Olunga shares experience of facing Cristiano Ronaldo and playing alongside Philippe Coutinho

© Michael Olunga

STARS ABROAD Olunga shares experience of facing Cristiano Ronaldo and playing alongside Philippe Coutinho

Mark Kinyanjui 09:36 - 17.11.2023

Michael Olunga has revealed what it is like to be playing week in and out with Brazilian superstar Philippe Coutinho.

Harambee Stars captain Michael Olunga has revealed what it is like to have on loan Aston Villa star Philippe Coutinho as a his teammate at Al Duhail.

Coutinho signed for the club in September as a loan player to add creativity to the team and offer Olunga a chance to add more goals to his already impressive tally for the reigning Qatari Stars League (QSL) champions.

Olunga has run out of superlatives to describe the former Liverpool and Barcelona midfielder, terming him as truly “one of the best” and most “technically gifted” playmakers in world football.

“It is really nice and amazing,” Olunga said when quizzed about how it is like to play with the former Liverpool star.

“We call him the little magician. One of the best number 10s and a very technically gifted player. It is amazing to play with him to share the locker room and I hope we can continue the good chemistry we have with him at club level.”

Meanwhile, the former Gor Mahia forward has revealed how “good” it was to share a pitch with some of football’s finest players during their double-headed Asian Champions League encounter against Al Nassr in October.

“It was good to share the pitch with these kinds of players, Ronaldo, Mane, Talisca, Laporte, you know, all these kinds of big players, and also the environment, you know, going to play in full stadiums, World Cup stadiums as well.

“It is a fantastic experience any player would wish and these are the kind of moments you want to be part of as a player.”

Olunga signed for Al Duhail in 2021 and has gone on to achieve significant success at the club, including winning three out of four possible trophies last season.

“We want to compete. Last year, we won three out of four titles. Of course, there is a challenge this year but we are hopeful that we are going to retain a few titles if not all of them.

“The team is coming up really well and we are sure that we are going to compete to the last stages of all competitions.”