Now in Stars camp, Victor Wanyama eager to look ahead

What you need to know:

  • Stars captain was an unused sub in Saturday’s Champions League loss to Liverpool in Madrid

Victor Wanyama, the Harambee Stars captain, admits “it will take some time” before he moves on from Saturday’s Uefa Champions League final heartbreak.

The 28-year old, however, points out that his focus has shifted to leading the national football team to a good showing at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.

Wanyama last evening linked up with his teammates at the French Rugby Federation in Marcoussis Cedex training complex, just outside the country’s capital Paris, for a boot camp to prepare for the biennial continental showpiece.

“We (Tottenham) tried our best and gave everything but it didn’t work out. Losing a final is very difficult to take in, it will take time,” said Wanyama. The Tottenham Hotspur midfielder was referring to his club’s 2-0 loss to Liverpool in the final of the Champions League in Madrid on Saturday, a game where he was consigned to the substitutes bench.

“My focus is now on the national team and we are preparing well which is a good place to start. In a few weeks’ time, we will be ready and can discuss our targets. It has been some time since Kenya last played at this tournament and that’s why we have to leave a positive mark,” he added.

Maritzburg United defender Brian Mandela, who’s been linked with a Sh15 million transfer to Orlando Pirates in the South African top tier, also arrived in France and linked up with his teammates Tuesday morning. This was a day after China-based attacker Ayub Timbe, who has been consigned to the treatment table for the better part of the last six months, also made it to camp.

Lead striker Michael Olunga, who is based in Japan, is the only player yet to report to camp, two days before Stars face Madagascar in the first of its two build up matches. Stars will face Algeria, Tanzania, and Senegal in Group ‘C’ fixtures at the Nations Cup where they will be based in Cairo.