Former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder and Harambee Stars captain Victor Wanyama says he is still willing to push on his football career for a few more years, and is currently looking to get a new employer after leaving Major League Soccer (MLS) side CF Montreal.
Wanyama played at Montreal for four years, after leaving Tottenham Hotspur, and left the Canadian club at the end of his contract last year. At 33, Wanyama says he still has energy in his tanks, and is currently in search of a new employer.
The midfielder has his name engraved in the books of history, as he became the first ever Kenyan to play in the English Premier League after signing for Southampton from Celtic FC in Scotland. His elder brother, MacDonald Mariga, Champions League winner with Inter Milan, had before come close to achieving this feat when he was scouted by Manchester City, but Kenya’s lowly FIFA ranking denied him the chance.
Wanyama took the route to England through Scotland. He made his name at Celtic, where he became a household name and a club legend. He played in Scotland from 2022 to 2013, before moving to Scotland.
After two years with the legendary Celtic, he made a transfer to Southampton where he once again formed a brilliant part of his career before London-based Spurs came for his signature.
At Spurs, he further hit more milestones, helping the club reach the Champions League final for the first time ever, as well as their best ever finish in the English Premier League.
Since leaving Montreal in December last year, Wanyama is currently in London, where he is shaping up and working towards landing a new employer.
He speaks exclusively to Telecomasia.net from the British capital, opening up on his future plans and reminisces on the memories of his football career.
- It has been a bit over three months since you left Montreal. What are your plans at the moment?
- At the moment, I am just waiting to see what will happen. I am looking at all the offers that are on my table and then I will decide what is best for me. I have received several offers from Europe, Asia and Australia, but at the moment there hasn’t been anything decided yet.
But yes, I will still be playing football and I am actively looking at everything on offer. Remaining in England might be one of the options, but I am more inclined towards experiencing a new environment as I have played in England for a while.
- You had a good time at Montreal and rose all the way to become their captain. What was your experience like there?
- I had a great time at Montreal because it was a new experience for me. It is a bit different from England where there is constant pressure to perform and get good results. In the MLS it is not quite the same because there are no issues like relegation and promotion and hence not much pressure on the teams there.
But at Montreal we tried to have a different mentality in terms of being competitive and trying to make history for the club. Unfortunately that didn’t take long because the club kept changing coaches and this made things a bit difficult. When we had French coach Wilfried (Nancy), we had really built something nice together but when he left it’s like we started from zero again.
- Looking back from your time at Montreal, what moments can you pick as some of your highest?
- I had very good moments at Montreal but some of the best moments we had included winning the Canadian Trophy by beating our rivals Toronto. This was such a historic moment for the club and I am glad I was part of it.
We also set several milestones for the club like picking the highest number of points in the team’s history as well as the most number of away wins ever. We brought in a new mentality into the team and this helped the club grow.
- Though you had such good success with Montreal, do you count your time at Spurs as the best in your career?
- Yeah I would say that. It was a great time in North London. I moved to a big team that always challenged to qualify for the Champions League and it was definitely a huge challenge. I experienced some of my best football there.
We had such a good team and up to today, it remains unbelievable for me that we never won the Premier League or anything with that group. There was a lot of talent around and the chemistry we had was unmatched.
- You moved to work with a coach (Mauricio Pochettino) who was familiar to you having worked with him at Saints. Did it make stuff easier for you?
- Yeah we understood each other really well and it made it a bit more comfortable for me. But other than that, when you go to a big team, you have to work so hard to remain there. Having someone who understands you and knows your strengths only makes the load lighter, but you have to put in the work.
- What would you consider your highest moment at Spurs?
- Definitely reaching the Champions League final. It was a shame we couldn’t go on to win it but reaching the final was a huge moment for the club. Also, beating Arsenal in several North London derbies was a high moment for me. We were always on top of them and it was great for us and our fans. It would bring a lot of joy.
- Finally, in terms of the national team, you were the last captain to take Kenya to the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in 2019. What should be done to make sure Harambee Stars is back there?
- Qualifying to the AFCON is very much achievable. I believe we have a very good team currently and the players are very talented. I just think the Federation needs to bring in a coach that can get the best out of the players. Migne (Sebastian) did it when we qualified for the 2019 AFCON, we also had Okumbi (Stanley) who also did well.
We also need to have a coach who understands African football and can make it work for the team in all circumstances.
We have not qualified for the next AFCON but we are hosting it in 2027 and I believe we will do well. At the moment we have the World Cup qualifiers and I believe if we take game by game, we can achieve something memorable. There is still a chance.
