Former AFC Leopards striker William Inganga is the only Kenyan ever to play in the Copa Libertadores which is the premier club competition in South America. He did so in 1996 when he featured for Cerro Porteno of Paraguay. He played three Copa Libertadores matches. During his time in Paraguay, Inganga scored some spectacular goals as evidenced by the videos below.
Inganga who was born on March 13 1969, first came to prominence while playing for Nyangori boys secondary school. One of the most memorable games was when he steered Nyangori to a win over the much vaunted national schools champions Kakamega high in 1989. His exploits at school level attracted the attention of AFC Leopards scouts. Leopards were desperate to find a replacement of Joe Masiga whose career had recently come to an end. Inganga did not disappoint as he immediately emerged as one of the top strikers in Kenya.
His exploits in the Kenyan league attracted the attention of Egyptian giants Zamalek whom he joined in 1994. He stayed there for one and a half years before joining Cerro Porteno of Paraguay.
Interestingly enough, while Inganga was playing at the highest levels of South American football, he was not called up to the national team. In fact though Inganga was one of the most prolific scorers in the Kenyan league in the early 1990s, he never featured prominently for the national team.
As such it was highly unexpected when he went to South America and made a success of it. Unfortunately his explots in South America hardly got any notice in the Kenyan press. To this day, very few Kenyan football fans know that Inganga played at the highest levels of South American football.
On leaving Cerro Porteno, Inganga joined Club Atlético Torino de Talara of Peru, before proceeding to China where he played for Beijing Guoan which was one of the top teams in China. He briefly returned to Cerro Porteno before being sidelined by a long term injury. After succesful surgery he returned to football in 1999, when he played in the top Indian league for Salgaocar of Goa. He would then conclude his career at Ruwi FC in Oman where he played alongside Felix Otieno, the former Gor Mahia midfielder.
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