Nairobi City Stars defender Edwin Buliba reveals how Confederation Cup semi finalist helped him improve his game

FOOTBALL Nairobi City Stars defender Edwin Buliba reveals how Confederation Cup semi finalist helped him improve his game

Mark Kinyanjui 11:43 - 16.09.2023

Buliba has praised his former teammate Sven Yidah’s advice, as it helped him understand how to improve his game.

Nairobi City Stars defender Edwin Buliba has revealed the reason behind his newly-found success at right-back for Simba wa Nairobi last season.

Originally at centre-back, Buliba played 23 times as a right-back, the most top flight appearances of his career in a single league season, and only failed to complete one match because he was given his matching orders for a reckless challenge against Mathare United.

It was the first time in his five years with Nairobi City Stars that he featured in more than 10 games in a season.

He clocked 2,051 minutes under his belt last season which was a vast improvement from the 766 minutes earned in the 2021-22 FKF Premier League season from nine games.

“After that (2021-22) season I called myself to a meeting for a review after searching for answers. The outcome was very positive as I realised where I had been going wrong,” Buliba told the club’s website.

It dawned on me that I wasn’t investing in myself at all. I wasn’t eating well and right, and was not doing anything extra to improve my conditioning which left me on the injury list time and again.”

Buliba has praised his former teammate Sven Yidah’s advice, as it helped him understand how to improve his game.

Yidah was part of the Marumo Gallants side that reached the semi-finals of the CAF Confederation Cup last season.

“I improved my nutrition, and with the advice of Sven (Yidah), I hit the gym for guided training to improve my conditioning. That combination made me a much better player and it explains why I had an injury-free season,” added Buliba.

Buliba was only one of four Simba wa Nairobi players to have clocked over 2,000 minutes last season, registering three assists.