Michael Olunga Ogada (born 26 March 1994) is a Kenyan professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a striker for

Qatar Stars League The Qatar Stars League (; abbreviated as QSL), known as Ooredoo Stars League for sponsorship reasons, is the top level football league in Qatar football league system. Contested by 12 teams, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation wi ...

club Al-Duhail and

captains Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

the Kenya national team.

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 made headlines when he scored seven goals in a single match helping his team to an 8–0 win. Initially reported to be attending trials in France, Olunga signed for Kenyan 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 Thika United Football Club is an association football club based in Thika, Kenya, which currently competes in the Kenyan Super League, the second tier of the Kenyan football league system. They play their home games at the Sea Joy Arena. The cl ...

for another year, before joining

Gor Mahia Gor Mahia Football Club (), commonly known as is a professional football club based in Nairobi, Kenya. They have won the Kenyan Premier League a record 21 times, and have also won the FKF President's Cup a record 11 times. It is the first and ...

ahead of the 2015 season. He 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 Djurgårdens Idrottsförening, commonly known simply as Djurgårdens IF, Djurgården (), and (especially locally) Djurgår'n (), Dif or DIF – is a Swedish sports association with several sections, located in Stockholm. Djurgårdens IF is an s ...

on a four-year contract, after joining the team's pre-season training camp on trial. He scored his first two goals for Djurgården on 8 August 2016 against

IFK Göteborg Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna Göteborg (officially IFK Göteborg Fotboll), commonly known as IFK Göteborg, IFK (especially locally) or Blåvitt, is a Swedish professional Football team, football club based in Gothenburg. Founded in 1904, it ...

in a 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 Idrottsföreningen Elfsborg, more commonly known as IF Elfsborg or simply Elfsborg (), is a professional association football, football club based in Borås, Sweden, and is affiliated to the Västergötlands Fotbollförbund. They play in the Alls ...

at the

Tele2 Arena 3Arena, formerly the Stockholmsarenan (and Tele2 Arena), is a retractable roof multi-purpose arena in Stockholm Globe City, Johanneshov, just south of Stockholm City Centre, Sweden. It is used mostly for concerts and Association football, footbal ...

. On 27 August, he scored the match-winning goal against

Gefle IF Gefle Idrottsförening, also known simply as Gefle IF, Gefle (, as if spelled ''Gävle''), or locally Gif (), also known as Gefle IF FF by the Swedish Football Association, are a Swedish professional association football, football club based in G ...

with a volley in the 86th minute. In the last 12 games of the

Allsvenskan Allsvenskan (; ), also known as Fotbollsallsvenskan (, ) is a professional association football league in Sweden and the highest level of the Swedish football league system. Founded in 1924, it operates on a system of promotion and relegatio ...

Olunga scored 12 goals which earned him a fifth place in the Allsvenskan top scorer table. He 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 award later went to

Alexander Isak Alexander Isak (born 21 September 1999) is a Swedish professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Striker (association football), striker for club Newcastle United F.C., Newcastle United and the Sweden men's national football t ...

. On 10 November 2016, Kenyan football site Soka reported that Djurgården had turned down offers on Olunga from

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

side Betis,

Lokeren Lokeren () is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality located in the Belgian Provinces of Belgium, province of East Flanders, and belongs to the Waasland, also called ''Land van Waas'', of which it is the second ...

, Belgian champions

Club Brugge (), known simply as Club Brugge (in English also: ''Club Bruges''), is a Belgian professional football club based in Bruges, Belgium. It was founded in 1891 and its home ground is the Jan Breydel Stadium, which has a capacity of 29,042. They pl ...

and Swedish champions

Malmö FF Malmö Fotbollförening (), commonly known simply as Malmö FF or MFF, is a Swedish professional football club based in Malmö, Scania. They compete in the Allsvenskan, the top division of Swedish football, and play home matches at the Eleda S ...

Guizhou Zhicheng

In 2017, Olunga joined Chinese club

Guizhou Zhicheng Guizhou Football Club (; ) was a professional Chinese football club. The team was based in Guiyang, Guizhou and their home stadium was the 51,636 seater Guiyang Olympic Sports Center. Their majority shareholders were Hengfeng Real Estate, Guizho ...

Girona (loan)

On 1 September 2017, Olunga was loaned to

side

Girona FC Girona Futbol Club, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. ( ) is a Spanish professional Football team, football club based in Girona, Catalonia, Spain. Founded on 23 July 1930, the team plays in La Liga, to which they gained promotion in the 2022 ...

, for one year. On 13 January 2018, he made his

debut against

Las Palmas Las Palmas (, ; ), officially Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, is a Spanish city and capital of Gran Canaria, in the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital city of the Canary Islands (jointly with Santa Cruz de Tenerife) and the m ...

scoring a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

in the span of 22 minutes during a 6–0 win, becoming both the first Kenyan player and the first Girona player to score a hat-trick in La Liga.

Kashiwa Reysol

On 10 August 2018, Olunga joined Japanese club

Kashiwa Reysol is a Japanese professional association football, football club based in Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture, part of the Greater Tokyo Area. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. Their home stadium is Sankyo ...

. On 24 November 2019, he scored eight goals for Kashiwa in a 13–1 victory over Kyoto Sanga. Olunga finished the season with 27 league goals as Kashiwa finished the J2 season as champions and won promotion to the first division. In J1 League play on 26 July 2020, Olunga scored a hat-trick against

Vegalta Sendai is a Japanese professional association football, football club based in Sendai, Miyagi, Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture. They currently play in J2 League, the Japanese second tier of professional football. History Founded in 1988 as ''Tohoku Elect ...

; the match finished in a 5–1 victory. Olunga finished as the top scorer in the 2020 Japanese J1 League with 28 goals, winning the Golden Boot and the J-League 2020 MVP. He is the first African player to win the J-league MVP award.

Al-Duhail

In January 2021, Olunga moved to

champions Al-Duhail on a three-season contract, for a reported transfer fee of €6 million. He made his debut for the club on 12 January, in a 3–1 away loss against

Al Sadd Al Sadd Sports Club () is a Qatari sports club based in the Al Sadd district of the capital city Doha. It is best known for its association football team, which competes in the top level of Qatari football, the Qatar Stars League. Locally, it i ...

. On 25 January 2021, Olunga scored a

in Duhail's 6–0 win against Al Ahli in the

Emir of Qatar Cup Emir of Qatar Cup (), also known as the Emir Cup, but changed to Amir Cup starting in 2019, is an association football tournament played every season by all first and second division teams in Qatar. The tournament is played in a knockout system, ...

. Olunga finished as the top scorer of the

2021 AFC Champions League The 2021 AFC Champions League was the 40th edition of Asia's premier club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 19th under the current AFC Champions League title. Al-Hilal won their fourth title by ...

, but Al-Duhail crashed out of the competition after a 1–1 draw with team Al Ahli Saudi in late April. and Esteghlal qualified as group winners. On 8 May 2023, Olunga and his club secured the

2022–23 Qatar Stars League The 2022–23 Stars League, or the QSL, also called QNB Stars League for sponsorship reasons, is scheduled to be the 49th edition of top-level football championship in Qatar. The league will kick off in August 1, 2022 and is expected to end in Mar ...

title, scoring four goals in a 5–2 defeat of Al-Shamal.

International career

Olunga made his debut for the Kenya national team in a friendly against

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (; Seychellois Creole: ), is an island country and archipelagic state consisting of 155 islands (as per the Constitution) in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, Victoria, ...

at the

Stade Linité The Stad Linité (official name) is a multi-use stadium in Victoria, Seychelles. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium holds 10,000 and was built in 1992. The stadium plays host also to most of the home games of the Seychel ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

on 28 March 2015. He scored his first goal for the ''Harambee Stars'' in a friendly against

South Sudan South Sudan (), officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the north by Sudan; on the east by Ethiopia; on the south by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Kenya; and on the ...

which resulted in a 2–0 win. On 27 July 2019, during the

2019 AFCON The 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (abbreviated as AFCON 2019 or CAN 2019), known as the Total SE, Total 2019 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 32nd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial international men's associati ...

Olunga scored a double to complete a comeback against

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

Personal life

Olunga studied geospatial engineering at the

Technical University of Kenya Technical University of Kenya (TU-K) is a public university in Nairobi, Kenya. It was chartered in January 2013 by then-president Mwai Kibaki. History Technical University of Kenya grew out of the Kenya Polytechnic. The Kenya Polytechnic was f ...

and pursued a

Bachelor of Engineering A Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) or a Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BSE) is an undergraduate academic degree awarded to a college graduate majoring in an engineering discipline at a higher education institution. In the United Kingdom, a Ba ...

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 Robin van Persie (; born 6 August 1983) is a Dutch football coach and former professional association football, footballer who is the head coach of Eredivisie club Feyenoord. He is regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation and was ...

as a role model.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Kenya's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Olunga goal.''

Honours

Tusker *

Kenyan Super Cup The Kenyan Super Cup is a Kenyan football (soccer), football championship contested by the winners of the Kenyan Premier League and the FKF President's Cup. Having been formed in 2009, it is the Kenyan equivalent to the FA Community Shield of Eng ...

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

* KPL Top 8 Cup:

Gor Mahia *

Kenyan Premier League The Kenyan Premier League (KPL), officially known as the FKF Premier League, is a professional league for men's football clubs in Kenya. Standing at the top of the Kenyan football league system, the league was formed in 1963 under the Kenya Foo ...

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

* KPL Top 8 Cup:

Kashiwa Reysol *

J2 League The or simply J2 is the second division of the and the second level of the Japanese association football league system. The top tier is represented by the J1 League. It (along with the rest of the J.League) is currently sponsored by Meiji Yasud ...

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

Al-Duhail *

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

Qatari Stars Cup The Qatari Stars Cup is a Qatari football competition known as Ooredoo Cup due to sponsorship reasons. The knockout competition, which involves a round-robin structure, was first started in 2009 when the Qatar Stars League structure was amen ...

, 2024–25 * Emir Cup:

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

Individual * Kenyan Sportperson of the Year: 2021 *

AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League Elite (abbreviated as the ACL Elite) is an annual continental club association football, football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's List of top-division football clubs i ...

Top scorer:

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

* Kenyan Premier League Player of the Year: 2015 *

J.League Player of the Year The J.League Player of the Year (formerly known as the "J.League Most Valuable Player Award" from 1993 to 2020) is awarded by the J.League to the most valuable player of the season. J1 League winners Wins by club J2 League winners J3 League w ...

: 2020 * J.League Top scorer:

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

J.League Best XI The J.League Best XI is an acknowledgement of the best eleven players in J.League. J1 League (1993–present) Multiple appearances Appearances by club Appearances by country * Only on two occasions there has been a full-Japanese Best X ...

: 2020 * Qatar Stars League Top scorer: 2021–22,

Player of the Month: October 2021, November 2021 * Qatari Starts Cup Top scorer:

Team of the Tournament:

References

External links

* * *
Michael Olunga
at

's official website *
Michael Olunga
at soka.co.ke {{DEFAULTSORT:Olunga, Michael 1994 births Living people Footballers from Nairobi Kenyan men's footballers Men's association football forwards Tusker F.C. players Thika United F.C. players Gor Mahia F.C. players Djurgårdens IF Fotboll players Guizhou F.C. players Girona FC players Kashiwa Reysol players Al-Duhail SC players Kenyan Premier League players Allsvenskan players Chinese Super League players La Liga players J1 League players J2 League players Qatar Stars League players Kenya men's international footballers 2019 Africa Cup of Nations players Kenyan expatriate men's footballers Kenyan expatriate sportspeople in Sweden Kenyan expatriate sportspeople in China Kenyan expatriate sportspeople in Spain Kenyan expatriate sportspeople in Japan Kenyan expatriate sportspeople in Qatar Expatriate men's footballers in Sweden Expatriate men's footballers in China Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Japan Expatriate men's footballers in Qatar 21st-century Kenyan sportsmen