| Intro | Kenyan association football player | ||||
| Is |
Athlete Football player Association football player |
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| From | Kenya | ||||
| Type | Sports | ||||
| Gender | male | ||||
| Birth | 26 March 1994, Kenya | ||||
| Age: | 26 years | ||||
| Star sign | Aries | ||||
| Stats |
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Michael Olunga (born 26 March 1994) is a Kenyan professional footballer who plays for Spanish club Girona FC on loan from Chinese club Guizhou Zhicheng 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., he hit the headline once when he scored seven goals in a single match helping his team to a 8-0 win 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.
After finishing the 2013 season with two goals for Tusker, Olunga was loaned to fellow Premier League side Thika United for another year, before joining Gor Mahia before the beginning of the 2015 season. 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.
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. Olunga scored both his first and second goal for Djurgården on 8 August 2016 against IFK Göteborg in av 3-1 win., He was also named man of the match and Djurgården coach Mark Dempsey praised him for his match winning heroics. In the next match Olunga scored once again in the 2-2 draw versus IF Elfsborg at the Tele2 Arena. On August 27 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. 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. The prize later went to Alexander Isak.
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. On 12 January 2017 Turkish reports suggested that Turkish giant Galatasaray was keeping Olunga under a close watch. Olunga was described as a potential replacement of German striker Lukas Podolski.
Guizhou Zhicheng
In 2017, Olunga joined Chinese club Guizhou Zhicheng.
Girona (loan)
On 1 September 2017, Olunga was loaned to La Liga side Girona FC, for one year.
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. He scored his first goal for the Harambee Stars in a friendly against South Sudan which resulted in a 2–0 win.
International goals
- Scores and results list Kenya’s goal tally first.
| No | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 7 June 2015 | Amahoro Stadium, Kigali, Rwanda | South Sudan | 2–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 2. | 30 May 2015 | National Heroes Stadium, Lusaka, Zambia | Zambia | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 3. | 7 October 2015 | Stade Anjalay, Belle Vue Maurel, Mauritius | Mauritius | 5–2 | 5–2 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 4. | 13 November 2015 | Nairobi City Stadium, Nairobi, Kenya | Cape Verde | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 5. | 22 November 2015 | Addis Ababa Stadium, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | Uganda | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2015 CECAFA Cup |
| 6. | 25 November 2015 | Awassa Kenema Stadium, Awassa, Ethiopia | Burundi | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2015 CECAFA Cup |
| 7. | 4 October 2016 | Stade des Martyrs, Kinshasa, DR Congo | DR Congo | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
| 8. | 23 March 2017 | Kenyatta Stadium, Machakos, Kenya | Uganda | 1–0 | 1–1 | Friendly |
| 9. | 26 March 2017 | Kenyatta Stadium, Machakos, Kenya | DR Congo | 1–0 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 10. | 2–1 | |||||
| 11. | 10 June 2017 | National Stadium, Freetown, Sierra Leone | Sierra Leone | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
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. He has stated that he looks up to Dutch striker Robin van Persie as a role model.
Honours
Club
- Tusker FC
- Kenyan Super Cup: 2013 (post-season)
- KPL Top 8 Cup: 2013
- Gor Mahia
- Kenyan Premier League: 2014, 2015
- Kenyan Super Cup: 2015
- KPL Top 8 Cup: 2015
Individual
- KPL Player of the Year: 2015