From the moment Divock Origi began to take hold, Kenyans hope the player will follow in his father’s footsteps to play for the struggling Harambee Stars and help him achieve a level of success that Kenyan football fans have so longed for. .
The Belgian-born striker, however, opted to play for the country of his birth, which he represented at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, where he managed to become the youngest Belgian to score a goal in World Cup.
the biography
Divock Origi was born to Mike Origi and Linda Adhiambo on April 18, 1995 in Ostend, Belgium. He grew up in Houthalen-Oost, however, where he started his journey to becoming a professional footballer. As a child, he joined the youth school in Genk where he developed his game and would have impressed all his coaches with his talents. Origi spent nine years with the Belgian side before coming to the attention of Ligue 1 club Lille who signed him up when he was 15.
At the age of 17, Origi was a member of the Lille B team. Within just a few months, the team’s head coach took notice of the young Belgian’s talents and called him up to the top level. He was an unused substitute on 24 January 2013 in a Coupe de France match against Plabennac, won by his team. He finally made his debut nine days later in a Ligue 1 game against Troyes which he scored with a goal. Origi made 10 appearances in total that season before fully qualifying for the team’s starting XI the following season.
For the 2013-14 campaign, he made a total of 35 appearances in all competitions, scoring 6 goals along the way. His work rate was rated among the highest in his team and this among other aspects of his game, including his potential, caught the attention of Liverpool who paid Lille £10m for his services to the summer 2014. Divock Origi signed a five-year deal with his new side but was loaned out to Lille for a further year so he could play more first-team action before heading to the Premier League.
After 44 appearances and 9 goals in the 2014-15 season for Lille, Origi finally joined his parent club, Liverpool. He then made his debut for the Reds in a Premier League game against Manchester United on 12 September 2015 as a substitute. His first goal for the club came with a hat-trick in the League Cup quarter-finals against Southampton, which his side won 6-1. In the 2015-16 season, Origi made 33 appearances in total and for the first time in his career recorded a double-digit season with 10 goals.
For the 2016-17 season, Origi was mainly used in the World Cup and as a substitute, but still made 43 appearances. However, his goal tally didn’t increase significantly as he only found the back of the net 11 times. The following campaign, Divock Origi was loaned out to Bundesliga side VfL Wolfsburg where he spent the entire campaign.
Divock Origi’s family
Divock Origi has two sisters; Natasha and Deneen. As stated above, he is not the only member of his family to earn or make a living as a professional footballer. His father, Mike Okoth Origi, was also a professional and international footballer in his own right in Kenya. He notably represented the Harambee Stars at the Africa Cup of Nations in 1990, 1992 and 2004.
Origi senior started his playing career in Kenya, playing for Shabana and then Kenya Breweries before joining Omani club Al Boshar. After spending some time in the Middle East, Origi moved to Belgium where he ended his playing career in 2006. In Belgium, he lined up for different teams at different league levels, such as KV Oostende (2nd division), Racing Club Genk (1st division). ), KSK Tongeren and Cobox 76 (3rd division).
Three of Mike Origi’s brothers have also been professional footballers, including his older brother, Austin Makamu Origi, who played and managed the Kenya national team. His son, Divock’s cousin Arnold, is also a footballer who operates in Norway for Tippeligaen, Lillestrom.
Height, weight, body stats and other facts
Birth name: Divock Okoth Origi
Date of birth: April 18, 1995
Place of birth: Ostend, Belgium
Height: 6 feet 1 inches (1.85m)
Weight: 165 lbs (75 kg)
Body Stats: Not Availabl