Harambee Stress

Kenyan football fans were flabbergasted and aghast by Sunday African qualifiers results against a team from a country whose most famous export is the reed dance. The dance is famous not because it is sensationally spectacular to watch but because for most men, it is fascinating to imagine beyond the reeds. Now it appears Lesotho may add beating Kenya’s Harambee Stars as one of its major hallmarks in the existence of the tiny nation. If we are to stand head and shoulders with the rest of our supposed peers, then one would expect that we ought to be making minced meat of minnows such as Lesotho. While watching former Kenyan football legend Joe Kadenge talk about the loss, the realisation of the hole that we have dug ourselves into became most apparent. For all his widely travelled experiences especially when he was actively playing, he could neither place the county nor even pronounce the country. Is it Lesotho, Lesuthu, Lesoto? The man was livid. He did not leave it at that. He fired more salvos. Kadenge specifically questioned the technical bench’s fielding of players currently unattached to any club saying the fielding was based on friendship and other hidden reasons including trying to gain caps for players. “This is a national team and needs to be treated with respect. Where on earth have you seen players without clubs being fielded in an international match? In the first place, you need to have match fitness and that demands one must have been playing frequently for his club. It was disappointing to watch players not playing actively fielded while others like Allan Wanga and Paul Were were benched only to be brought in when it was too late,” he lamented. Rumours that the former technical bench had more than just the conventional way of picking a starting line-up is by now a public secret. But even though the failure of the Belgian Adel Amrouche team has gone with him, it will take some time to find out if the new team unveiled on Tuesday will take us to the Promised Land. After firing the technical bench due to failure to qualify for 2015 Africa Cup of Nations group stages on Sunday, Football Kenya Federation (FKF) has moved with speed to appoint a new team. Gor Mahia’s Coach Bobby Williamson is the new head coach assisted by former long-serving captain Musa Otieno. Simeon Mulama is the new team manager. This was announced on Tuesday during a press conference in Nairobi. Bobby Williamson served as the Uganda Cranes head coach for six years winning four CECAFA titles with the team though he failed to take the Cranes to the African Cup of Nations coming close in the last two editions. Regardless of what the new technical bench achieves, the annals of history books will have it that when Kenya had a chance to progress in the qualifications against a country of 2 million people (that is roughly the size of an average Kenyan county) we fell flat on our face. As my editor pointed out, when your most potent weapon is an ill-disciplined, out-of-form and aging player who jets in hours before the game and must play (or else) despite the presence of younger and hungrier players, then you need a witchdoctor on strong steroids to save your national team.

NORMAL SERVICE RESUMES For most fans of European leagues, normal service resumes this weekend when leagues across Europe hold the traditional season curtain raiser. In England, Arsenal will lock horns with arch-rivals Manchester City. While as there will be little at stake apart from early psychological lift for the winner, it is safe to assume that as the season progresses Man City will expect their life to become more difficult. Man United now under Louis Van Gaal, already being christened Van Goals, will make a big impression. They will want to bounce back and avoid the number seven slot as if it is Ebola-contaminated. Chelsea with the ever annoying Portuguese Jose Mourinho, knows too well that they are like fish out of water. Last season they took nothing to the ruthless club owner Roman Abramovich. They can bet their necks that this streak will not be tolerated at Stamford Bridge. Liverpool having come so close to winning the title for the first time since God-knows-when will try to rekindle the magic that saw them put up one of the most memorable title runs in recent years. Even though they have sold the Biteman to Barcelona, they have significantly ploughed back the funds to squad improvement. Let us hope this time round Liverpool can combine perspiration with inspiration. As for Arsenal, they are no longer the team we knew. A pal of mine has told me that if Arsene Wenger buys one more player he will quit supporting Gunners. His reason? The Arsenal he knows always does not buy players, it is used to the struggles and somehow it remains in the mix. But this Arsenal is almost like Man City, buying players by kilos. That of course, if you ask the manger is a show of ambition. Therefore, let the games begin!

-@tonyngare