Victor Mugubi Wanyama (; born 25 June 1991) is a Kenyan professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
who plays as a
defensive midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundari ...
for
Major League Soccer club
CF Montréal and the
Kenyan national team.
Wanyama became the first ever Kenyan player to score in the
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
when he scored the first goal in
Celtic's 2–1 win over
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
on 7 November 2012. On 11 July 2013, Wanyama moved to Premier League club
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
for £12.5 million, making him the most expensive player sold by a Scottish club at the time, surpassing the £9.5 million Russian club
Spartak Moscow Spartak Moscow may refer to the following teams based or formerly based in Moscow, Russia:
* FC Spartak Moscow, an association football club
* HC Spartak Moscow, a professional ice hockey team
* Spartak GM Moscow, a semi-professional rugby club
* WB ...
paid for
Aiden McGeady in 2010.
Wanyama has earned over 60 caps for the Kenyan national team since making his international debut in May 2007 at age 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
The Kenyan Premier League (KPL), officially known as the FKF Premier League and as the BetKing Premier League (BPL) for sponsorship reasons, is a professional league for men's association football clubs in Kenya. Standing at the top of the Kenyan ...
clubs
Nairobi City Stars
Nairobi City Stars is an association football club based in Nairobi, Kenya that currently competes in the first tier Kenyan Premier League.
History
The club was founded in 2003 as World Hope Football Club after a majority of players followed head ...
and
AFC Leopards
Abaluhya Football Club Leopards Sports Club, officially abbreviated as AFC Leopards, or simply known as AFC, Leopards or ''Ingwe'' (), is a Kenyan association football club based in Nairobi. It currently competes in the Kenyan Premier League, t ...
.
[Mugabe wants to cement position in Belgium club]
Standard Digital, 5 January 2010 In 2007, he joined
Allsvenskan club
Helsingborg
Helsingborg (, , , ) is a city and the seat of Helsingborg Municipality, Scania (Skåne), Sweden. It is the second-largest city in Scania (after Malmö) and ninth-largest in Sweden, with a population of 113,816 (2020). Helsingborg is the cent ...
but after the departure of his brother
McDonald Mariga
McDonald Mariga Wanyama (; born 4 April 1987) is a Kenyan retired footballer who played as a defensive midfielder.
Mariga made history as the first Kenyan footballer to play in the UEFA Champions League, for Internazionale on 16 March 2010. In ...
to
Serie A
The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...
side
Parma
Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, music, art, prosciutto (ham), cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 inhabitants, Parma is the second mos ...
in 2008, Wanyama returned to Kenya.
Club career
Beerschot AC
After a successful trial, Wanyama signed for
Beerschot AC
Koninklijke Beerschot Antwerpen Club (), simply known as Beerschot AC, was a Belgian football club based in southern Antwerp. Beerschot played in the Belgian Pro League from 1999–2000 (as Germinal Beerschot) until 2012–13, when they were ...
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.
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
CSKA Moscow (russian: ЦСКА Москва) is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet era, it was a central piece of the big So ...
also attempted to sign him, but they failed as well.
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.
Celtic
![Victor Wanyama 2012](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/Victor_Wanyama_2012.jpg)
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.
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
The Lisbon Lions is the nickname given to the Celtic F.C., Celtic team that won the UEFA Champions League, European Cup at the Estádio Nacional in Lisbon, Portugal on 25 May 1967 European Cup Final, 1967, defeating Inter Milan 2–1. The name i ...
, Celtic's
1967 European Cup-winning team.
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. He came on as a late substitute in a 4–0 win over
Motherwell, and played for the whole second half in a 2–0
League Cup
In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
win over
Ross County. On 29 September 2011, he started in Celtic's 1–1 draw with Italian team
Udinese
Udinese Calcio, commonly referred to as Udinese, is a professional Italian football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, that currently plays in Serie A. It was founded on 30 November 1896 as a sports club, and on 5 July 1911 as a ...
in the
Europa League
The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...
. This was his first European match for the club. On 10 December 2011, Wanyama scored his first goal for Celtic in a 1–0 win over
Hearts at
Celtic Park
Celtic Park is the home stadium of Celtic Football Club, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest football stadium in Scotland, and the eighth-largest stadium in the United Kingdom. It is al ...
, a tremendous 25-yard strike which hit the top corner. His performances during December earned him the
Scottish Premier League young player of the month award. He scored his second Celtic goal on 2 January 2012 in a 3–0 win against Dunfermline at
East End Park
East End Park, currently named KDM Group East End Park for sponsorship purposes, is a football stadium situated in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland with a seating capacity of .
The stadium plays host to the home matches of Scottish Championship ...
. Wanyama scored in Celtic's 2–1 win against
Dundee United
Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dundee. The club name is usually abbreviated to Dundee United. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1 ...
at
Celtic Park
Celtic Park is the home stadium of Celtic Football Club, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest football stadium in Scotland, and the eighth-largest stadium in the United Kingdom. It is al ...
and in the 4–0 victory against
Hearts at
Tynecastle.
On 20 October 2012, Wanyama scored twice against
St Mirren at
St Mirren Park
St Mirren Park, also known as The SMISA Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Paisley, Scotland. It is the home of St Mirren. The stadium is the sixth home of the club and replaced Love Street.
History
Talks over a new ...
, the second of which was a half volley from 25 yards out. 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. On 7 November, Wanyama opened the scoring with a powerful header as
Celtic shocked
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
in the
Champions League group stage, by beating them 2–1 at
Celtic Park
Celtic Park is the home stadium of Celtic Football Club, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest football stadium in Scotland, and the eighth-largest stadium in the United Kingdom. It is al ...
.
Wanyama received a nomination for the
PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year
The PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year, formerly known as the Scottish PFA Young Player of the Year, is named at the end of every Scottish football season. The members of the Professional Footballers' Association Scotland vote on which of its ...
for
2012–13
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
, but the winner was announced as
Leigh Griffiths
Leigh Griffiths (born 20 August 1990) is a Scottish professional footballer who most recently played as a striker for Australian club Mandurah City.
Griffiths started his career at Livingston where he made his debut as a sixteen-year-old. He ...
Southampton
![Victor Wanyama 2014](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/Victor_Wanyama_2014.jpg)
After much speculation and a previous breakdown in talks, on 11 July 2013, Wanyama signed for
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
side
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
for a fee claimed to be £12.5 million, making him the first Kenyan to ever play in the Premier League.
Wanyama said:
He made his debut on 17 August 2013, in a 1–0 away win against
West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...
. Wanyama made 24 appearances in his first season, but injuries hindered his efforts to make much of an impact in the team.
Under new manager
Ronald Koeman
Ronald Koeman (; born 21 March 1963) is a Dutch professional football manager and former player. He is the younger brother of his former international teammate Erwin Koeman and the son of former Dutch international Martin Koeman. Koeman was cap ...
, Wanyama came into his own in the 2014–15 season.
He scored his first goal for the club in a 1–0
league
League or The League may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band
* ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football
Sports
* Sports league
* Rugby league, full contact footba ...
victory over
Swansea City at the
Liberty Stadium
The Swansea.com Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm Swansea.com; formerly Liberty Stadium) is an all-seated sports stadium and conferencing venue located in the Landore area of Swansea, Wales. The stadium opened in 2005 and was named the Liberty Stadium. It ...
on 20 September 2014, after replacing
James Ward-Prowse
James Michael Edward Ward-Prowse (born 1 November 1994) is an English professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for club Southampton and the England national team.
Originally a member of Southampton's youth teams, Ward-Prowse ...
in the 69th minute. His next goal came in an 8–0 trouncing of
Sunderland on 19 October 2014. 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
Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's t ...
. His performances saw him awarded the league's African Player of the Month for September,
with him stating "It is wonderful being recognised as someone who has done well for his club."
Tottenham Hotspur
![Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur, December 2016 (08)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/Manchester_United_v_Tottenham_Hotspur%2C_December_2016_%2808%29.JPG)
On 23 June 2016, Premier League club
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...
announced that they had reached an agreement with Southampton for the transfer of Wanyama, signing a five-year contract for a fee of £11 million. Wanyama had previously worked with Tottenham manager
Mauricio Pochettino
Mauricio Roberto Pochettino Trossero (; born 2 March 1972) is an Argentine professional football manager and former player. He was most recently the head coach of Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain.
Pochettino played as a central defender and b ...
who brought him to Southampton in July 2013. Wanyama scored his first goal for the club on his home debut against
Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace may refer to:
Places Canada
* Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick
* Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario
* Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...
, in the 82nd minute of a 1–0 league win for Spurs. 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.
Early in the
2017–18 season, Wanyama injured his knee in the match against Chelsea and was sidelined for over four months. He returned to training in mid-December. On 2 January 2018, he made his first appearance after his injury, as a substitute in the away match against
Swansea City. His equalizer in Tottenham's 2–2 draw with
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
on 4 February 2018 was voted the Premier League Goal of the Month.
Wanyama picked up a knee injury in a pre-season game of the
2018–19 season against Barcelona. He made his first start of the season two months later in the
EFL Cup game against
Watford
Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne.
Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, and ...
that Spurs won on penalties. 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.
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 would become a
Designated Player
The Designated Player Rule, nicknamed the Beckham Rule, allows Major League Soccer franchises to sign up to three players that would be considered outside their salary cap (either by offering the player higher wages or by paying a transfer fee ...
.
On 11 March 2020, Wanyama made his competitive debut for Montreal at
Stade Olympique in the first leg of a quarterfinal in the
CONCACAF Champions League, where he was named in manager
Thierry Henry
Thierry Daniel Henry (born 17 August 1977) is a French professional football coach, pundit, and former player who is an assistant coach for the Belgium national team. Considered one of the best strikers of all time and one of the best player ...
's starting side. Wanyama provided an assist to
Saphir Taïder – with whom Wanyama was briefly teammates at Southampton in 2014 – a 1–2 defeat by Honduran champions
C.D. Olimpia
Club Deportivo Olimpia is a professional Honduran football club based in Tegucigalpa, Francisco Morazán. The club is the nation's most successful team both in the domestic league and in international club competitions.
History
Olimpia was f ...
.
On 21 November 2021, the midfielder
captained his side to a 1–0 victory over
Toronto FC
Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BM ...
in the
2021 Canadian Championship Final.
In October 2022, Wanyama initially announced that he would not renew his contract with CF Montréal at the end of the season. However, in January 2023, he was officially re-signed by the Canadian club, signing a new two-year contract.
International career
Wanyama made his debut for the
Kenyan senior national team in May 2007, aged just 15, in a friendly against
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
.
[ He went on play in all six of Kenya's ]2010 FIFA World Cup
, image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg
, size = 200px
, caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...
qualifiers.
Having first become the captain of the ''Harambee Stars'' in 2013, he represented Kenya at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations
The 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (abbreviated as AFCON 2019 or CAN 2019), known as the Total 2019 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 32nd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial international men's football championshi ...
.
In September 2021, after being repeatedly overlooked for selection during the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers
The 2022 FIFA World Cup qualificationAlso the "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Qualifiers". was the qualifying process which decided the 31 teams that would join hosts Qatar, who received an automatic spot, at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Parallel tour ...
, Wanyama announced his retirement from international football, marking the end of his 14-year duty. However, following the FKF's re-admission in global competitions by FIFA and a personal meeting with Kenya's Sports Minister at the time, Ababu Namwamba, in December 2022 the midfielder officially agreed to restore his eligibility for the senior national team, together with Michael Olunga
Michael Olunga Ogada (born 26 March 1994) is a Kenyan professional footballer who plays as a striker for Qatari club Al-Duhail and captains the Kenya national team.
Club career
Early career and Gor Mahia
While still a student at the Upper ...
.
Career statistics
Club
International goals
:''As of match played 7 June 2019. Kenya score listed first, score column indicates score after each Wanyama goal.''
Honours
Celtic
* Scottish Premier League: 2011–12, 2012–13
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
*Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,[2012–13
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...](_blank)
Tottenham Hotspur
*UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
runner-up: 2018–19
CF Montréal
* Canadian Championship: 2021
File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...
Individual
* PFA Scotland Team of the Year (SPL
SPL may refer to:
Association football
* Saudi Professional League
* Scottish Premier League
* SportPesa Premier League, Kenya
* Singapore Premier League
* RoboCup Standard Platform League, matches between autonomous robots
Computing Program ...
): 2012–13
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
* SPL Young Player of the Year: 2012–13
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
* SPL Young Player of the Month: December 2011
Personal life
Wanyama comes from a sporting family. His brother McDonald Mariga
McDonald Mariga Wanyama (; born 4 April 1987) is a Kenyan retired footballer who played as a defensive midfielder.
Mariga made history as the first Kenyan footballer to play in the UEFA Champions League, for Internazionale on 16 March 2010. In ...
was also a professional footballer, while his other brothers Thomas
Thomas may refer to:
People
* List of people with given name Thomas
* Thomas (name)
* Thomas (surname)
* Saint Thomas (disambiguation)
* Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church
* Thomas the A ...
and Sylvester are also footballers in the Kenyan Premier League
The Kenyan Premier League (KPL), officially known as the FKF Premier League and as the BetKing Premier League (BPL) for sponsorship reasons, is a professional league for men's association football clubs in Kenya. Standing at the top of the Kenyan ...
. His father, Noah Wanyama, was a footballer for A.F.C. Leopards in the 1980s, and his sister Mercy
Mercy (Middle English, from Anglo-French ''merci'', from Medieval Latin ''merced-'', ''merces'', from Latin, "price paid, wages", from ''merc-'', ''merxi'' "merchandise") is benevolence, forgiveness, and kindness in a variety of ethical, relig ...
is a professional basketball player in the USA.
Wanyama is managed by ExtraTime,[Victor Wanyama]
ExtraTime 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.
See also
*
Notes
References
External links
*
*
Profile on Tottenham Hotspur website
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wanyama, Victor
1991 births
Living people
Kenyan Luhya people
Footballers from Nairobi
Kenyan footballers
Association football midfielders
Nairobi City Stars players
A.F.C. Leopards players
Helsingborgs IF players
Beerschot A.C. players
Celtic F.C. players
Southampton F.C. players
Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players
CF Montréal players
Scottish Premier League players
Belgian Pro League players
Premier League players
Designated Players (MLS)
Kenya international footballers
2019 Africa Cup of Nations players
Kenyan expatriate footballers
Kenyan expatriate sportspeople in Belgium
Kenyan expatriate sportspeople in Sweden
Kenyan expatriate sportspeople in Scotland
Kenyan expatriate sportspeople in England
Kenyan expatriate sportspeople in Canada
Expatriate footballers in Belgium
Expatriate footballers in Sweden
Expatriate footballers in Scotland
Expatriate footballers in England
Expatriate soccer players in Canada
Major League Soccer players