Former Celtic hero angles for return and names 33-day Parkhead disaster as biggest inspiration
The former Celtic midfielder is hoping to return to the club.
Former Celtic midfielder Victor Wanyama has told the club he would love to make an emotional return to Parkhead following confirmation of his retirement.
The 34-year-old brought down the curtain on his near two-decade career last month, citing persistent knee injuries, after being without a club since leaving Dunfermline Athletic last summer. He’s already started plans to return to the game, though, having turned his attention to coaching.
Signed by Celtic in the summer of 2011 from Belgian outfit Beerschot, the Kenyan international was a popular figure during his time at at the club, most notably scoring in a famous 2-1 victory over Barcelona in the Champions League during his final season in Glasgow.
A back-to-back Scottish Premiership title winner, the tough-tackling midfielder also lifted the Scottish Cup during his two-year stay, before leaving to sign for English Premier League Southampton for a then-record sale of £13million, He also represented the likes of Tottenham Hotspur, and CF Montreal in the MLS during his playing career.
Discussing his plans post-retirement with Kenyan TV Channel, Citizen, Wanyama explained: “I have exams for UEFA A License next month. I have done my UEFA B. Coaching is part of the things that are good for any footballer. Not everyone would want to coach but they can join anything related to the game. I would love to start my coaching journey in Scotland with Celtic.”
Despite playing close to 200 games in the English top flight, and being part of the Tottenham Hotspur squad that made it all the way to the Champions League in 2019,, the only other silverware of his career came in when he captained CF Montreal to the Canadian Championship under former Celtic boss Wilfried Nancy.
Appointed the manager of Celtic in December 2025, the Frenchman was a huge success across the pond, helping to bring trophies to both CF Montreal and Columbus Crew, but struggled majorly in Glasgow, and was sacked just 33 days into his reign after losing five of his first seven games. Despite Nancy’s difficulties with Celtic, his former skipper namechecked him as his biggest coaching inspiration when asked which of his former bosses left the strongest impression.
“All the coaches that coached me, the likes of Mauricio [Pochettino] and also Ronald [Koeman],” said Wanyama. “I would say my last coach at Montreal. His name was Wilfried Nancy. I’ve seen him grow as a coach, and he really, really taught me a lot. From then, I was learning from him, and I saw I can also learn and make my own history, like what he has done for that club at that time.”
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