Olunga joined Girona FC on a season-long loan deal back in August after failing to secure regular playing time in Chinese outfit Guizhou Zhicheng.
At Girona, the 23-year-old has been finding it tough to make it into the first team, but he wowed the footballing world last weekend when he made history by becoming the first Kenyan ever to score in La Liga, as well as becoming the first-ever Girona player to score a hat-trick in the Spanish top flight.
The big man came from the bench as a second half substitute to grab three well-taken goals as Girona FC thrashed Las Palmas 6-0, sending Kenyans into ecstasy.
He earned himself plaudits from the who is who, including the head of state, President Uhuru Kenyatta, NASA leader Raila Odinga as well as from his national team captain Victor Wanyama.
Wanyama, who recently returned from a long-term knee injury, personally congratulated his fellow history maker when the two linked up in Barcelona, Spain, where his Tottenham Hotspur team had their training camp.
The two will be looking to help Kenya shake off their 2-1 loss to Sierra Leone in their first group ‘F’ AFCON qualifiers match in a bid to make it into the 2019 AFCON finals, with pending fixtures against Ghana and Ethiopia on the cards.
MULEE’S INSPIRATION
When you mention Olunga, one name will no doubt pop up in the conversation, that of Jacob ‘Ghost’ Mulee. This is because the former Harambee Stars manager played and continues to play an integral role in the youngster’s life, right from a tender age.
Mulee turned out as a goalkeeper for Tusker FC (formerly known as Kenya Breweries) before becoming a manager and winning local and regional titles. He discovered an untapped talent in Olunga back in his high school games.
As a budding footballer who was willing to give it all for football, Olunga had to put up with a lot of pressure from his family, which was against the idea of him venturing into football. They wanted him to finish his studies first before he could concentrate on his talent.
Luckily enough, Mulee came to Olunga’s rescue and convinced the star’s parents to let him venture into sports.
“Olunga’s story is an inspiring one, because his parents took him to reserve so he could concentrate on education and forget about football. So I had to intervene and convinced his parents to let him juggle between education and football since he was incredibly talented,” Mulee says.
REWARD FOR HARD WORK
For him, Olunga’s success story is a reward for his hard work, persistence, desire and utter motivation to not only change but give back to the society. Through the Liberty Sports Academy, where he is the technical director, Mulee nurtures young and talented children who will use football to make a living.
Mulee says the academy was a dream that started somewhere in Ghana when he was at the helm of the national team coach.
It happened when Harambee Stars were stranded at a substandard hotel and one Alhaji Sly Tetteh came to their rescue.
Tetteh is the president of Liberty Professionals FC and is famed for spotting top African footballers, such as Michael Essien. He offered the team a free training pitch and a bus to take them to their next destination.