Victor Wanyama finds himself playing in big brother’s shadow again

IT IS not easy to become a household name in football when you are not even the most prominent player in your own family. Victor Wanyama has made a big impression on Celtic supporters this season but even as he pursues the first leg of a potential treble this weekend, he finds himself being overshadowed once again by his big brother.

You might think that the 20-year-old Celtic midfielder’s appearance in tomorrow’s League Cup final at Hampden would be the focus of attention for the Wanyama clan. But instead of heading for the south side of Glasgow, Victor’s parents are in northern Italy to watch his elder sibling McDonald Mariga Wanyama in Serie A action for Parma against AC Milan tonight.

The first Kenyan player to appear in the Champions League, 24-year-old McDonald Mariga is his country’s most celebrated footballer and is currently on loan from Inter Milan to relegation-threatened Parma.

“My mum and dad are already in Italy with my brother,” said Wanyama, who gave the curious impression of being quite underwhelmed by his own assignment with Celtic against Kilmarnock.

“But my sister and my cousin will be coming over from Kenya to watch my game. I’m excited, but not very excited. We have to finish the job on Sunday and then the excitement will come from there. We are close to taking the trophy but only after the game on Sunday can I be happy, that’s what I mean. It is my first cup final as a professional footballer. It’s a very big game to me but I will not be nervous. I will treat it just like any other league game.”

Signed from Belgian club Beerschot for £900,000 last summer, Wanyama endured a difficult start to life at Celtic when suffering a 1-0 defeat at home to St Johnstone on his debut in August. But such has been his influence in Celtic’s resurgence over the past five months, he has become a fans’ favourite to the extent his name is celebrated in song to the rousing strains of the Triumphal March from Verdi’s Aida.

The powerful 6ft 2ins player was deployed in central defence in his first outing but has since established himself as a key figure in central midfield.

“For me, the real low point this season was that St Johnstone game,” added Wanyama. “It was very difficult for me. I kept on asking myself too many questions. I didn’t have any doubts about having joined Celtic, I knew this was the right team and that the players around me were good. But I just kept asking myself how it could be like that on my debut, losing at home while playing for such a big team.

“The manager helped me by telling me to forget it and keep on going. He had a general talk and it picked up. The run we are on now is a good achievement for this team. We had some low points but we worked hard and came back stronger.”