Striker Dennis Oliech axed again as Ajaccio is relegated after losing 2-1 to Bastia

By GILBERT WANDERA

Ajaccio’s Dennis Oliech (left) and teammates react during a past French Ligue One match against Bordeaux. [Photo: AFP]

When he went to France in 2005, international striker Dennis Oliech made history by becoming the first Kenyan to feature in the French Ligue One.

Oliech, a former Mathare United striker, joined then French top side Nantes on a two-year deal after a stint in the Middle East where he turned out for Al Arabi.

However, since going to France, the player has been followed by bad lack as all the three teams he has turned out for have ended up being relegated.

At the weekend, his club Ajaccio went down to the lower league after losing 2-1 to Bastia, becoming Oliech’s third club to be relegated. It remains doubtful whether he will play in the lower division, meaning he has to look for another club.

It is not, however, surprising that Ajaccio went down as they have been struggling all through the season and stayed in the relegation zone for the better part of the year.

Top flight football

Going into Sunday’s match, the team needed to win their remaining five matches to be assured of top flight football next season but it was not to be as Bastia picked all three points to send Ajaccio down after three seasons.

Nantes, who have since come back to the French Ligue One, were relegated with Oliech at the end of the 2006 season. He then left to join AJ Auxerre but went down again at the end of the 2011 season.

It is highly unlikely that Oliech will stay at Ajaccio as relegation comes with a huge cut in salary and other benefits. Oliech has featured in less than 10 matches for Ajaccio since the season started due to recurring injuries – something that could jeopardise his next move.

Elsewhere, Kenya captain Victor Wanyama has returned to full time action after being sidelined by injury for more than one month.

Wanyama was on the pitch for Southampton who were held to a barren draw by Aston Villa at Villa Park in an English Premier League (EPL) match.

Barren draw

Wanyama made history at the beginning of this year by becoming the first Kenyan to feature in the EPL and has been a regular for the Saints until a nagging injury put him out a month ago.

Speaking on the club’s website after the barren draw away, Wanyama revealed his delight at coming back though he remained frustrated at the inability to pick all three points against their opponents.

“I am happy to be back again on the pitch. It has been really long, the other players  have been doing well. I am also happy to get a chance to play today, and hopefully I will get many chances to play again,” he said.

He added: “I was excited to be back and to play alongside these lads – they are very, very good so it’s just very nice to play alongside them because they make it easy. We had chances to score and we could not, but we just have to keep going and work on our finishing, and we’ll improve.”

Wanyama joined the English side after two seasons at Celtic in Scotland.

His return to action will be good news for Harambee Stars as they begin their Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers next month.

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