Harambee Stars head coach Engin Firat addresses a press conference at Two Rivers Mall in Nairobi on March 19, 2024 ahead of the Four Nations tournament set for Malawi.
Is 54-year-old Turkish coach Engin Firat, capable of taking Harambee Stars to the promised land?
This is the question on the minds of avid Kenya fans after Harambee yet another poor competitive result, a laboured barren draw with Zimbabwe in their opening 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) Group “J” qualifying match at Mandela National Stadium in Kampala, Uganda on Friday.
Harambee Stars, however, bounced back to thump hosts Namibia 2-1 in their second pool match at the Orlando Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa on Tuesday to get their African dream back on track.
Kenya now top the group with four points, same with Cameroon, who have an inferior goal difference, Zimbabwe with two points and Namibia pointless
The top two teams will qualify for the 2025 Afcon finals in Morocco. Public reaction to Firat’s performance has been anything but favourable.
The Uefa Pro License holder has overseen 18 matches as Harambee Stars coach since his appointment on September 19, 2021, initially on a bizarre two-month contract.
Ten of those matches have been World Cup and Afcon qualifiers that Firat has registered just threee wins -- 2-1 over visitors Rwanda in a 2022 World Cup qualifier at Nyayo National Stadium on September 15, 2021, 5-0 rout over minnows Seychelles in a 2026 World Cup qualifier at the Stade Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire and 2-0 against Namibia in the road to Morocco 2025.
Firat has also fallen heavily to Mali, 5-0 and 1-0 in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers and 2-1 to Gabon in a 2026 World Cup qualifier.
The other qualifiers have ended in draws, 0-0 with Zimbabwe on Friday, 1-1 with Uganda in a 2022 World Cup qualifier, and 1-1 and 0-0 with Burundi and Cote d’Ivoire respectively in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
“Evidence shows that we are not doing well. When Firat came, he said that he was building a new team but if you ask me, I will say that he has not managed to get things right,” said former Harambee Stars captain Austin Oduor.
Former Harambee Stars and Gor Mahia coach, legendary John “Bobby” Ogolla, who also played for Harambee Stars said: “We are not on the right track. They need to work harder.”
The appointment of Firat as Harambee Stars coach three years ago elicited heated debate from Kenyans over his poor record with Moldova.
Firat never won a match in the 11 that he oversaw with the Eastern European nation.
Criticism of his appointment intensified after the team lost 5-0 to Mali in his first match in charge of the team.
But FKF stuck with the coach and inexplicably extended his contract in early 2023 for three years up to 2026
FKF Secretary General Barry Otieno then said that the decision to extend Firat’s contract was informed by Harambee Stars’ improved display in their 1-0 loss to Mali in Nairobi and 2-1 win over visitors Rwanda.
The Turk has on several occasions said that the national team is struggling because the local leagues are not strong, and there are no world-class facilities in the country to nurture players.
To turn around the country’s fortune in the world’s most popular sport, the Turk said in March last year, he would embark on a mission to convince Europe-based players with Kenyan roots to play for Harambee Stars.
Having called up more than 10 players of mixed nationality to Harambee Stars, the Turk has since written history as the first Kenya coach to summon the highest number of Europe-based players to the national team.
They include defenders Daniel Anyembe (Denmark), Zack Vyner (England), and Tobias Knost (Germany), and strikers Jonah Ayunga (Scotland) and Alfred Scrivens (Norway). However, only defender Anyembe has been a regular in the team with the rest being introduced late in the match or remained unused on the bench.
In what was a surprise to many, Ayunga was the only player from the mixed nationality group Firat had compiled that was named in the 28-man provisional squad for Kenya’s 2025 Afcon qualifiers against Zimbabwe and Namibia.
He explained that the bureaucracy in the players’ documentation influenced the decision.
“I wanted to invite two new players for this September (2025 Afcon qualifiers) but in Kenya, it is not so simple with the passport issue. I have no clue of how it works,” lamented Firat
His tactics have also come under scrutiny.
In Kenya’s 5-0 drubbing by Mali, the Turk fielded several players out of position.
Then he defended himself by saying that he was still not familiar with the team.
Against Zimbabwe on Friday, the coach again shocked many when he started without a striker.
He had the option of fielding Benson Omala, Ayunga, John Avire, and Victor Omune, all recognized and proven goal-getters at club level.
Harambee Stars captain and striker Michael Olunga whom he has overly depended on was ruled out of the match and that against Namibia due to injury.
“You cannot play without a striker and expect to win. If you field six midfielders then it means you are defending to get a draw,” observed veteran coach Robert Matano.
Former Harambee Star coach Jacob “Ghost” Mulee said on Saturday: “I don’t know the reason why we were not able to be brave enough to pick at least a striker in the game because that was clearly missing,” said Mulee.
“We did not have a predator. It is Firat’s tactics and I don’t want to go into that but from what I saw, I don’t think we were going to score at any given point. We did not have the bite in front of goal and that was our major undoing,” he added.
Firat started with two strikers against Namibia, John Avire and Jonah Ayunga. Avire thanked him with Stars’ first goal.
Apart from blaming Kenya’s poor performance on lack of proper facilities in the country and poor preparations, Firat has, also, thrown in the excuse of injuries and team lacking “creative players”.
Hired on an initial two-month contract, Firat has now handled Harambee Stars for 36 months and counting.
