Last week, my friends and I were discussing John ‘Kasongo’ Odie, the now retired Re-Union FC winger. One point of debate was the fact that he was a speedy winger who was lethal — whenever he was in good form.
His former schoolmate at Nairobi’s Aquinas High School hinted that, whereas Odie was a good and exciting player, he possessed one unique thing. His shoe size was astonishingly small. He wore shoe number six.
We looked back at famous footballers just to prove that having big feet does not necessarily mean you are a great shooter.
Gor Mahia’s great midfielder, Jerry Imbo, who captained the class of ‘79 that reached the final of African Cup Winners Cup wore number six. According to those who played against him, Jerry would not be easily pushed off the ball as his shielding was one of the best. Those small feet served him quite well.
Wilberforce ‘Maradona’ Mulamba the greatest number eight Kenya has ever had, had very huge feet. At number 11 and playing midfield, he was remarkable. As the nerve centre of the team, that position requires constant movements; like turning, running, passing, shooting and holding the ball. With big feet one can only be lucky if he is not flat footed.
Talk of flat feet, the legendary Gor player Daniel Nicodemus Arudhi was exactly that. Watching him walk, one would think he was too slow for a midfielder. Many defenders who made that assumption paid heavily.
Another Gor Mahia great, Alan Thigo, was a bit knock-kneed. He was not nicknamed ‘the 90 minute man’ for nothing. He was more energetic in the dying minutes than in the course of the game. No wonder he used to score spectacular goals when fans were on their way out. He gave K’Ogalo fans hope and confidence to wait until the last minute, and he never disappointed.
Thigo’s knock knees were useful for stability, durability and his longevity was unrivalled. He played for over ten years and was the player coach when Jerry Imbo was the captain in the Class of ‘79. Then there was Mahmoud Abbas.
He had big hands besides his over six feet height. He used the huge hands quite well to toy around with the ball. He intimidated strikers by handling the ball like a basketballer and throwing it over the opponents back to his mates. He often picked corner balls over their heads — and patting their back in mockery.
The debate whether a footballer’s feet are an advantage has been there since time immemorial. Way back in the 60s and 70s, body size was used to allocate players positions. It was never easy to get a short defender below six feet.
Joram Roy was the first Kenyan to play defence at number two, yet he was around 5’ 3”. His success then was his bravery and ability to outjump very tall defenders. With these attributes he proved the fact that what mattered was the fight in the dog and not the other way round.
Peter Crouch of Stoke City in the English Premier League was probably recruited to the national team when it was realized that his height would be a huge asset.
Unfortunately his feet were not as good as his height. Back here, his namesake, Peter Dawo, also caused a sensation in 1987 when he scored 10 goals using his head yet his dribbling was terrible.
He always positioned himself in such a way that his team mates knew how to pass the ball to him. Gor Mahia fans were ever elated when their opponents concede a corner because they saw goals from Dawo.
Arsenal’s Per Mertasacker also in the English Premier League was another player whose height became a liability because he could not outrun swift strikers. It was a question of the body becoming the victim.
Clever midfielders simply used to flick the ball over him for the strikers to outrun him before he turns.
Somehow many teams in Kenya still use the stereotyping where tall players take the defence, short for midfield and slender for striking positions.
