Gor Mahia on Wednesday disbanded its entire technical bench headed by former international Zedekiah "Zico" Otieno.
The decision came after the deposed Football Kenya Federation Premier League champions lost 2-1 to National Super League champions Nairobi United in the MozzartBet Cup final on Sunday at Ulinzi Sports Complex.
Others shown the door were assistant coach Michael Nam, goalkeeper trainer Boniface Oluoch and team manager Victor Nyaoro.
Gor Mahia head coach Brazilina Leonardo Neiva and his assistant Zedekiah Otieno react at the touchline in a previous match. Gor play Muranga Seal in an FKF Premier League match in Machakos today.
Photo credit: Chris Omullo| Nation Media Group
“The club has mutually agreed to part ways with the entire bench including members of the team security. This is part of the club’s restructuring process aimed at strengthening its technical and operational capacity in preparation for the upcoming season,” said Gor Mahia Chairman Ambrose Rachier in a statement.
Clearly not winning any of the two major football trophies in the country would be considered a monumental failure for the record 21-time Kenya champions, but the sacking of the entire bench, you feel, was much more than just because of performance.
Otieno, a three-time league winner with K'Ogalo as a player, seems to have especially attracted the wrath of the passionate Gor fans who clearly wanted him out of the club like yesterday.
“They are saying I’m the one making Gor Mahia not to win matches. Leave the team for who?” an adamant Otieno, who had a two-year contract with the club, told Nation Sport on Tuesday as pressure mounted on him to resign.
It was clear the Green Army adherents had had enough of Otieno as they angrily confronted him after the MozzartBet final, forcing the former Harambee Stars coach to flee and seek refuge amongst the KDF soldiers who attended the match held at their facility.
Multiple interviews with Gor Mahia players who did not want to be named revealed a broken-down communication with the head coach, assistant coach, and team manager, who issued contradictory instructions, leaving players confused and unsure of who to follow.
There were also reports of Otieno fielding players he favoured at the expense of meri,t drawing complaints from the rest of the technical bench.
A case in point was the unexplained benching of tournament Golden Glove winner Gad Mathews for reserve keeper Kevin Omondi to stand between the posts. Enraged fans questioned why Mathews was not played in the final, yet he was the best in the tournament.
One of the players, who did not want to be named, claimed that after a section of the technical bench sabotaged the two foreign coaches -- Brazilian Leonardo Neiva and Croatian Sinisa Mihic, hired this season, leading to their exit -- they turned against one another.
Gor Mahia part ways with head coach Sinisa Mihic
The player said members of the technical bench were never on good terms, which affected the harmony of the playing unit.
“I thank the chairman for chasing them because those people were not professional at all yet this club has been part of the history of this country. Neiva and Sinisa were good since making the match day squad was on merit and not on deals and friendship,” said the player.
Another senior player questioned the rationale used to sign foreigners to the team yet on the pitch they were not given a chance to prove themselves.
Brazilian coach Leonardo Neiva (right) with his assistant Zedekiah Otieno on the touchline during a match between Gor Mahia and Al Mereikh of South Sudan at Nyayo Stadium in Nairobi on August 25, 2024.
Photo credit: Chris Omollo | Nation Media Group
“Patrick Essombe (Cameroonian) is a very good winger but he rarely got game time yet he was proving everything in training. We couldn’t even understand what was happening,” said the senior player.
Other foreign players who were signed by the club but rarely got play time were Ugandan Charles Mbaable and Congolese Gideon Bendeka.
Ghanaian forward Enock Morrison started the season well seeing game time before inexplicably falling down the pecking order.
“When Neiva and Sinic left and the coaches started fighting among themselves to control the playing unit, I knew we were doomed. That is why even the squad selected for the MozzartBet final against Nairobi United was questionable. The in-fighting was too much,” he added.
Some players suggested that if either Neiva or Sinic had remained at the club and things had run professionally, Gor Mahia would have won a double. For now, focus turns to recruiting a new technical bench.
Some fans have proposed that a new foreign coach who will be hired comes with his own assistants. “We expect a foreign coach with his technical bench but one of his assistants should be a local to guide him on recruitment. We want a British coach. Gor has a history of winning titles with British coaches,” said Gor Mahia fan Boniface Ogada.
Zedekiah "Zico" Otieno.
Photo credit: Chris Omollo | Nation Media Group
Brazilian coach Leonardo Neiva left the club on November 13 under unclear circumstances after being in charge for only three months. His tenure was marred by violent action directed at him by fans reportedly under the instigation of a section of the technical bench and a senior player.
Croatian Sinisa Mihic was brought in on February 3 but also left on May 19 due to differences with the trio of Otieno, Nyaoro and Nam.
On April 4, Mihic chased away his assistants, claiming they had been sabotaging him while at the same time seeking financial assistance from him.
After Mihic's exit, Otieno was put in charge until the season ended.
“Zico” Otieno was not new to Gor Mahia. He played for the multiple Kenyan champions as a fullback between 1989 and 1996 before returning as coach in 2010 for a two-year.
He returned to Gor Mahia in 2017 as an assistant coach and served until 2019, when he moved to KCB as head coach.
