Turkish coach Engin Firat during a press conference at Two Rivers Mall in Nairobi on March 19, 2023.
The status of Engin Firat and Harambee Stars, in a relationship that lasted three years, would best be described as ‘complicated’.
The former Harambee Stars coach died on Monday at Istanbul Airport in Turkey of suspected heart attack aged 55 years.
Firat was appointed as Harambee Stars coach on September 19, 2021 on a bizarre two-month contract. He kept his job for another one year. Then, FKF, under president Nick Mwendwa, extended his contract in early 2023 for three years up to 2026.
The Turk went on to serve until December 2024 when he walked away, citing salary arrears.
Coach Engin Firat when he was unveiled as Harambee Stars coach in Nairobi on September 19, 2021.
However, his tenure was marked by a truly love-hate relationship with the Kenyan football public.
His appointment was greeted by plenty of skepticism from the Kenyan public because of his decidedly uninspiring CV.
He had not won a single match in 11 outing with Moldova, the last national team he handled before crossing to Kenya.
Fans insisted that the Turk, who had previously served as head coach of Iranian clubs Saipa and Foolad Mobarakeh Sephan and assistant coach of Iran and Turkish top flight teams Fenerbahce and Antalyaspor, was not the right man for the Harambee Stars job.
Firat also served as head coach of German Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt.
He got off to a horrendous start, crashing 5-0 loss to Mali in a 2022 Fifa World Cup Group “E”, qualifier match in Agadir, Morocco on October 7, 2021.
In his three-year, 23-match tenure with Kenya, Firat recorded seven wins, nine losses, and seven draws.
He always went to great lengths to defend the team’s performances, to the chagrin of hurting fans as sports journalists questioned his tactics and style of play.
He will, however, be credited for introducing many European-based players with Kenyan roots to Harambee Stars through his personal intervention, talking and convincing them to feature for Kenya.
The notable ones included defenders Daniel Anyembe (Denmark), and Tobias Knost (Germany), and striker Alfred Scrivens (Norway).
“There are some high profile players with Kenyan roots but to convince them (to play for Kenya) is another story,” said Firat in March 2023.
Turkish coach Engin Firat who coached Harambee Stars from September 19, 2021 to December 2024.
Firat had publicly averred that the Football Kenya Federation Premier League was not producing quality players and believed that having many European-based players in Harambee Stars was the best way of making the team formidable.
He did register a rare away international win for Kenya, a 4-0 blowout of Malawi in their Four Nations match at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe on March 23, 2024.
In fact, through Firat’s connection, Kenya also played friendly matches against highly ranked Iran, Qatar and Russia.
Unusual opponents chosen going by Kenya’s football history. Firat was no less odd.
He often conducted his press briefings using a projector and writing materials, like a teacher in a classroom.
For instance, on November 13, 2023, Firat sought to demonstrate to journalists that the team had prepared adequately for their 2026 Fifa World Cup Group “F’ qualifier against Gabon by playing video clips they had analyses of The Panthers.
The Omala debate
Firat then took journalists through the tactics of the Gabonese team.
“This is the only way in modern football that you can have a chance to be ready even if on paper your rival is better,” the Turk explained to bemused journalists.
Reacting to fans’ pressure for regular wins, ahead of Kenya’s friendly match against Iran on March 28, 2023 in Turkey, Firat, using a projector, delivered a hard-hitting reality check on them.
“I honestly don’t understand. If this is our past then why is everyone talking about World Cups, Afcons or whatever,” he stated while taking the sports scribes through the material he had prepared and which he was relaying on the screen. The presentation included pie charts.
He reckoned that Kenyans were being unfair to him by demanding for impressive results yet there was not much to write home about Harambee Stars' performance over the past 30 years.
One of the issues that often put him at crossroads with journalists and fans was the dropping of former Gor Mahia striker Benson Omala (now with Nairobi United) from the national team. At the time, Omala was the top scorer in the Kenyan league.
Coach Engin Firat speaks to journalists during a training session for the Kenyan national team at Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani on March 25, 2023.
“We are in professional football and not social media, so stop lying to Omala that he is a top footballer. This is a national team and as long as he doesn’t learn ball control and dribbling skills, I will not give him a chance,” Firat vowed before Kenya left for Gabon to honour a 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifiers, much to the chagrin of the sharpshooters’ legion of fans.
When Kenya played out to a barren draw against Zimbabwe in a 2025 Afcon qualifier at the Mandela Stadium in Namboole, Uganda on September 6, 2024, Firat chided Kenyan fans for not turning up.
“I expected more fans at the stadium considering that we were playing in a neighbouring country. But that did not happen. Sometimes I ask myself if Kenya is really a footballing country,” he said.
“The biggest problem with Kenyans is that they always think they are world champions. You underestimate everyone around you. Look at the conditions our neighbours are in and compare them to ours. You never look in the mirrors,” the Turk stated after he was questioned about his record.
He also lamented the lack sporting facilities in the country and hosting home matches outside the country. Then, Nyayo National Stadium and Moi International Sports Centre Kasarani had been closed for renovations for the 2024 African Nations Championship and 2027 Afcon.
In the press briefing after Kenya’s loss to South Sudan at Kasarani, and fans calling for his ejection, Firat hit back by boldly stating that Kenya lacked creative footballers.
Coach Engin Firat addresses the media at Two Rivers Mall in Nairobi on September 4, 2023.
He also took a swipe at FKF for leaving the responsibility of securing friendly matches for Harambee Stars to him. He also complained about not being paid his salary.
"I feel a little bit a lot to be honest because it cannot be that everything is on my shoulders. I organised the friendly match against Iran on phone but for Qatar, you cannot organise by phone, they will not take you seriously. I took our team manager and one more friend there and we met the general secretary. It is always me but I never get any salary and I pay even from my pocket," he said.
“Thank God, I have no problem surviving. But I have a problem explaining to my family why I am always away from them yet I don’t get any money. I have a problem explaining to them why I spend my money and time not on them."
Firat had gone eight months without pay, with then Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba saying the delay was because FKF had not furnished the Ministry with his contract.
Firat logged a complaint with Fifa’s Disputes Resolution Chambers last year over salary arrears and breach of contract. He demanded Sh75 million in compensation. The case has not been resolved.
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