Firat’s mode of selection raises a lot of questions
Harambee Stars coach Engin Firat (left) is flanked with defender Dennis Ochieng during a media briefing in Nairobi on March 19, 2023.
What you need to know:
- It is a badly kept secret that some people in the federation have a hand in squad selection every time Kenya has an international friendly match.
- We need people with quality coaching skills, and former players John Bobby Ogolla, Musa Otieno, Mickey Weche come to mind. Why they are overlooked for the job leaves much to be desired.
I’m part of the football fans who are not satisfied with the provisional Harambee Stars squad that was recently named by Turkish coach Engin Firat, despite his assurance that he has selected the best team ahead of the March 28 friendly against Iran.
Many football followers have been expecting the coach to restore sanity in our game, but it seems he has started on the wrong footing on his return to his former job.
Firat who resumed his duties just last month, has once again included the usual faces who play in lowly ranked leagues abroad and locally based ones who are out of form.
There are many players, including in those who feature in the National Super League, who should have been given a chance to prove themselves.
This leaves people wondering what criteria was used in selecting the squad? Must national team players come from only the top tier league?
What is going to happen to the best local players who have always been ignored whenever the national team squad is named?
Spent cartridges
Kenyans expected Firat to give more opportunities to local players in the squad, but he has been misled to recall spent cartridges like the 35-year-old defender David Cheche Ochieng’ who had already given up on football.
Ochieng’ had been unattached for the last six months and only recently joined Mathare United. Is he such a gem that he must be included in the national team?
I agree we need the best in each position. But we should have a strategy for our players instead of inviting footballers from foreign leagues who only meet other players a few times in years!
One fails to understand why a player like Joash “Berlin Wall” Onyango was omitted yet he has been in superb form and saw Simba SC through to the CAF Champions League quarter-finals.
It is a badly kept secret that some people in the federation have a hand in squad selection every time Kenya has an international friendly match.
We need people with quality coaching skills, and former players John Bobby Ogolla, Musa Otieno, Mickey Weche come to mind. Why they are overlooked for the job leaves much to be desired.
