Wanyama’s dream of Cup glory spurred by boyhood memories
Tottenham midfielder tells Matt Law he learnt to love the famous competition as a youth growing up in Kenya
The FA Cup may not represent the pinnacle of the ambitions of Tottenham Hotspur or their manager Mauricio Pochettino, but Victor Wanyama can still remember his dream to play in the final.
Tottenham can book a place in the quarter-finals by beating League One Rochdale today and have the prospect of playing the semi-finals and final at their temporary Wembley home.
The newly-laid Spotland pitch will feel a world away from the Juventus Stadium in Turin, where Tottenham completed a superb Champions League comeback to draw 2-2 with last season’s finalists in midweek. Despite his desire to secure a first trophy as Tottenham manager, Pochettino has made it clear that the Champions League and Premier
League remain his priorities. But midfielder Wanyama insists he and his team-mates can refocus and he rates the FA Cup as an important competition, having first watched it from Nairobi in his native Kenya. “The FA Cup was a big thing at home,” said Wanyama. “Only the semi-final and then the final were shown on television in Nairobi, so it was a big thing to watch. The last final I remember watching there was Manchester United against Chelsea [in 2007], when Chelsea won. It’s a big deal, a big trophy to win. “Back then, it was only a dream for me to play in the Cup and also in England. Now I have a chance and it would be a good thing to arrive in the final and maybe even win it.” Tottenham have been on an impressive run that has included wins over Manchester United and Arsenal, and draws against Liverpool and Juventus. Wanyama is confident they are well prepared for the challenge of Rochdale, saying: “All the small games are always tough. These teams want to prove they can be on the same level as you and they fight, so we need to be at our best to deliver. We have a very good group of players and we always want to win everything. We believe we can compete with anyone and win.”
Wanyama played barefoot on pitches so bad in Nairobi that his feet would bleed, but he does not believe that will help him on Rochdale’s infamous surface, which has been relaid. “I haven’t seen the pictures, but I hear it’s a bad pitch,” he said.
Asked whether the Rochdale pitch will be easier for him to cope with because of his experiences in Nairobi, Wanyama added: “That was then, now I’ve played and got used to the pitches here. If it is tough, it will be tough for both teams.”
Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane this week labelled the trophy droughts of Tottenham and Liverpool “embarrassing”, but Wanyama insisted critics will not make them change their approach. “We won’t let people put pressure on the team,” said Wanyama. “We know what we want and deserve, and what we are chasing. Every player’s dream is to win trophies. Hopefully, we can work hard and get something soon.”
Questions have already been asked over whether Tottenham will have an unfair advantage should they reach the semi-finals by playing at Wembley. But Wanyama said: “For me, there is no advantage. For a lot of teams who come to Wembley, it’s another motivation.”