McDonald Mariga

McDonald Mariga in Portrait (2010)

McDonald Mariga Wanyama ( born April 4, 1987 in Nairobi ) is a Kenyan soccer player on the position of an attacking midfielder, who can also be used on the right wing. Currently, he is the Italian first division club Inter Milan under contract.

• 2.1 with the Enköpings SK
• 2.2 with Helsingborgs IF
• 2.3 with FC Parma
• 2.4 with Inter Milan

Club career

Career start in Kenya

Born in the Kenyan capital, McDonald Mariga started his playing career as a football player at the " Kamukunji High School ". He won among other things on the side of today's AJ- Auxerre player Dennis Oliech two national titles (2002 and 2003) with the football team. While still in high school, he played football for the first time by clubs when he was admitted to the offspring of the Ulinzi Stars, where he was active until 2003. From there, he eventually came to Tusker FC with game operation in the Kenyan Premier League. After he came there mainly in the youth department for use, he moved in 2004 to unterklassig gambling and the now-defunct "Kenya Pipeline FC", for which he was until 2005 in use.

Move to Europe

In the same year he received an offer of Enköpings SK from Sweden, the next season on at that time in the Swedish Division 2, the then third highest football league in the country had. For the club with which he played, among other things on the side of his compatriot Andrew Oyombe, he completed only one championship game and ranked with the team in the final table in the first place Norra Svealand relay. The first place in the table, the team had the chance of qualifying for Superettan, the team finally foundered and remain in the league had. Since the Division was replaced by the two Division 1 as the third highest Swedish league, it was time for Mariga once more joined the club. This time, however, the change was within the country painless, as the Swedish first division club him Helsingborgs IF submitted a lucrative offer. After his teammate Oyombe, with whom he was already talking about the Tusker FC active, spent another year at the Swedish fourth division, Mariga accepted the offer of the first division. The first successes of the new club were not long in coming.

In his first season as a professional football player it brought the Kenyan-born in the 2006 season, already at 23 from a total of 26 possible gewesenen league appearances, in which he scored four goals and ranked with the team in the final table on the comfortable fourth place. Also in the official Swedish Cup competition it went very well for the learned midfielder in 2006. After good team performance which Gefle IF was defeated 2-0 in the final of the competition, which Mariga recorded his first professional title. In the 2007 it brought the 1.88 m wide player in 14 league inserts and two hits before some international top clubs proclaimed it their interest in the young Kenyans. Among them include some English clubs, such as the Portsmouth, whose coach and manager Harry Redknapp had only just failed due to a transfer of promising young African talent. Main reasons for this were the negotiation, the gaming or work permit as well as the rumored transfer fee of around 1.7 million euros. As a Premier League club may hold only players whose homeland among the first 70 countries in the FIFA rankings, had Mariga little chance of a change in England's top division since Kenya was ranked at this time only on the 124th. After Mariga in the Swedish Super Cup of 2007 failed with Helsingborgs IF in the final match against IF Elfsborg 0-1, but a change of freshly baked Swedish Super Cup finalists became apparent.

Transfer to Italy

For now, just as Leihvariante Mariga was issued by the Swedes in August 2007 to Italy to the local first division club FC Parma. Attached to the loan agreement was a purchase option that could make the Italierner for a transfer fee of 20 million Swedish crowns in summer. After 18 league appearances, in which Mariga remained scoreless, this returned to his original club. Meanwhile, the management decided FC Parma to bring the talented Kenyans with a lucrative contract back into the team. About the former International and today's players' agent Martin Dahlin a four-year contract was negotiated with a transfer fee of 18 million Swedish crowns, the Mariga signed shortly thereafter. 25 % of revenue but also went to the Enköpings SK, whose leaders had brought the Kenyans to Europe; the money was used almost exclusively as a training compensation.

Since the first team of FC Parma had to play their game operation after descending to the 2007/08 season in Serie B, McDonald Mariga has been an increase in this season in the middle of the initially trained by Luigi Cagni and the end of September, acquired in 2008 by Francesco Guidolin force used. He brought it to 35 League Appearances, where he came up with a score of four goals. Although he often only as a substitute was used in the first few games, got better with this continuation of the season, with Mariga stood on the grass increased over the entire game. He scored his four goals all within just four games between the 28 and 32 championship round; in a 4-1 away win over FC Empoli on 13 March 2009, he even managed a brace. With the team Mariga finally scrapped in the final table in second place and was therefore seized along with the winners, the AS Bari, automatically renewed rise in Italy's excellence. In the Coppa Italia in the season 2008 /09 it was not very good for Mariga and FC Parma. In two appearances, in which he also gave an assist, retired Kenyan midfielder with the team in the second round against Catania Calcio 1:2 in extra time from the current Cup competition out.

After the successful promotion to Serie A Mariga came in nine league games for the top Italians used, where he remained but without scoring. Since after the return of the team to the highest Italian league continues international top clubs courting the fast and tricky Kenyans, and it became a speedy change of club of the 22 -year-olds, the acquisition of midfielder engine hesitated in the winter transfer overtime and on. Because again English clubs such as Manchester City, to the acquisition of the Kenyan endeavored a transfer to the island but failed the end of January 2010. Reason was again the Nichtbewilligen a work permit Marigas. Although Kenya was already advanced in the FIFA rankings to rank 98, they would, according to the English statutes must still be within the top 70 ranked countries in order to be included in the Premier League. Would a transfer to England vonstattengegangen, Mariga would have been the first Kenyan, who would have ever played in the Premier League. The rumored transfer fee would have amounted to British pounds in the case of an obligation between 7 and 8.5 Millionen. Been involved in the transfer fee would also Marigas training Enköpings SK and Helsingborgs IF, with whom he was active from 2006 to 2007. Even the Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga did everything that Marigas transfer to Manchester City collapsed and even offered his assistance for obtaining a work permit.

Surprisingly moving to Inter Milan

After the move to Britain was doomed to failure, Mariga moved on February 1, 2010, the last day before the transfer deadline, within the League to Inter Milan. However, the club did not pay the full transfer fee, but together with the Parma FC co-owner of a Kenyan father. This is commonplace in Italy -actuated system, the two clubs a so-called in English "cash -plus -player deal ," said Parma got half of the transfer rights of Jonathan Biabiany and the Chilean Luis Jiménez Players out on loan. With Inter Milan Mariga signed a contract with a term of approximately four and a half years until 30 June 2014. Upon completion of gutdotierten contract the club's president, Massimo Moratti said that the move Marigas which was best that Inter Milan the winter transfer period could have happened. His team debut of the Kenyan-born came only two days after conclusion of the contract, when he in 2009/10 came in the semi-final first leg of the Coppa Italia in the second minute of stoppage time for Wesley Sneijder on the lawn. The game ended after a goal by Diego Milito in a 1-0 victory for Milan. His debut for Inter in Serie A was Mariga, ironically, in a game against his former club, FC Parma, on 10 February 2010 when he came on in the 68th minute for the game three times African Footballer of the Year Samuel Eto'o.

At the end of the season 2009/10 Mariga ranked with his club on the first place of the Italian final table and had a two point lead over second-placed AS Roma and a comfortable twelve-point lead over third parties, AC Milan. The Kenyans came here in eight league games for use, in which he scored one goal. This he did on 24 April in a 3-1 home win over the later relegated Atalanta, as he smoothly put the ball after Eto'o template in 35 minutes, by right-footed shot in the opposing goal. In addition to the championship title Mariga won with the team also has the Coppa Italia, where the team AS Roma defeated in the finals without the use of Mariga 1-0. Then there were the Kenyan midfielder also three takes a few minutes short appearances in the UEFA Champions League 2009/ 10 where he came against Chelsea, CSKA Moscow and FC Barcelona in the games used. After a 2-0 victory over Bayern Munich in the final, in which McDonald Mariga had to let the more experienced football players go first and so was not used, the Kenyans could also decorate with a third title at the new club.

In June 2010, it took Inter Milan as Fixbestandteil to the team and sparked the co-ownership with FC Parma. At the same time Biabiany was brought back together and paid an estimated transfer fee of 9.5 million euros for both players to the team. From the season 2010/11 the Kenyan International will increasingly come in the middle of the northern Italian success teams to use.

It was awarded to the Spanish side Real Sociedad For the season 2011 /12. For the second half of the season 2012/13 McDonald Mariga was loaned to Parma, where he had already played between 2007 and 2010. Parma also has the option to buy half of the rights to the midfielder. Since he but shortly afterwards drew upon an adductor injury in Parma, he came to the rest of the season just two appearances and returned to the 2013/14 season back to Milan.

National team career

At his first appearance in the national team of his native country Kenya Mariga came in 2003, He was among others in the Kenyan 17 -. , Or 18 -man squad who took part in the CECAFA Cup 2003 in Sudan. Six more missions followed in 2004, followed by as many operations in the following year 2005. According to the inclusion in the team Helsingborgs IF Marigas took utilization rate in the Kenyan National team oddly off. The only two assignments in 2006 was followed by a further three missions in 2007, the year Mariga also his first goal in the national jersey scored when he hit the opponent's goal in a game against Swaziland on 25 March 2007. Of the games that Mariga completed by 2006, there were eight qualifiers for the 2006 World Cup. 's Quality, however, the team retired in the second round as group fourth in Group E of.

In the years 2008 and 2009 were followed for the agile players each with four stakes and a goal in qualifying for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. In this case, the team managed to in the third qualifying round, where it eventually retired in Group 2 behind the winners and thus of the World Cup in Nigeria, the runner-up Tunisia and Mozambique to the third party as a group last. In 2010 he came to date (as of 7 July 2010 ) in a single game against the Yemen used.

Achievements

With the Enköpings SK

With Helsingborgs IF

With FC Parma

With Inter Milan

Family / Private

Mariga comes from a sports-loving family. His father, Noah Wanyama, was a football player in Kenya ( AFC Leopards ) and the Kenyan national team active. There he held the position of a left winger and transferred virtually its sporty and above all footballing talent to his children. In addition to McDonald Mariga, the oldest son of his family, are also two of his younger brother, Victor and Thomas Wanyama, active as a professional football player. Victor currently plays as a legionnaire in England with Southampton FC, where Thomas is the reigning Kenyan champions Sofapaka used. Their current (July 2010) 17 -year-old sister Mercy is team captain of the basketball team in high school in Lang'ata, a suburb of Nairobi. Mercy Wanyama is in addition to their basketball career as a football and Netballspielerin.

Trivia

A survey was conducted in early 2010 mtnfootball.com on the African Internet portal, revealed that Mariga is among the 20 best players of the African continent. In the election he came eleventh in front of players like Alexandre Song or Steven Pienaar.