Why Wanyama is more than a player: Saints

Southampton's Kenyan midfielder Victor Wanyama (left) is challenged by Aston Villa's Colombian midfielder Carlos Sanchez during their English Premier League match at Villa Park in Birmingham, on November 24, 2014. Wanyama was nurtured by the former Belgian international Jean-Marie Abeels at the JMJ Youth Academy in Nairobi. PHOTO | AFP 

In Summary

• Wanyama has three goals in the Premier League this season and is a box-to-box force, dovetailing well with Schneiderlin in the centre, shielding the back-four as well as attacking.
• Wanyama was nurtured by the former Belgian international, Jean-Marie Abeels, at the JMJ Youth Academy in Nairobi, also representing Nairobi City Stars and AFC Leopards, before joining Mariga at Helsingborgs aged 16 in 2007.
• Celtic beckoned in July 2011, paying £1m. He became such a crowd favourite that one supporter even had Wanyama’s name and No 67 tattooed on his right buttock.

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When Victor Wanyama returned to his home after playing at Aston Villa on Monday last week, he discovered the place burgled, his Range Rover Sport gone, and televisions, jewellery and clothes taken as well as Champions League mementos such as the prized shirts of Andres Iniesta and Paul Pogba.

Within hours, Wanyama also found the whole Southampton team rallying around him, giving him support and even advice on installing alarms.

He’s popular, an important player but it’s also the Southampton way. “With the players in the dressing-room, everyone is willing to help each other,’’ reflected the 23-year-old Kenyan over a pot of tea in a nearby hotel on Thursday.

“The likes of Jose (Fonte), Morgan (Schneiderlin), Corky (Jack Cork) and Ryan Bertrand – everyone – we’re all together. The team spirit is strong.

“If you have a problem they’re always willing to solve it if they can. Everyone was sad for me over the burglary. Jose was very sad. Clyney (Nathaniel Clyne) as well. (Emmanuel) Mayuka too.

They know how it feels to have your house broken into. They said: ‘Just take it easy, you have to fit alarms.’ If there’s anything I need I can always call them. They are like brothers. It’s like a family.”

DON'T WORRY
After a summer of departures, including the head coach Mauricio Pochettino and players like Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren, Luke Shaw and Rickie Lambert, not even the most obsessed Southampton fan would have predicted the team would be second after 12 games.

“It was tough because a lot of players left, important players and you’re thinking: ‘What’s happening? This is not normal’,’’ said Wanyama.

“I was thinking twice (about the future) but I never thought of leaving after the manager came. When the manager arrived he told everyone:

‘Don’t worry, I’ll bring some players in, everything will be all right, just keep on working hard.’ He signed some players and I knew we could make something of this season.

“Koeman is a great coach. I’ve learned from him. He’s really into improving players, not only on the pitch but in life. If I don’t do something right in a game, he chats to me in a nice way, asking what I think.

Then he talks and I understand his message. If my positioning was bad, he will let me know. If my body was in the wrong position to take the ball, he’ll tell me: ‘You have to open up’. I’ve also improved my finishing.”

A GOOD GUY
Wanyama has three goals in the Premier League this season and is a box-to-box force, dovetailing well with Schneiderlin in the centre, shielding the back-four as well as attacking.

“There’s more freedom to move, to go in the box. I’m enjoying it now. It’s communication with Morgan. If he has the feeling to go, then I stay.

Always, there has to be someone controlling midfield, helping the defence in case of counter-attack. Sometimes I’m more defensive than Morgan, but we are changing. So far, we’ve done well together.

“Koeman’s a good guy. He can be tough. He doesn’t shout but he passes the message on in a strong way. We always take it in a positive way and go out and want to improve.

All the players know he was a great player. Some players went on YouTube in the dressing-room and said: ‘Look how hard he was shooting!’

He doesn’t join in the shooting but sometimes he will join in 4 v 2. You can easily see from his touch that he’s somebody who understands football.”

WELL KNOWN
Wanyama’s success is followed closely back in his homeland. “In Kenya, we have a lot of fans of Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea.

Before, they were saying ‘you have to play for Arsenal’, ‘you have to play for United’ and ‘you have to play for Chelsea’. Now it’s: ‘OK, you have to do well and win the Premier League for Southampton.’

Southampton are well known in Kenya. I’ve seen Southampton shirts in Nairobi. Kenyans love football, they support me, and love to watch Southampton playing because we play attractive football as well.”

He appreciates how far he has come when looking at youngsters in England. “They should realise how lucky they are. The chances of them making it in football are high because they have everything – facilities – but it is tough coming from Kenya.

We don’t have the facilities to make players better. The conditions I grew up in were tough.

“The pitches were rough. We sometimes made a ball with plastic bags and rubber bands around them. When I started, I couldn’t wear boots. I loved playing with bare feet.

Every boy in Africa starts like that – bare feet in the streets. I won a pair of boots in a tournament (aged 10). When I wore them for the first time, it was hard.

A MAN-U FAN

I took them off in the match and continued in bare feet. I started to train with them and after some time got used to them.

“When I look back I tell myself, I don’t want to fail. That gives me even more motivation to go and work hard. Some of my friends are playing in the Kenyan League which is not the best.

They can pay their rent but they cannot buy the house with the money, they have to really save for 20 years.”

He grew up a Manchester United fan. “I used to love them. They were playing great football. Their jerseys were always red. Red is a nice colour.

They also had great players – Roy Keane, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs. I loved the way Roy Keane was tackling, the hunger he had in him, the passion.

You could see he really loved football when he went on to the pitch, dedicating himself when he played. It was nice to watch. Scholes as well.”

His father Noah, a noted winger with Kenya and then a club coach, was very demanding of his footballing sons, Victor, McDonald Mariga, Thomas and Sylvester.

“He won medals and cups. He managed some clubs in Kenya. We always wanted to live up to his ability. We wanted to work hard to have the medals he had. It was a tough journey. He was always on our backs.

MY DAD'S LECTURES
“We were always nervous. He was always hard on us. He’d say: ‘You’re not working hard enough. It’s not good.’ My mum (Mildred, an international netballer) was positive. If we lost, my mum would say:

‘OK, keep your head up, you can do better next time.’ Even if I played well, he would not say ‘good’. He would say: ‘That was OK.’ I thought at times it was too much but it did pay off. He always wanted the best of us.’’

Wanyama was nurtured by the former Belgian international, Jean-Marie Abeels, at the JMJ Youth Academy in Nairobi, also representing Nairobi City Stars and AFC Leopards, before joining Mariga at Helsingborgs aged 16 in 2007.

“I didn’t stay there long. Parma wanted my brother and I thought it would be tough for me living there without my brother. I didn’t want to stay there alone.

My dad and mum tried all they could to make me stay but I couldn’t stand it. When I went back, I had a lecture again from my dad.

“Then the opportunity came to go to Belgium. I didn’t enjoy it at Anderlecht because when I came back from injury, they just put me on the sidelines.

A CROWD FAVOURITE

They started behaving in a strange way. They were giving other boys opportunities. So I went to Germinal Beerschot.’’

His first game was against Anderlecht and he flattened Matias Suarez. “I wasn’t trying to prove a point to Anderlecht. I just wanted to show people I can compete.

I rushed to a tackle, and got sent off. I learned my lesson there. From that game on, I didn’t want to dive in to tackles. I’m a bit more sensible now.’’

Celtic beckoned in July 2011, paying £1m. He became such a crowd favourite that one supporter even had Wanyama’s name and No 67 tattooed on his right buttock.

“It’s strange!” smiled Wanyama, recalling being sent the picture. “I appreciate their love. Celtic fans were very, very good to me. I always respect them. Life in Glasgow was good. A bit cold! But I made a lot of friends. They are nice people in Glasgow.

Celtic have great fans. Whenever I go to the pitch I always try to give my best and that’s why the fans there loved me. When I came to Celtic, they’d gone three seasons without winning the league.

My first aim was to get a Champions League spot and win trophies. I took the No 67 jersey to try to emulate the Lisbon Lions, the European Cup heroes.

I wanted to bring back the memories, and have the fans dreaming of winning it again one day. I was dreaming of winning the Champions League. I wanted to do it with Celtic.

SHOCKED BY WESTGATE
“It was difficult with Celtic. But we beat Barca (on Nov 7, 2012). I wasn’t nervous. I was excited, getting to play against the likes of Messi, Iniesta and Xavi.

They are a bit tiny but they are strong, running hard, keeping the ball well. They’re very intelligent, I was happy that we won and I scored.

My father was really happy probably because it was against Barca. He said: ‘Well done. You need to score more’.”

He moved to Southampton for £12.5m in 2013, settling in well into the St Mary’s family, whose support was very important after the events of Sep 21, 2013.

He shakes his head in continued disbelief at events at the Westgate shopping mall attacked by terrorists. “It’s a place I knew very well.

We had a game against Liverpool at 1.30pm, and I got the news around 12. I asked if everyone was OK. It was tough knowing that some of my friends and family were in the mall.

“Some of them escaped, and some people I knew died, a radio presenter (the well-known Ruhila Adatia-Sood) I used to listen to. It was sad.

It has affected the people. People don’t want to spend time in malls any more. They have in their heads that this thing happened. They don’t have the confidence to go and spend time there.”

Wanyama is at pains to emphasise that Kenya is a “peaceful country”, adding: “I’m very proud of Kenya. Kenya’s a good country. We’ve had some terrible times but Kenya is a country where anybody can come and chill.

People are friendly. There are a lot of beaches, tourist attractions.”

ENJOYING SAFARI
Like Safari. “The funny thing is a lot of Kenyan people have not been to Safari. I started going only a few years ago. It’s an amazing thing to do. I went to Masai Mara.

We stayed in a lodge. I saw lions, leopards and elephants. It’s hard to see a cheetah but we saw one. We had to wake up early, go in an open car, and followed the cheetahs hunting antelopes.

They are so fast. We saw them chasing their prey. When they catch them, we saw how they kill it: they grab on the neck and then bite and squeeze until the antelope goes quiet.”

With a good disciplinary record for somebody in such a combative part of the field, Wanyama knows other clubs look at him too. “I understand that.

You never know what the future holds. Now I’m doing the job for Southampton. I love it. At the moment, I think Southampton is a great team as well.

We don’t have that big a squad but we believe in ourselves. We have good fans here. They’re always behind us and I always want to give them something back by giving all I can and trying to get three points for them. It’s going to be a great season.

“It’s tough to say ‘we can finish second’. If we can finish top four it will be a very, very great thing. Having Champions League nights is just the best thing in football.

It’s every player’s dream to win the Champions League. Hopefully I can do it with Southampton.”