Michael Olunga: 5 interesting facts about Harambee Stars’ birthday boy
With his mind fully focused on the Four-Nations final with Harambee Stars against Zimbabwe, Michael Olunga will undoubtedly be thinking of how to celebrate his birthday.
The towering Kenyan captain is turning a year older today, March 26, 2024, and the day comes while he is on international duty with his teammates.
The Al Duhail SC's striker will hope to win the non-competitive title to crown his big day in style.
For soccer fans, Olunga is not a new name, he has made himself popular given how he performed in the Kenyan Premier League with Thika United, Tusker, and, of course, Gor Mahia.
But what are his outstanding career moments?
AFCON brace
In 2019, he was Kenya's lead striker, and he scored a brace in a group match against Tanzania in Egypt.
This came on July 27, as Kenya registered their only win after losing to eventual finalists Senegal and Algeria.
Al Duhail’s best moment
Most of Olunga's outstanding moments have come from his actions at club levels. Currently with Al Duhail, he has already won the Qatar Stars League title.
In the previous season, the Kenyan emerged as the AFC Champions League top scorer, although his team was eliminated in the group stage. 
Japan records
Before his move to Qatar, Olunga had made his name known by almost every football fanatic in Japan while he was turning out for Kashiwa Reysol.
He was a key performer for the outfit when he helped them win the J2 title and consequently earned a ticket to J1.
He was in top form while turning out in the top flight, as he scored 28 goals, won the J1 title, and won the Golden Boot award in the 2020 season.
The Lucky Summer star won the Most Valuable Player award and became the first African to win the coveted award in the J1 league.
History in La Liga
Olunga also made his name popular while he was turning out for Girona in the Spanish top flight.
His most outstanding moment was when he scored a La Liga hat trick within 22 minutes during a game against Las Palmas in 2018.
These goals came on his debut, as he became the first Kenyan and the first Girona player to score a La Liga hat trick.
Djurgarden moment
Before he was much known in the international scene, Olunga had his moments in the Swedish soccer scene.
He was signed by Djurgarden on a four-year deal from Gor Mahia, and his first two goals came against IFK Goteborg in a 3-1 win, when he was also named the Man of the Match.
Olunga managed to find the back of the net 12 times in the last 12 games of the Allsvenskan, the Swedish top division, as he went on to take fifth place in the Allsvenskan top scorer chart.
In that season, he was nominated for Newcomer of the Year in Swedish football by a jury of Allsvenskan coaches and journalists, as well as the coaches of the Swedish national teams, but he did not win the award.
