Kenyan star who shut down Okocha now chasing American dream

When star-studded Nigeria landed in Nairobi in January 1997 for their 1998 World Cup qualifier against Kenya, few gave the hosts a chance.

Nigeria were the reigning Olympic champions and still basking from their glorious 1994 World Cup run that saw them come agonisingly close to eliminating eventual losing finalists Italy in the second round.

The Nigerian team in Nairobi had big names the likes of Sunday Oliseh, Daniel Amokachi, Victor Ikpeba, Augustine “Jay Jay” Okocha, Jonathan Akpoborie, Emmanuel Amunike, Mutiu Adepoju, Wilson Oruma and Taribo West while the Kenyan squad had many young, relatively unknown players recently brought together by German coach Reinhardt Fabisch in a rebuilding process.

One of the unknowns in that otherwise fearless Harambee Stars team was John “Baresi” Odhiambo. While many Kenyans went to Kasarani to watch the fabled Super Eagles squad, someone else stole the show. The little Kenyan midfielder Odhiambo was so outstanding in that famous qualifier at Moi International Sports Centre that ended 1-1, man-marking Super Eagles’ danger man “Jay-Jay” Okocha out of the game.

Odhiambo made the African football wizard look like a mere football mortal in a performance that became the talk of town for quite a while.

Lives in the US

The former Gor Mahia midfielder is now settled in the United States of America where he has stayed for nearly a decade. He moved there for greener pastures through a sports scholarship and he credits football for his success in life so far.

“I was born and raised in Nairobi and attended River Bank Primary School then joined Eastleigh Secondary School," Odhiambo says.

“My football career wasn't really shaped in school but more in the neighborhood."

“I never really played school football because my mom was very strict about it and also I was also very tiny both in primary and secondary school level.”

“I played most of my football in the neighborhoods but started serious football at the Kenya Breweries Youth Under-16 side then got selected to represent Nairobi province at the Panasonic Inter provinces youth tournament. From there I was selected to represent Kenya at the Under-18 level, Under-19, Under-21, Under-23, and finally the senior National team in December of 1996."

“My senior club career started at Kenya Pipeline FC in the Super Two League, whereby I played for one season before moving to KTM for a season and then Alaskan for two seasons before joining Gor Mahia at the beginning of the 1996 season."

“I later joined a top club in Bangladesh from August 1997 until 1998 then came back to Kenya and played for Re-Union for a season."

“At Re-Union I met Daniel Gacheru aka “Massaro,” who became a good friend of mine and opened a pathway for me to come to the US on a soccer scholarship alongside Brian Okumu and Edwin Odipo."

"Charles Muiruri facilitated the communications since he owned a computer school and organised our testing while making sure we were computer ready since testing was switching from written to computerised,” he adds.

Higher education

Odhiambo acquired a Master's Degree in Sustainable Business Management from the Green Mountain College in Vermont and is growing his own company, Komborrah Sports Ltd.

“I am currently based in Granville, New York, where I have lived since 2002. Komborrah Sports was launched about a year ago. It is a sporting equipment company that focuses on solving athletes’ problems through innovative and sustainable ideas with the main focus set on health and the well-being of our customers and the environment."

“Kombora is a Swahiliword that has many meanings but to football fans it means a hard shot and just like the name suggests, their first product is a soccer ball."

Baresi has three kids — two daughters Gillian and Malika - and a son, Wyqie Agunda born in between the girls. He plays football and he is the reason Komborrah was born as his father explains.

Challenges

However, it has not been all smooth sailing for Odhiambo in his entrepreneurship journey.

“It has been very challenging in every aspect from turning an idea into a product then figuring out how to educate the intended market on the use and value of the product and finally the logistics that are involved in supply and demand.

“I quickly came to a realisation that I can't do it all by myself and needed to identify and assemble a team that will help me navigate through the challenges and help Komborrah grow and operate at its fullest potential.

“A team is also another challenge because finding people who share the same vision as your own is not easy especially if the start-up is still at ground floor level and dealing with a product that is totally brand new to the football world,” he says.

But he has picked the lessons and is ready and eager to take Komborrah to the next level.

“The biggest lesson I have learnt so far as an entrepreneur is humility. You need to be humble and listen to critique and advise because you never know where the next “aha moment" will come from. Integrity and honesty in business is another key lesson I have picked up in my short entrepreneurship journey so far.

“What you do when no one is watching is imperative to earning credibility in the world of entrepreneurship and business. Just because one can get away with breaking a few environmental regulations or get away with using some substandard raw material in manufacturing just to maximize the profit margin does not make it right and in the long run can prove to be very detrimental to an organisation's reputation,” he adds.

Short-term goal

Komborrah is among the many start-ups that have been economically affected by the global Covid-19 pandemic. Odhiambo however says he is not giving up on his dream to grow the company.

“My short term goal is to navigate Komborrah through the Covid-19 pandemic era while creating awareness both in the US and Kenya. The long term goal is to establish brand loyalty in the sporting goods market while continuing to develop products that actually address issues faced by athletes and allows them to elevate their performances in respective fields to the highest level possible,” he says.

Odhiambo is also happy to see his son Wyqie taking after him in terms of football.

Wyqie is 16 and plays as an offensive midfielder for Mechanicville High School and Elite Youth FC.

“It is nice to see that we share the same interest and we always have a lot to talk about especially when it comes to soccer and basketball. He is also very passionate about basketball and I have learnt to appreciate the game based on watching him play and our discussions,” says Odhiambo.

“I would he like to see him playing for the national team, Harambee Stars in the near future?

That will depend on whether he sticks with football and wants to play at a higher level.

“Given that he is still a very young man with lots of options, he might decide to pursue another interest and as his parent, it is my job to support his dreams and goals. But if he sticks with football then I think I will leave the decision to him to decide which flag he wants to represent. I can't lead him one way or another because I don't know what it is like to represent the USA. All my experiences are based on representing Kenya which I really don't want to get into now,” said Odhiambo.

“I do follow Kenyan football from time to time but I will keep my opinions to myself because I really think Kenya should be way ahead of almost all African nations when it comes to facilities, league standard, pay and quality,” he added.

The former Kenyan International is philosophical in his parting shot.

“My advice to Kenya and Kenyans is to invest in what they believe in. You can "plant" nothing and expect to "harvest" something in return. We need to invest in ourselves, our ideas, our communities, and our youths and teams and we shall see a huge turn around for the better.

“To all those asking and expecting Komborrah Sports to "give back" to the community, buy and invest in Komborrah before you can ask for Komborrah to give back. You can only get back what you put in and Komborrah can finally be in a position to give back what you invested in Komborrah.”

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