World cup winner fun-filled experience in Kenya

For a minute, Lothar Matthaus was a matatu tout, the next playing the local ‘juala’ football and the other an amateur javelin thrower.

Such is the character that typified the former Germany captain’s two-day tour of Kenya in fashion that belied his legendary status.

Young footballers at the Mathare Youth Association (MYSA) Grounds got the chance of a lifetime as they mingled freely with the World Cup winner during brief clinics he conducted with the Under 16 and Under 18 teams.

Matthaus, who is Germany’s most capped player, also held a session with MYSA’s senior women as he wrapped up the Bundesliga legends tour of the country in the capital Nairobi on Wednesday.

The 56-year-old went down his glittering memory lane as he enjoyed the dusty MYSA field and declared his optimism that the local talent had a lot to offer for the future.

Having conquered football world in his heyday, the Bayern Munich legend was presented with an unfamiliar challenge as Olympic silver medallist and former World javelin champion Julius Yego posed a head to head throwing competition.

The former FIFA World player of the year made baby throws but the crowd cheered him on nonetheless. Matthaus tried bending the rules against the Commonwealth champion but was still unable to match him.

The German had a few light moments when he suspended and swung from the door of an Ongata Rongai matatu in a fashion that would put to shame Kenyan touts who have mastered the art over the years.

Matthaus, who played a record of 25 World Cup matches between 1982 and 1998, took the ‘juala’ back home as a souvenir.