JOHANNESBURG – Denis Onyango joined Africa’s football royalty after being crowned Player of the Year (Africa-based) at the Caf awards in Abuja on Thursday.
Onyango adopted the adage that if at first you don’t succeed, try again.
As the 31-year-old stood in the spotlight with his prize, having pipped Rainford Kalaba and Mamelodi Sundowns teammate Khama Billiat, he must have remembered the year he spent in the shadow of other goalkeepers, whether it was at Bidvest Wits, Mpumalanga Black Aces, SuperSport United or even at Sundowns, where he flirted with the idea of leaving the Brazilians for good at one stage.
But he didn’t. Instead, he went on loan to Wits before returning to Sundowns to claim the No 1 jersey under coach Pitso Mosimane, who signed the towering goalkeeper from Uganda during their Matsatsantsa a Pitori days.
Now the two – Onyango and Mosimane, who scooped the Coach of the Year award – are the Kings of Africa, while the Brazilians were named Club of the Year, following their Caf Champions League triumph last year.
“Fantastic,” Onyango said.
“It’s not easy to win such a big award. Being nominated among the best (players on the continent) like Khama Billiat and Rainford Kalaba makes this a great achievement.
“But big ups to them as well, my team Sundowns and the technical team for believing in me and giving me a chance to represent the club at the highest level.
“I would also like to thank my national team, the Cranes, for helping me qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon). This is a great achievement, but it wasn’t a one-man show. It was the entire Sundowns team, including the technical team and the other goalkeepers and also the national team.”
This award marks what was an incredible 2016 for Onyango.
He won the league with Sundowns in style, amassing a record 71 points, the most in the 16-team PSL era.
For his contribution, he won the Goalkeeper of the Year award at the PSL ceremony and was named Uganda’s Footballer of the Year.
Onyango also became the first Ugandan to lift the Champions League, play in the Fifa Club World Cup and now the first to win an individual Caf award.
The Cranes also bagged an award, taking the National Team of the Year prize after they qualified for the Afcon for the first time in close to 40 years.
That honour, along with Onyango’s win, will bring confidence to the Cranes in their Afcon campaign. Uganda are in the group of death, Group D, which also has Egypt, Ghana and Mali.
“Every journey needs someone to start it,” said Onyango, who also doubles up as Uganda’s captain.
“This is the way forward, for Ugandan players to challenge me and also try to achieve bigger things. This is a good inspiration for youngsters out there. They need to work hard.
“This award has boosted my confidence because the Cranes won the National Team of the Year and I took home the Player of the Year honours.
“It shows that the entire team did well. We need to keep fighting. Everyone will come at us after this award.
“We know we are the underdogs in the group, even though we are the Team of the Year. We need to redouble our efforts because we will be coming up against great teams and good players.
“It’s a new challenge. We need to stay focused and forget the past. We must fight the next challenge, which is the group stage in the Africa Cup of Nations, so that we reach the next round.”