By TOM BWANA

Football is a funny game, isn’t it? As a player, Francis Baraza won the KPL title with AFC Leopards in 1998 — the last time ‘Ingwe’ lifted the trophy. He would repeat the feat with Oserian FC — still playing — in 2001.

Francis KImanzi

Coach Francis Baraza recently became the first coach in the Kenya Premier League to be sacked in the new season.

Oliver Page, formerly of Top Fry Nakuru All Stars, and Salim Ali, formerly of Ulinzi Stars, have also followed in this path of coaches partying ways with their clubs due to performance.

But even before dust could settle on his record, Baraza has joined another rank of coaches.

His appointment as Head Coach at Muhoroni Youth makes him the fourth coach in the Kenya Premier League to have coached at least three of the clubs playing in this season’s competition.

Coach Baraza, who is also the only coach to have won the league as player and as coach, is a highly-rated tactician and as Muhoroni Youth Chairman Solomon Adagala pointed out: “his experience and prowess makes him stand out from a large pool of tacticians.”

Coach Baraza won the league with Migori County-based Sony Sugar FC in 2006 and stayed there until he fell out with the club management and faced the sack in 2011.

Being in a profession where one benefits from the other’s fall, Baraza was named Western Stima head coach when veteran coach Henri Omino was sacked at the end of 2012 season.

And when Baraza was sacked from Stima last month, look who’s back — Omino. Football is a funny game, isn’t it? As a player, Francis Baraza won the Kenya Premier League title with AFC Leopards in 1998 — the last time Ingwe lifted the trophy. He would repeat the feat with Oserian FC — still playing — in 2001.

Baraza’s former club Sony Sugar FC is currently coached by Zedekiah Zico Otieno, another roaming tactician. Coach Zico has formerly been with Chemelil Sugar and defending champions Gor Mahia before he landed at Sony.

He is also one of the very few coaches to have ever won the league title as players. Zico’s coaching career, however, has never born any title fruits only coming so close yet so far in 2010 as Gor Mahia coach only managing the second spot after Ulinzi Stars.

Arguably Kenya’s most successful coach with the national team, Francis Kimanzi is also in this category of roaming coaches.

He first came to limelight as coach of the then model of modern football clubs Mathare United. His success at Mathare would be replicated in the national team when he guided Kenya to its high echelons of Fifa ranking in the 2008-2009 period.

Kimanzi would be appointed Sofapaka coach in 2011 after completion of his coaching studies in the Netherlands taking over from the high talking Ezekiel Akwana.

But relations with club President Elly Kalekwa became frosty when Kimanzi was appointed to the national team again in 2012. What happened? Well, you guessed it right. A brother was shown the door.

Kimanzi’s understudy Coach Salim Ali is the type of student whose teacher says will go far. Salim has travelled typically the same style like his master Francis Kimanzi. He took over from Kimanzi at Mathare United then took over from Kimanzi at Sofapaka before shocking everyone by signing up for the army.

Yes, Coach Salim was at Ulinzi Stars until last weekend when he threw in the towel. Former international goalkeeper, Francis Onyiso, took over from.

Well, it might look like recycling of used material but clubs read experience therein. “Our technical bench led by Assistant Coach Patrick Odhiambo settled on Baraza as the perfect appointment owing to his experience in the league” said Muhoroni Youth Chairman Solomon Adagala adding that the two can work well for the benefit of the club.

Asked how he will fit into the club’s system, Coach Baraza is already full of knowledge on Muhoroni.

“I know Muhoroni has a target of finishing in the top five this season and winning the league next season. All that is possible and I will sit down with my team to work out a plan. Let’s talk in November!”

Email: tbwanat@gmail.com