Mariga with Inter in 2010
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Personal information | |||
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Full name | McDonald Mariga Wanyama | ||
Date of birth | 4 April 1987 | ||
Place of birth | Nairobi, Kenya | ||
Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
Playing position | Defensive Midfielder | ||
Club information | |||
Current team
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Latina | ||
Number | 17 | ||
Youth career | |||
2003–2004 | Tusker | ||
2004–2005 | Kenya Pipeline | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2005–2006 | Enköpings SK | 1 | (0) |
2006–2007 | Helsingborgs IF | 37 | (6) |
2007–2010 | Parma | 62 | (4) |
2010–2014 | Internazionale | 21 | (1) |
2011–2012 | → Real Sociedad (loan) | 14 | (0) |
2013 | → Parma (loan) | 13 | (1) |
2014–2015 | Parma | 9 | (0) |
2016– | Latina | 30 | (2) |
National team‡ | |||
2006– | Kenya | 40 | (5) |
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 31 December 2016. |
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 31 December 2016.
McDonald Mariga Wanyama (pronounced [məkˈdɒnʌld məˈriːɡɑ wɑˈŋɑːmɑ]; born 4 April 1987) is a Kenyan footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Italian club Latina and the Kenya national team.
Mariga made history as the first Kenyan footballer to play in the UEFA Champions League, for Internazionale on 16 March 2010.
Mariga started his playing career at Ulinzi Stars before moving first to Tusker FC and then to Kenya Pipeline while still at school. Mariga was a member of the Kamukunji High School 'Golden Boys', which also included Kenyan striker Dennis Oliech (Auxerre, France), who won two consecutive National Championships in 2002 & 2003.
The central midfielder went to Sweden in 2005 to play for third Division side Enköpings SK. After only one season at ESK, he signed for Helsingborgs IF before the 2006 season. His success at Helsingborgs was immediate. Following initial interest from Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp, Mariga looked set to sign for the Premier League team, but work permit issues held up the deal which was supposed to have cost around €2.7million.
He moved to the Serie A club Parma initially on loan in August 2007. The Italian club had an option to buy him in the summer for a fee of 20 million Swedish kronor (around €2million).Mariga agreed to a four-year deal to keep him at Serie A side Parma for four years until the end of June 2012, after the club paid a transfer fee for Swedish Kronor 18 million (approx. 1.94 million euro). The deal, brokered by former Swede great Martin Dahlin, now an agent, falls short of the 20 Million Kronor asking price initially set by Helsingborgs. 25% of the transfer fee will go to Enkopings SK, the club that first got Mariga to Sweden in 2005.