Michael Olunga

Michael Olunga
Personal information
Date of birth (1994-03-26) 26 March 1994
Place of birth Kenya
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Playing position Forward
Club information
Current team
 Djurgårdens IF
Number 17
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2012–2016 Liberty Sports Academy
2013 → Tusker (loan) 15 (3)
2014 → Thika United (loan) 26 (9)
2015 → Gor Mahia (loan) 27 (19)
2016– Djurgårdens IF 6 (0)
National team‡
2015– Kenya 13 (6)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 2 May 2016.
† Appearances (goals)

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 1 December 2015

Michael Olunga (born 26 March 1994) is a Kenyan professional footballer who currently plays for Djurgårdens IF in the Allsvenskan and the Kenya national team as a forward.

Club career

Early career and Gor Mahia

While still a student at the Upper Hill School, Olunga began his career with the Liberty Sports Academy in the Nairobi County League. He scored 30 goals for the side during the 2012 season, helping them finish the season unbeaten and earn promotion to the Nairobi Provincial League.[1][2] Initially reported to be attending trials in France, Olunga signed for Premier League side Tusker on a one-year loan deal from Liberty on 19 December 2012.[3]

After finishing the 2013 season with two goals for Tusker, Olunga was loaned to fellow Premier League side Thika United for another year,[4] before joining Gor Mahia before the beginning of the 2015 season.[5] Olunga finished the season as the club's top scorer in the league with 19 goals to help the side win a record 15th league title without losing a single match, including the second goal in a 2–0 win over Muhoroni Youth on their final league match of the season.[6]

Djurgården

On 17 February 2016, Olunga joined Djurgårdens IF on a four-year contract, after joining the team's pre-season training camp on trial.[7][8]

International career

Olunga made his debut for the Kenya national team in a friendly against Seychelles at the Stade Linité in Victoria on 28 March 2015.[9] He scored his first goal for the Harambee Stars in a 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification match against Zambia, but could not help prevent his side falling to a 2–1 loss at the Nyayo National Stadium.[10]

Personal life

Olunga studied geospatial engineering at the Technical University of Kenya, where he enrolled in 2013 and pursued a Bachelor of Engineering degree. For this reason, he is regularly known as "The Engineer" by Kenyan football fans.[11] He has stated that he looks up to Dutch striker Robin van Persie as a role model.[12]

Honours

Club

Tusker
Gor Mahia

Individual

References

  1. ↑ Patrick Korir (2 November 2012). "Schools' MVP heading to France". Futaa.com. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  2. ↑ Wilson Mathu (29 November 2012). "Promoted Liberty embrace the challenge". Futaa.com. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  3. ↑ Patrick Korir (19 December 2012). "Liberty loans Schools' MVP to Tusker". Futaa.com. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  4. ↑ Mercy Njueh (31 January 2014). "Thika United sign Michael Olunga". Futaa.com. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  5. ↑ Mercy Njueh (7 January 2015). "Wafula, Olunga set for Gor move". Futaa.com. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  6. ↑ Seth Willis (1 November 2015). "Gor Mahia 2-0 Muhoroni Youth: Unbeaten K'Ogalo". Goal.com. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  7. ↑ "Klart: "Ingenjören" till Djurgården - fyraårskontrakt påskrivet" (in Swedish). Fotbollskanalen Europa. 17 February 2016. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
  8. ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/35598506
  9. ↑ Vincent Opiyo (1 April 2015). "Seychelles vs Kenya; Nine earn senior team debuts". Futaa.com. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  10. ↑ Rodgers Eshitemi (6 September 2015). "HARAMBEE STARS HUMBLED: Zambia beats Kenya 2-1 at Nyayo stadium". The Standard. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  11. ↑ "TU-K Student Causing Ripples in 2015 CECAFA Challenge". Technical University of Kenya. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  12. ↑ "Olunga, the Footballing Engineer". Technical University of Kenya. Retrieved 1 November 2015.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, May 02, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.