Odindo Ayieko

3 September 2010

Nairobi — Very few people can match the tremendous impact that coach Zedekiah "Zico" Otieno has had on Gor Mahia since his arrival at the club just six months ago.

In the last 12 seasons, K'Ogalo have never come so close to winning the Kenyan Premier League title. This could just be their season, and the man pushing them to that success is, interestingly, their last captain to have lifted the title 15 years ago.

Otieno talks passionately about the young squad he is moulding, terming it the best since the title-winning side of 1995. Then, Gor had one of the most talented squads in the league that included Dan Ogada, Allan Odhiambo, and Tom Okaya in the midfield.

They also had Steve Odiaga, Felix Otieno and Mike Otieno upfront, Paul Ochieng and Sammy Omollo in defence with Charles Omondi "Korea" in goal.

The squad also boasted of Dan Shikanda and Jared Ochieng' Achieng. It is this squad that won the league title three times in 1990, 1991 and 1993

"Gor has had great squads in the past. People like Nahashon "Lule" Oluoch, Allan Thigo, William Chege Ouma, Sammy Onyango, George Onyango "Fundi", John Okello Zangi, Abbas Magongo, the list is endless," says Otieno.

Great squads

"But I think the last of Gor's colourful squads was the one that lifted the crown in 1995. Now we have a team that can match the great Gor squads.

"Of course the current squad is still in the building process but the team is mirroring the great squads of the past. They are still young and are eager to learn."

Otieno likens his striker, George Odhiambo "Blackberry," to the legendary Chege Ouma, who could slice through any defence and bury the ball in the net. "You saw what Odhiambo did against Ulinzi Stars," he says.

"But, as I say, Gor is still an unfinished product. The boys are hugely talented but are still raw. Look at Anthony Akumu, for instance. He has a great future, maybe not even in the Kenyan league, but he must work as hard as other players in the squad."

Gor Mahia have won the Kenyan league 12 times and the cup title eight times. They also have three regional titles and won the Africa Cup Winners Cup in 1987.

They have never been considered contenders for the league title in over a decade, until the beginning of the second leg of this season when they rose to the second position in the championship, an unfamiliar territory for the one-time giants of Kenyan football.

However, Otieno says they are deservedly among the title contenders. "We are operating on a limited budget but the welfare of the players is well catered for. All of them have contracts, something that has been uncommon at the club for a very long time. They get paid their dues in time and are focused on training and matches," he says.

When Otieno came to Gor Mahia in February as technical director, the club had already made some improvement after years of flirting with relegation. At the helm was Gideon Ochieng, who had guided K'Ogalo to fifth in the league last season, when Otieno was at Chemelil.

Instability

A few fans questioned why a man whose club had not even finished among the top contenders was appointed boss ahead of a man who had guided Gor to fifth, just six points adrift of champions Sofapaka. That was recipe for instability at the Gor bench, and as soon as Otieno came in, the lack of cohesion became evident.

Camps started developing within the playing unit, whose loyalty was divided. Something had to give. The club management took the decision to part with Ochieng, who was close to the players but had little experience as coach. Otieno was made the supremo.

He has made little change to the squad he inherited from Ochieng, but has brought technical discipline to the unit. The inconsistency that plagued Gor last season and at the beginning of this season has been overcome. This is not to play down Ochieng's legacy at Gor.

After all, he was responsible for the rise of K'Ogalo last season and also moulded "Blackberry," Duncan Owiti, Ibrahim Kitawi, goalkeeper Fredrick Onyango and several other players to top stars. However, the radical transformation that the club has undergone in a space of just six months is almost spooky.

Trained at the Hennef Sports School in Germany, where they believe in total football, Otieno has not only brought self belief to the squad but has also made it more effective, but not defensive. Gor has only conceded 14 goals, the second best defensive record in the league after Ulinzi Stars and Tusker FC.

Core unit

He has retained the core of the unit that had dazzled the KPL in the second leg of last season, with its players Odhiambo and Peter Opiyo scooping awards. He has made "Blackberry" one of the most lethal attackers in the league, Kevin Omondi one of the best creative midfielders, hitherto untested teenager Anthony Akumu a perfect defensive cover and Collins Okoth a fierce competitor in the midfield.

"At first the players were apprehensive about the new training regime I was introducing. But at mid-season, we went for team building and bonding in Loitokotok and it really helped. We are now one very tight family at Gor Mahia." Otieno insists on his team playing football the Gor Mahia way; passing and speed.

Never for a moment has he betrayed his footballing philosophy, and from start to finish of every match, his players always appear hungry for goals. Otieno himself was a fullback at Gor, yet he emerged a top scorer in the 1992 Premier League season and consequently won the Player of the Year award.

"Football is about goals. Fans pay to watch goals. Great goals, good football, and that is the philosophy I have with this club." To prove his point, Gor has scored 24 goals already this season, four more than they did throughout last season. And with eight games to play, they will definitely score more.

"It's not a good return given we have played 22 games, that's like a goal a game, but we have to keep on working hard to improve especially on our goal scoring instincts. We create very many chances, like we did against AFC Leopards. We are working on the final touch."

But just how is it working at a club with demanding fans? "I have been a player at Gor Mahia and I understand the psychology of the fans. Gor fans are the most loyal. They always want to see Gor win and if that can be happening every day, they will be the happiest."

"Definitely it's not easy pleasing them, but it takes a lot of hard work to keep on winning to keep them happy. We are working on that, to be winners always. One of his major battles as a player was against AFC Leopards' Congolese import Peter Kakonge in 1995.

AFC Leopards had taken an early lead and Kakonge was giving Otieno a hard time in the right flank. Not used to being beaten in his own game, Otieno ensured he fouled Kakonge whenever the latter tried his tricks on him. Eventually Otieno was given his marching orders barely half an hour into the game. Gor fans were not amused, and the game ended prematurely.

Passion for club

"It was always a fight, Kakonge and I, but off pitch we were friends. Those days we played with passion for our clubs and that is what I'm working on instilling on the current crop of players. They need to match the passion being shown by the fans on the terraces," he says.

'Zico,' as he is fondly known, grew up in Kariobangi, schooled at Kariobangi Primary School and, by the time he reached standard seven, he was playing for Sky Heroes. By the time he was 13, in 1981 and a student at Nairobi Technical High School, he had taken the game seriously, joining his peers Charles Omondi "Korea", Johnstone Keffa Tasso, Richard Asabe and George Kimolo, all who later played at the national soccer team, Harambee Stars.

In 1986, he joined Utalii FC under the tutelage of James Siang'a and a year later he joined Iqbal. When Iqbal was disbanded, in 1988, Otieno joined Gor Mahia, who he played for until 2000, winning three league titles -- as captain in 1995, three cup titles and representing the club in the Africa Club Championships in 1996.

In 1992, Otieno was named the Kenya Footballer of the Year, the same year he was called into the national soccer team. He started his coaching career with Re-Union in 2002, helping the club avoid relegation before shifting to the bench of Kariobangi Sports and later helping Kawangware Sports Club to the Premier League in 2003.

He also helped World Hope (now Nairobi City Stars) get promoted to the KPL, a feat that saw him enlisted as the national under-20 coach in 2005. His first stint with Gor was in 2006, but it was short lived. He moved to Chemelil Sugar, where he stayed for three years before returning to Gor Mahia last February.