Michael Olunga

Michael Olunga
Personal information
Full name Michael Olunga Ogada
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 (32)
2013 → Tusker (loan) 15 (3)
2014 → Thika United (loan) 26 (9)
2015 → Gor Mahia (loan) 27 (19)
2016– Djurgårdens IF 27 (12)
National team‡
2015– Kenya 16 (6)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 6 November 2016.

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 4 June 2016

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 32 goals for the side during the 2012 season, helping them finish the season unbeaten and earn promotion to the Nairobi Provincial League.,[1][2] he hit the headline once when he scored seven goals in a single match helping his team to a 8-0 win[3] 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.[4]

After finishing the 2013 season with two goals for Tusker, Olunga was loaned to fellow Premier League side Thika United for another year,[5] before joining Gor Mahia before the beginning of the 2015 season.[6] 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.[7]

Djurgården

On 17 February 2016, Olunga joined Swedish side Djurgårdens IF on a four-year contract, after joining the team's pre-season training camp on trial.[8][9] Olunga scored both his first and second goal for Djurgården on 8 August 2016 against IFK Göteborg in av 3-1 win.,[10] He was also named man of the match[11] and Djurgården coach Mark Dempsey praised him for his match winning heroics.[12] In the next match Olunga scored once again in the 2-2 draw versus IF Elfsborg at the Tele2 Arena.[13][14] On August 27th Olunga scored the match winning goal against Gefle after a stunning volley in the 86th minute. On the last 12 games of the Allsvenskan Olunga scored 12 goals which earned him a fifth place in the Allsvenskan top scorer table.[15] On 10 November 2016 Kenyan football site Soka reported that Djurgården had turned down offers on Olunga from La Liga side Betis, Lokeren, Belgium champions Club Brugge and Swedish champions Malmö FF.[16]

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.[17] 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.[18]

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.[19] He has stated that he looks up to Dutch striker Robin van Persie as a role model.[20]

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. ↑ Opiyo, Vincent. "Olunga rakes in millions from Djurgardens deal".
  4. ↑ Patrick Korir (19 December 2012). "Liberty loans Schools' MVP to Tusker". Futaa.com. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  5. ↑ Mercy Njueh (31 January 2014). "Thika United sign Michael Olunga". Futaa.com. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  6. ↑ Mercy Njueh (7 January 2015). "Wafula, Olunga set for Gor move". Futaa.com. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  7. ↑ Seth Willis (1 November 2015). "Gor Mahia 2-0 Muhoroni Youth: Unbeaten K'Ogalo". Goal.com. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  8. ↑ "Klart: "Ingenjören" till Djurgården - fyraårskontrakt påskrivet" (in Swedish). Fotbollskanalen Europa. 17 February 2016. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
  9. ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/35598506
  10. ↑ "Finally…Olunga ends goal drought in Sweden". Goal Kenya. 8 August 2016. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  11. ↑ Opiyo, Vincent. "Olunga on a brace as Djurgardens thumps Gotenborg".
  12. ↑ Gacharira, Samuel. "Dempsey full of praise for Olunga".
  13. ↑ http://www.soka.co.ke/stars-abroad/item/olunga-on-the-mark-again-as-elfsborg-hold-djurgardens
  14. ↑ "Olunga on target again as Swedish side held". Goal.com Kenya edition. 14 August 2016. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  15. ↑ "Klart: Skytteligan 2016" (in Swedish). fotbollssvenskan.se. 11 November 2016. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
  16. ↑ "Klart: Skytteligan 2016". soka.co.ke. 10 November 2016. Retrieved 11 November 2016. Michael was nominated for Newcomer of the year in Swedish football by a jury of Allsvenskan coaches and Swedish journalists as well as the coaches of the Swedish national teams.
  17. ↑ Vincent Opiyo (1 April 2015). "Seychelles vs Kenya; Nine earn senior team debuts". Futaa.com. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  18. ↑ Rodgers Eshitemi (6 September 2015). "HARAMBEE STARS HUMBLED: Zambia beats Kenya 2-1 at Nyayo stadium". The Standard. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  19. ↑ "TU-K Student Causing Ripples in 2015 CECAFA Challenge". Technical University of Kenya. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  20. ↑ "Olunga, the Footballing Engineer". Technical University of Kenya. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
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