As the year 2019 comes to an end, there’s no doubt that Harambee Stars Captain Victor Wanyama and forward Michael Ogada Olunga currently are the biggest football names in Kenya.
Whereas Wanyama plies his trade at English football club Tottenham Hotspur, Olunga plays for Japanese club Kashiwa Reysol.
This year, Wanyama and Olunga have had lows and highs on and off the pitch, with their greatest undoing being suffering severe injuries at different stages of the year.
However, Olunga tops both in the national team and club-level if one is allowed to compare and contrast the fortunes of the two footballers in 2019.
After a long wait, Harambee Stars finally qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament since 2004. Drawn in the same pool with eventual winners Algeria, Senegal and Tanzania, Harambee Stars bowed out of the tournament in Egypt mid this year after three group matches.
Despite the setback, Olunga scored two goals in a 3-2 win against Tanzania, hence becoming the only Kenyan to score two goals for Harambee Stars in the AFCON history.
On the other hand, Wanyama failed to boss the midfield, which some pundits have linked to negative results against Senegal and Algeria.
Some will say that it is absurd to compare a midfielder and a striker, but those who have followed Wanyama’s football journey will agree that while at his best, the former Celtic midfielder has all it takes to have a positive influence on his teams. He has been the best Kenyan footballer for several years now.
At club level, 25-year-old Olunga scored 27 goals (among them 8 goals against Kyoto) for Kashiwa Reysol, aiding his team back to the Japanese topflight league.
He ranked second, with the top scorer having notched 28 goals in the Japanese second-tier league. Wanyama, on the other hand, has found his game time dwindling at Spurs under former coach Mauricio Pochettino and currently under Jose Mourinho.
This can be attributed to injuries and lack of form. 2019 has been about Olunga, but with all due respect; Victor Wanyama remains a strong, powerful and great tackler this country has seen in recent years.
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