscow away.
Barcelona are the group leaders and the pair meet in Camp Nou tonight, where Wanyama's many suitors will be watching how he does against the Catalans.
"We're very happy with our form," the Kenyan says.
"We're working hard in the hardest league to play in the world, the Champions League. And we travel to Barcelona confident that we can avoid losing.
"We'll play as we always play and that's to win. We went to Moscow to win and we'll go to Barcelona to win.
"We'll travel with confidence and we'll travel with a huge support. We won't travel to defend."
Barca are not impenetrable at home. Spartak scored twice in the opening Group G game and were within 19 minutes of victory before Lionel Messi scored two to improve their 17-game unbeaten European home run, one that 4,900 travelling Celtic supporters hope will end tonight.
"They have players who can change games," Wanyama says.
"I look at Messi - and also Cristiano Ronaldo - as players who improve year on year.
"That's what I want to do. In the midfield, [Andres] Iniesta and Xavi are two players I really admire, then there's Xabi Alonso and Yaya Toure at Madrid and Manchester City. Yaya is the best African player, he's so strong and has great ability to run with the ball at speed."
Wanyama's journey from Nairobi, where he played in Kenya's 2-1 friendly defeat to South Africa last week, to Glasgow has not been straightforward, and begins with his brother, McDonald Mariga Wanyama, who is currently on loan to Parma from Inter Milan.
"I left Kenya at 16 to see my brother, who played at Helsingborg in Sweden. He was my idol and still is, he really helped me.
"I played there for six months as a youth player. The facilities were much better than in Kenya and it was the summer there so it wasn't so cold."
He returned to Kenya when his brother left for Parma. Then the younger brother was offered a trial with Beerschot in Antwerp, Belgium.
"On my first day I couldn't believe how cold it was. I ran back into the changing room and the coach asked what was wrong. I told him that it was freezing, that I'm from a country on the equator where I play football in 38° heat.
"I'd never played when it was 15°, let alone zero. The coach laughed and told me I had to get used to it. He gave me some gloves and a hat.
"It was still cold, so I put a second pair of gloves on and a coat. Then I didn't stop running because it was too cold when I stopped. The coach liked that."
He liked Wanyama enough to offer a contract, too. But life was tough for a 17-year-old boy far from home.
"Nobody spoke English," he says. "So I felt a little lost. I was speaking with my hands.
"If I wanted chicken then I had to pretend to be a chicken. It worked. People understood."
Wanyama got his poultry fix and started to settle. He was raw, but already an international footballer, having made his Kenya debut at the age of 15.
"It was just a few minutes, but I did well," he says.
Kenya have never qualified for the World Cup finals and have not played in the biannual African Cup of Nations since 2004.
The country was suspended by Fifa, citing government interference in the national side, in 2004 and again in 2006 and are currently ranked a paltry 128th in the world, 12 places behind the UAE.
"We had our problems with football in Kenya, but we're getting better," Wanyama says. "If I'd stayed in Kenya I'd be a very different player and it's the same for other players. We now have players in Belgium, France, Israel and Norway.
"The domestic league is improving too. Our aim, which I think is realistic, is to reach the finals [of the Cup of Nations]."
Football is becoming more popular in the East African country of 41 million. He concedes that Kenya is known for distance runners, and he says he considers David Rudisha, a compatriot who hold the world and Olympic record in the 800 metres, a friend.
"We're all very proud of our runners … but Kenyans love football too. The leagues in Italy, Spain and England are popular on television, but I prefer to support the local teams and my brothers who play for them.
"There can be more than 25,000 for a derby game in Nairobi between my old club AFC Leopards and Gor Mahia.
"It is like Celtic and Rangers."
Wanyama joined Celtic from Beerschot for £900,000 in 2011 and has played in Scotland's "Old Firm" game several times.
"I enjoyed it," he says, "and it's strange with Rangers not being around, but we have many games to concentrate on.
"We did well to reach the Champions League after beating my old club Helsingborg. Our manager, Neil Lennon, loves football and loves winning.
"Even in training, he always wants to win, win, win. He always wants 100 per cent from you, which helps you improve. I can see that he was a good player."
Wanyama, who wears number 67 to honour Celtic's 1967 European Cup winning side, is praised for his strength, tackling, passing and calmness in the heart of the team.
"I'll always give my best. I'll stay focused, hopefully keep on improving. I'm still young and have time to learn, but I feel like I'm getting better all the time."
The Celtic fans, some of the younger ones who have recorded: "Give me goals, Wanyama, in the Champions League" to the tune of Eddy Grant's Gimme Hope Jo'anna will agree.
"There's a player we call big Victor," goes the song, "he runs the midfield and the Celtic defence. But the best thing about our Victor is, his goalscoring is becoming immense."
Goals may be a tall order in Camp Nou tonight, but the Kenyan knows those fans will be behind him.
"No matter what happens in Barcelona, they will not believe the incredible atmosphere when they play in Glasgow," he says.
He will be up for that one in two weeks.
After some chicken, of course.
sports@thenational.ae
twitter Follow us @SprtNationalUAE
Forza Victor – Wanyama, Celtic and the view from Kenya
http://republicfootball.net/forza-victor-wanyama-celtic-and-the-view-from-kenya/Feb 2013
By Republic of Football
Celtic Players Victor Wanyama
Forza Victor – Wanyama, Celtic and the view from Kenya
As part of the build up to Celtic’s do-or-die return tie in Turin we invited Collins Okinyo, Kenyan football journalist and close friend of Victor Wanyama, to share his thoughts on Celtic from a Kenyan point of view.
I am both delighted and anxious as Celtic prepare to clash with Juventus in what should definitely be a ding-dong battle despite the latter’s first leg 3-0 win.
The Celtic team has seen a remarkable turnaround this season that has not only excited fans in Glasgow but in every part of the world and even where I am in Kenya where every game is passionately followed to the end.
Celtic have found their place among the top teams in the world as the stats will show but the most important statistic for the passionate Celtic fans is that the team has finally found the players that can ignite their hopes in reclaiming the league and contending in the Uefa Champions League.
As a Kenyan football fan and African football journalist I first fell in love with Celtic years back long before our own bhoy and hero Victor Wanyama joined the team last season an event in itself made headline news in the country and throughout Africa.
Wanyama’s humility and down-to-earth attitude is evidence of his real talent, talent that I first saw in his days playing for Nairobi City Stars. I believe he is one of the key players that have helped Celtic in their vital transition and European renaissance. Instead of relying upon a more direct approach, Celtic now often play with poise and delicacy.
At the heart of the transformation has been Victor Wanyama who has ensured every team in the Premier League are on the hunt to sign him. Needless to say the fans at Celtic love Wanyama and he has often been the creative hub through which the tempo and a lot of the team’s attacking force are channeled.
Players of this type are premium commodities but Wanyama’s heart and spirit has been at Celtic where he has managed to prove himself to all.
I love the fact that Wanyama acknowledges Celtic showed trust in him, plucking from Belgian side Germinal Beerschot and at one time Victor told me that he loves the club so much he decided to take 67 as his squad number to honour the club’s great history.
In the height of the many rumours of interest from Manchester United and Arsenal, Victor told me: ‘I just want to concentrate on my football at Celtic and all these transfer rumours will not distract me at all.’ Those were words of a player committed to his team.
I vividly remember two months ago when I got a message from Wanyama telling me he was coming to Kenya to visit his family and that he had a very precious gift for me that was coveted Celtic jerseys for me and my son Prince John Essien that was one of my happiest days and I wear the strip with a lot of pride and respect.
Some Celtic fans have done one better than that and recently travelled all the way to Nairobi to do charity work in the sprawling Kibera slums in the heart of the city. This is a commendable move and shows what the club and its supporters around the world have a unique and long-lasting bond.
Wanyama has not only made his family who are also ardent Celtic fans proud but all Kenyans are excited and Victor Wanyama has become a big name throughout Africa because of his outstanding performances for Celtic. Yes we all agree that any player’s dream is to make it big, but I believe Victor has still a lot to offer Celtic who have never shied away from signing African players.
Collins Okinyo
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