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That the spiky-haired ‘Six Million Dollar Man’ has exited the football scene shook the foundation of our local soccer to the core.
It’s a tragedy, to say the least, that John Bobby Ogolla, the man who made mince meat of strikers back in the day, has decided to bid football goodbye.
Bobby was, many would say, the last scion, of the soccer greats Kenya has ever had.
His technical abilities was seen during his 14 years of dedicated service to Gor Mahia, 10 as a player and 4 as an assistant coach.
Many however believe that his resignation did not come as a surprise to fans, what with the recent financial problems at the club.
In his hey day, Bobby was blessed with a physical presence which saw him dispense hard tackles at will, winning him the nickname, ‘Six Million Dollar Man’.
His dressing mannerism - one sock pulled to the knee and the other pushed to the ankle - has however not escaped the memory of many Kenyans who watched him play.
Those who played with him derived comfort from the blanket shield he provided for the defence. He had no front-foot thrills, but sat well at the back. Against a side of modest means, that blanket of comfort was ripped off on a cold night and torn into pieces.
But even as he exits the scene in most after seeing K’Ogalo win the league unbeaten, his story of success in football will still be told beyond the confines of a football pitch.
But why would a man nicknamed, ‘Six Million Dollar Man’, after a popular TV series starring Lee Majors back in the 1980s, throw in the towel just after shepherding Gor Mahia to win the 2015 Kenyan Premier League title?
Bobby has certainly given his all, in a journey that is traced back to his days at Kisumu Hot Stars - considered as ‘Gor Mahia’s academy’. That was after completing his high school.
He would later join Gor Mahia at the tail end of the 1979 season as an understudy to his namesake, the versatile and no-nonsense defender James ‘Kadir’ Ogolla. Bobby was an instant hit with K’Ogalo fans. He was too strong for opponents, sometimes even unleashing heavy shots from set pieces.
After Ogolla Kadir retired, Bobby took over that position alongside Mike ‘Machine’ Ogolla.
The K’Ogalo defence was now fully fortified, with the abrasive Paul ‘Cobra’ Oduwo at right back.
Under Marshall Mulwa, Bobby played in front of goalie Mahmoud Abbas, flanked by defenders Josephat Murila, Hussein Kheri and Peter ‘Bassanga’ Otieno. The number 4 position was his for the taking for both club and country until his retirement.
But like Kadenge, Ogolla claims that soccer legends do not receive the respect they deserve. He remembers how they were invited to State House and offered Sh3,500, which he declined.
“Later, I received Sh10,000 on my phone. It seems to me that someone was given more money and decided to keep the bulk of it,” said Bobby adding that it is unfortunate they are being treated like beggars.
— Additional reporting by Gilbert Wandera
