Why it's not easy to be Michael Olunga

Harambee Stars captain Michael Olunga in action against Rashid Toha of South Sudan during their international friendly match at Kasarani Stadium on September 12, 2023. [Stafford Ondego, Standard]

It is not easy to be Michael Olunga in Kenyan football at the moment. To be like him, you must have a strong character. 

Whether the Al Duhail man scores for the national team Harambee Stars or not, he is always subjected to criticism. The situation is even worse when he fails to score and the national team loses.

He might have broken records abroad, left an indelible imprint at almost all the clubs he has turned out for and established himself as one of the best goal poachers of his generation, but it seems he is not well appreciated back at home.

Whenever the former Gor Mahia and Djurgårdens IF puts on the captain’s armband he took over from Victor Wanyama way back in 2021 the expectations are always extremely high and the pressure immense.

Olunga,30, has demonstrated his mental strength by scoring a staggering 216 goals in his 262 appearances at club level across all competitions and 29 goals for the national team in 58 outings so far.

He has featured for Tusker, defunct Thika United, Gor Mahia, Djurgårdens IF (Sweden), Guizhou Zhicheng (China), Girona (Spain), Kashiwa Reysol (Japan) and Al Duhail (Qatar).

But going by the numbers in his club career, it appears lack of enough supply and system of play have mostly affected the Upper Hill alumnus’ national team performance.

However, having guided the team to a famous barren draw against African champions Ivory Coast in their 2026 World Cup qualifiers in Lilongwe, Malawi in June, Olunga is unfazed by the endless vitriol aimed at him.

While he has accepted the heightened responsibility and scrutiny that comes with the armband, Olunga who is part of the provisional squad named for the upcoming 2025 Afcon qualifiers against Zimbabwe and Namibia, is proud of the unity in the team.

“When you are a leader you have to take responsibility, and at the end of the day it's my responsibility to try and lead this team to greater heights,” Olunga told Standard Sports.

“There is a lot of unity in the team and everybody is backing up each and every player. People look at when things are really good but you need to understand that it’s a phase and process.

“I can't say that I don't have any pressure whatsoever because I know my teammates and coach are backing me up, that's the most important thing for me.  And when you have your group and it is backing you up, then you can achieve your objectives collectively. I'm so happy and proud to lead this group quite so well and they all deserve to be in the team. We hope we can continue with this great thing we are building as a team.”

But in a past interview, Harambee Stars head coach Engin Firat explained the importance of Michael Olunga to his team.

"In Qatar, Olunga didn't score, but he changed the result of the game. If people don't understand, they should go and play the PlayStation. Mike is so important for this country, he makes big things to represent his country. For me as a coach, I will never put Olunga out, there's no player of his level in Kenya at the moment. Even if other people think we have players like Didier Drogba, I don't believe it,” said Firat.

Firat’s sentiments were echoed by Ivory Coast coach Emerse Faé who is one of Olunga’s admirers.

“Michael Olunga is a very good player even if he’s not famous in the world of football, he’s a player that we have to keep an eye on because he is able to score in any position and any time,” Faé said before their match in Lilongwe.

Based on their recent performance, Olunga is confident the team will produce positive results in their opening two fixtures of the continental qualifiers.

“We still need to have more team chemistry. Now we are in the right direction, we are in a good momentum, and I believe in the coming qualifiers we are going to have good games,” said Olunga.

But for the second time in a row this year, Harambee Stars will miss a home advantage as they will host their first qualifiers fixture home, away from home due to lack of a Fifa-accredited stadium in the country. 

While Kasarani Stadium is still under construction, ironically Nyayo Stadium has been approved by the continental football body (CAF) to stage the first round of club fixtures. 

Kenya will host Zimbabwe at Mandela National Stadium, in Kampala Uganda on September 6 before flying to South Africa for their next fixture against their hosts Namibia on September 10.