By Gilbert Wandera
NAIROBI, KENYA: Last year, former Gor Mahia midfielder Collins ‘Gatusso’ Okoth shocked the local football fraternity with an announcement that he had quit the sport after being dismissed from Sofapaka.
Okoth said then he wanted to go back to school in search of a new career. However, many fans were surprised to see the hard-tackling midfielder in Tusker’s jersey this season doing what he does best: killing off attacks from the opposition.
In an interview on Wednesday, Okoth said he was convinced to change his mind by Kenyan top goalkeeper Arnold Origi, who even helped him attend six month trials at Norwegian top side Lillestrom after leaving Sofapaka.
“Origi called me after the announcement and convinced me that there was still a lot I could give. After that, he invited me to Norway and his club gave me an opportunity to train with them.
“They could not sign me because their allocation for foreign players had already been exhausted,” he said.
Okoth said he has settled at his current club Tusker although he points out there is a lot of pressure to perform.
“Compared to Gor Mahia the pressure at Tusker is on the pitch and this is good because it pushes one to become better. At Gor, the pressure was mostly coming from the fans and could be destructive to one’s career.
“I am glad I left Gor when I did and it had nothing to do with indiscipline as some claimed,” he said.
Okoth has previously played for Tusker before leaving under a cloud of controversy following allegations of indiscipline. Before joining Tusker he was at Mathare United and left under the same circumstances.
After Tusker he joined Gor Mahia and even here allegations of indiscipline were never far off when he was offloaded.
From Gor Mahia he joined Sofapaka but stayed for just half a season leaving again due to allegations of indiscipline.
The player also had a shot stint with the national team Harambee Stars and said he hopes his performance can attract the national team selectors this time around.
Stars are currently preparing for the June 5 World Cup qualifier against Nigeria at Kasarani. Before that, the team will take on Ghana in an international build-up to be played on June 1 at Nyayo National Stadium.
