The name Erick Mulu Kivuva is not household in Kenya, despite the bearer forming part of a short list of elite football players that have plied their trades in the vaunted European leagues. That is partly due to his cautious mien and significantly because of myriad nigly injuries that have checked his development. A cheeky club announcement last Thursday by upstart Wazito FC drew the nation’s attention to a little known signing from Malaga City Fc in Spain; Mulu Kivuva. Just who, is this young, left footed wizard who made it all the way to Malaga while escaping the buzz that usually engulf players gifted enough to overcome local challenges to stomp the hallowed football pitches of Europe?A chance trial at Gikambura Stadium in 2019 and the rub of green saw him move from Ligi Ndogo Academy to top Spanish academy Malaga City from where subsequent moves to two other clubs soon ensued.Injury plagued seasons in Spain curtailed his development which led to him opting for a return back to the country to revive his career and he chose Wazito FC to kickstart his Football Kenya Federation Premier League (FKFPL) journey hoping to rise once again.Born in Highrise, Nairobi, Mulu developed a passion for football at an early age as he spent most of his spare time knocking around the ball in the tarmacked car parks of the estate before joining Ligi Ndogo at the age of eight after admiring his cousin Marlon Baraza who was part of the academy set up.“My earliest memory of playing football was probably when I was five years old then I joined Ligi Ndogo when I was eight years old after being influenced by my cousin who was at that time in the academy,” explained Mulu.Wazito land highly-rated Mulu https://t.co/hPemq6FRKi#Wazito4life pic.twitter.com/MefDlsQuqa— Wazito Football Club (@wazitofc) September 23, 2021 Still a student at Kilimani Primary School, the young boy with lofty ambitions was already turning heads and making coaches take note at a tender age as he won the Best Player and Top Scorer while playing for Mercury at Ligi Ndogo.He points out that togetherness and teamwork were one of his biggest take-home lessons at Ligi Ndogo and fondly remembers how we enjoyed his formative years at the academy.Not many Kenyan footballers get the chance to tour England and Scotland for a training camp but Mulu landed the opportunity in 2013 with Ligi Ndogo.“It was my first time going abroad, it was a good experience for me. I was still in Form One and the difference between us and them is that they started football at an early age and they were ahead of us in terms of the instructions they have received over the years,”“We played with the Newcastle United under 14 team and I remember being named the best player of the G.I Football Coaching. We played against Montagu & North Fenham FC and I also recall watching a Newcastle United team, just that I cannot remember the opponent but Demba Ba scored in that game,” said Mulu.While in Scotland, Mulu took to the stands to watch Dundee vs Hearts of Midolithian which further fueled his quest to become a professional footballer in the future. He was enchanted by the boisterous atmosphere of the British fans.His journey was however not smooth sailing as he encountered a number of challenges along the road with the biggest being balancing between field and classwork as he by default channelled much of his energy to football. Mulu transitioned to Upper Hill School after the completion of his primary education and the powerhouse in High School games presented him with the earliest break in football which came in 2017 as he represented the school in the national games.Upper Hill bagged the national school games title fending off strong opposition by seasoned schools such as St.Anthony’s, Laiser Hill School and Kakamega High School.The school has recently emerged as a sports talent factory with footballers such as Michael Olunga, Ovella Ochieng and Timothy Luda being the high profile players to have emerged from the institution. Mulu recalls his school games tournament, admitting that he only featured in the group stages of the national school games but they had a disastrous campaign in the East African games.“I was playing as a left-back in the tournament but I did not feature predominantly in the knockout stages of the tournament as we went ahead to beat St. Anthony’s Kitale in the final,”“We were able to clinch a ticket to the East Africa games but we performed dismally for reasons I still do not know to date but I think we were overconfident and relaxed in the tournament after winning the nationals,” note Mulu.Kijana wa Machenga. Watu wa Highrise wamebeba mabango wanasema kijana ni wao. Admin sitaingilia vita ya Highrise vs Makueni#Wazito4Life pic.twitter.com/MpJCSXIdtr— Wazito Football Club (@wazitofc) September 23, 2021 The class of 2017 has not been left behind in making it big in Kenyan football with Kariobangi Sharks midfielder Douglas Mokaya and Peter Oudu now in the books of record Kenyan champions Gor Mahia forming part of Mulu’s teammates at Upper Hill.Having back to back tournaments as a candidate had an effect on Mulu’s academic performance as he had little time to prepare for his Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) and going by the old adage if you fail to prepare you prepare to fail.“It was a not easy balancing school and playing but my mind was made up in playing football which came involuntarily but what I can advise young players in that situation is that school is more important just because it did not work for me does not mean it will not work for everybody,”“I did not get a good grade in KCSE, I then chose to put more focus on football and make it my priority because it was my path to success. Of course, my parents were not happy with my grades but they encouraged me and chose to support me,” he noted.High School games are usually littered with scouts and coaches keeping a keen eye to spot the next talent to beef up their teams but for Mulu, he failed to impress any suitors and he went back to Ligi Ndogo to continue horning his skills with the hope of securing a big move in future.He finally earned a chance to play club football outside Ligi Ndogo in 2018 when he made the switch from Division One where his academy plied and still ply their trade to the National Super League (NSL) with Kangemi All Stars on a short loan.Though his short stint at the Kangemi based outfit lasted only three months, Mulu amassed a wealth of experience with the club battling relegation at the time and in dire need of results in order to pull the great escape.“NSL is one of the toughest leagues in Kenya, my transition from Division One to NSL was challenging in terms of physicality but I was forced to quickly adapt. It did not take a while to play a game at Kangemi All Stars,”“Playing there had a lot of pressure because every game was a must-win, if you do not perform in one game you will not probably play in the next because the team was battling relegation but I learnt a lot from it. There are games that I got to express myself, playing against Talanta and Modern Coast was really memorable because I enjoyed myself,” said Mulu. After ending his stint with Kangemi All Stars he returned to Ligi Ndogo to find that the club had failed to garner promotion to the second tier after falling in the promotion playoffs.Erickson Mulu joins us from Spanish side, FC Malaga City.Karibu Mulu #Wazito4life pic.twitter.com/o6iFl2Ea3r— Wazito Football Club (@wazitofc) September 23, 2021 Mulu’s moment of breakthrough came in 2019 when he earned a chance for trials but was reluctant to enrol with the rising cases of false agents who are out to scam footballers with the promises of major deal sonly to lose huge amounts of money.“There was this coach called coach Kimathi Kaumbutho who wanted me to attend trials that were being held at Gikambura Stadium, first I was a bit reluctant because I thought it could be a hoax but after a lot of persuasions I decided to enrol for it,” “It was a two-day trial and we did not know who will be picked after the trial but after like a month or so I got a call from Kimathi telling me he sent my videos to Spain and the director there was impressed with my style of play,” explained Mulu. HALF-TIMECD Almuñécar City 1️⃣CD Juventud Sexitana 0️⃣We have the advantage at half-time after Jason Lee’s goal early in the first-half. Both sides went on to create chances after that, with Erick Mulu going close towards the end of the half #CDAC #HomeOpener pic.twitter.com/RapyNvDhYO— CD Almuñecar City (@CDAlmunecarCity) November 1, 2020 The prodigy earned the chance to feature in FC Malaga City Academy which has no affiliation to Malaga and was delighted but having never impressed coaches in the FKFPL, Mulu could not pinpoint what made him stand out in the trials to move to Spain. “I cannot explain how I felt when I got the call all I can say is that it was just God because first I was not playing in my usual position, I played in the number eight role because nobody was willing to play in the position,”“To be honest I do not know what they look at because probably if I send my videos to another coach probably he will not be impressed with me,” said the now Wazito midfielder.He catered only for the flight ticket but the team catered for the rest in terms of accommodation, food and Spanish lessons.Never in his wildest dreams did Mulu ever envisage playing in Spain and opened up on how he coped with the culture shock and language barrier.“It was a really good feeling because I did not ever dream of playing in Spain, the first day I got there I did some jogging to shake off the jetlag. I got there in the summer and it was so hot but I soon adapted,”“There were a few players who could speak both English and Spanish and it made it easier to communicate with my teammates. There were players from professional clubs – I had friends from Hull City, Anderlecht and LA Galaxy who came to revive their career after a number of setbacks,” explained Mulu.While still in Spain he joined the Veles Under 23 side on loan but the side cut ties with his parent club FC Malaga City and was again shipped out on loan to CD Almunecar City.This week on @harambee__stars future prospects we feature Velez FC’s forward Erick Mulu , should he be called up?He was previously at Ligi ndogo S.C and Malaga Academy.#Soka pic.twitter.com/h4BLGJAxEY— Soka (@Soka_Ke) January 28, 2020 He had a struggle with adapting to Spanish cuisine as he explained that even the simplest of foods like rice tasted a bit different. Having played alongside talented Spaniards hoping to one day play in LaLiga, Mulu opened up on the difference between football in the country and in Spain. “The difference is that these people go to class because of football, in Kenya it is rare to find that but in terms of quality, you find that some of our players are better than them. At first, it was hard to adapt to the style of play because they play a fast type of football,” said Mulu.The midfielder jetted back into the country because of Covid-19 back in March 2020 and went back to Spain in October for the new season but came back after three months due to a hamstring injury. Being away from family in Spain made Mulu pick up valuable lessons as he learned more about being independent and quickly adapting to situations. Mulu recently played in the Dennis Oliech Cup that was sponsored by Mozzart Bet as his team FC Bundes lost the final to FIFA Best which earned him a chance to sharpen his match fitness.“It was a good tournament to get some match fitness, I was enjoying myself because I had not played 90 minutes of football in a long time since getting an injury while in Spain,””Such tournaments help a lot and give the youngsters a platform to shine. The Dennis Oliech Cup final was beamed live on TV and you just never know who is watching – its a big deal for the young players,” he noted.In the coming FKFPL season, Mulu will get a chance to showcase what he has inside his locker after joining Wazito FC on a two-year deal and will have arguably the best coach in the country to guide him on his upward trajectory. ##EDITORS_CHOICE##
