Africa-Press – Kenya. Wazito’s Kevin Kimani’s star is high in the sky, and perhaps it could even rise a lot more.
The fleet-footed diminutive offensive midfielder, who has been wrecking havoc on opponents from set pieces, emerged second in last season’s FKF-PL midfielder of the year awards to walk away with Sh200,000.
Kimani attributes his meteoric rise on the big stage to resilience, focus and determination.
“It’s all about hard work, determination and focus. If you are given an opportunity to feature in a match, then it’s upon you to prove your worth,” said Kimani.
“I can’t entirely take credit for my good performance last season. I have some great teammates who pushed me towards my goal,” he added.
Kimani was among the star-studded list of local and foreign-based players roped by the moneybags at the beginning of the preceding season to pump some zest into the squad and possibly charge for a maiden KPL title.
However, he and his teammates fell short of attaining the set heights after wrapping up the season in the middle of the log.
“We learnt some key lessons from our fixtures in the previous season and I believe we shall experience better results this time round,” said Kimani.
Kimani’s outstanding form has seen him receive senior caps from three different Harambee Stars coaches in succession.
“I’m glad to have received call-ups to the national team on a number of occasions. It’s always a privilege to don the national colours and I intend to continue working hard for such a rare opportunity,” said Kimani.
The 32-year-old, who stands at 1.84 metres, is brother to veteran Malkia Strikers and Kenya Pipeline setter Janet Wanja. Kimani kicked off his glittering career with Kenya Commercial Bank before moving to Mathare United.
This was not the first time the diminutive midfielder was basking in glory. In 2011, Kimani shot into the limelight when he bagged the Kenyan Premier League Player of the Year Award after edging Charles Okwemba (AFC Leopards) and Stephen Waruru (Ulinzi Stars) who came second and third respectively.
So remarkable was his performance in the season that he missed out on the top scorer’s accolade by a whisker after netting 11 goals to wrap up second alongside Mike Baraza (AFC Leopards), Hugo Nzangu (Sony Sugar) and Clifford Alwanga (KCB).
A year later, the red-hot midfielder plunged into pro football. He had a stint with Belgian Third Division side, Bocholter, where he featured in eight fixtures before making a leap to Fostiras in Greece.
After nine appearances for Fostiras, he found his way back to Kenya in 2014 where he penned a deal with Kenyan Premier League side Tusker.
Between 2016 and 2017, Kimani had brief spells with Jomo Cosmos (South Africa) and Kenyan traditional giants, AFC Leopards. He later travelled all the way to Saudi where he joined side Al-Hazem in the lower tier competition.
He joined Sofapaka at the start of the 2018 season but was released in November to rejoin Mathare United on December 5. He later linked up with Wazito in 2020.
