What is ailing Harambee Stars? Legends speak out

HARAMBEE STARS VS MOZAMBIQUE BLACK MAMBAS Kenya Harambee Stars head coach Stanley Okumbi(L) with his assistant John Kamau during their friendly match against Mozambique Black Mambas at Kasarani Stadium on Saturday 12/11/16.Kenya won 1-0.PHOTO:BONIFACE OKENDO

Harambee Stress: There is little hope the national team can return to the high table of continental football once again

Former internationals point out what is wrong with Okumbi’s side and suggest what needs to be done.

The long-running joke used to chide domestic fans of English Premier League giants, Arsenal FC, has been they have never tweeted ‘We are champions’ having last won the coveted title in 2004, two years before the advent of the micro-blogging site Twitter.

In the same period, however, the wider Kenyan football loving fraternity has also never tweeted ‘Harambee Stars at AFCON’ as their cherished national team continues to be the butt of online gags.

Judging by the current form, Stars look ill-equipped to make the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, let alone the cherished vision of qualifying for the 2022 Fifa World Cup in Qatar.

Last week, the team suffered successive loses to Iraq (2-1) and catastrophically, Thailand (1-0) when it toured Asia during the latest Fifa international window week, exposing head coach, Stanley Okumbi, to another furious backlash.

Sneaked back

Such was the vitriol poured on Stars and Football Kenya Federation (FKF) that the team literally sneaked back to their own country on Tuesday morning in a bid to spare Okumbi, his charges and the federation further inquest.

With heavyweights Ghana coming to town in February for their next 2019 AFCON qualifier and the regional Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup set to be hosted in Kenya in December, there is little optimism on the ground that Kenya can return to the high table of continental football it last sat at 2004.

Kenyan sporting icons of the past and present and those inclined to football gave a damning indictment of the team that more than any other, ignites the deepest passions among the sport loving public. They did that at a recent gathering hosted by betting firm Sportpesa, who happens to be FKF sponsors.

According to them, the besieged Okumbi who has won five and drawn a similar number of his 16 games in charge, shoulders the bulk of the blame, but is not the sole reason the team has fallen from the stars.

The original ‘Kenya One’ goalkeeper, Mahmoud Abbas who stood between the posts for Stars from 1980 to 1984 and enjoyed cult status at AFC Leopards, believes the main problem with the national side is lack of a feeding system from the youth ranks to the senior side as he questioned the attitude of today's players.

“During our days, it was difficult to get a call up to the national team, you had to sweat for it. What we are seeing now is a situation where the head coach does not know his first XI. In my time, Marshal Mulwa took only four weeks to settle on his starting squad.

“In 12 years, only few changes were made to the team with the likes of John ‘Bobby’ Ogolla, Washington Muhanji and Tobias Ocholla establishing themselves and Kenya went to the 1988, 1990 and 1992 AFCONS,” the legendary custodian who led the nation to three Cecafa titles stated.

“What we are seeing now is 30 or 40 players being called up to the national team. How can a coach call all those players? It means he does not know his first team.

“We had reports the federation had pulled out the Under 17s from a tournament, where will the senior side get players if we do not establish strong structures at youth level?” Abbas, who was known for his penalty-saving heroics that saw him accused of using witchcraft, posed.

Several coaches

Ex-Stars and Gor Mahia FC captain, Tobias ‘Jua Kali’ Ochola, lampooned FKF for ignoring the wisdom they offer because of their wealth of experience.

“Stars have aging senior players and there is nothing we can see on the ground as far as their replacements are concerned.

“Secondly, if a coach is not doing well, he must be removed. We don’t have a settled first XI and we need several coaches working with the head coach to make progress,” the mercurial full-back underscored.

“We have a situation where the head coach idolises some of the players he is supposed to be in charge of, how does that work? The federation is also doing little to engage corporates and other institutions to roll out a countrywide talent search programme and academies,” Ochola stressed. “Being in the national team nowadays means nothing to these players. They are only motivated by money and fame but they do not want to work for it.

“We have international players being paid a lot of money, but if you follow them, they work so hard to be at the top,” the former K’Ogalo skipper said.

“Self-discipline is important for a player. They should train even when the coach is not there and they must be ready to take advice."

“Today, we have players who do not play unless they are given money first,” Moses ‘Shonyi’ Ochieng’ who still holds the domestic league goal scoring record having plundered 26 for Gor in the 1976 season, echoed Ochola.

“Our league also needs to be competitive to give our players more exposure and make it easier for the head coach to select his team. We ought to have academies and emphasise the importance of scoring since players are more protected by the laws of the game.

“In my time, you could be hacked and fractured inside the box and the referee would wave play on. I do not understand why they are not scoring many goals yet it is so easy these days,” the retired forward said.

While Okumbi could be living on borrowed time at the helm of the team if reports from FKF are to be believed, the reality is his exit will not be the panacea to the Stars problems.