McDonald Mariga on How Losing Matches at Inter Milan Forced Him into Hiding

Footballers are among athletes who can turn from hero to zero in a flash and the reverse is also true.

It is not uncommon to find a player slammed over poor performance in one match and termed a hero the next game when they put up an impressive show.

In the modern era where social media plays a large part, players receive vile comments from fans who hide behind the keyboard and this can sometimes break them down.

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In some instances, fans voice their discontent directly at the players in the streets or malls and it can get ugly if the player responds.

Harambee Stars legend McDonald Mariga is among those who have experienced both sides of the coin, having played at the top level in the Italian Serie A and Spanish La Liga.

It is his spell in Italy which he remembers fondly as he recalled instances when he was forced not to leave his house after a defeat, during his stint with Serie A giants Inter Milan.

“There is a time when you lose, you cannot even get out,” Mariga opened up on In Conversation Chaxy podcast.

“You cannot go out to shop; you have to send someone. There was a time I was at Inter; you could not go out in [the city of] Milan. I had to send friends to do shopping for me.”

Mariga says footballers’ social lives largely depend on how their teams are performing on the pitch as they are forced to choose carefully where to go and what to do based on the results.

“You only get out when you start winning, so this lifestyle of going to night clubs, it is impossible,” he added. “Fans would finish you for going to a night club when you have lost a match.”

“There is a time when you win, you can go out and fans will sing your name but when you lose, they forget the 10 games you had won,” the Football Kenya Federation vice president further stated.

Mariga, who won the Serie A, UEFA Champions League, FIFA Club World Cup and Coppa Italia with Inter, also played for Parma and Latina in Italy as well as Real Sociedad and Real Oviedo in Spain.