Let’s give coach Firat the benefit of doubt, for now

Engin Firat is the 36th person to be coach of Harambee Stars since Kenya gained independence in 1963.

Former Kenyan football boss Job Omino once famously said, Kenyan coaches come and go, and if you look at their turnover, the country has averaged one coach every one and a half years.

The rate would even be lower if we were to count the number of appointments. Ray Bachelor was the first coach of Kenya at independence.

He returned briefly in 1965 as an emergency replacement for Kenya’s second coach Peter Oronge, who was reported to have abandoned the national team just hours to an international friendly match in Nairobi against the feared Black Stars of Ghana.

Jonathan Niva, Chris Makokha and Francis Kimanzi had two stints while Reinhardt Fabisch, my all-time favourite, and Mohammed Heri had three spells each as Harambee Stars coaches.

Two-month contract

Multi-talented Jacob “Ghost” Mulee holds the record of most appointments, with four stints.

But, back to the man of the moment, Firat. The Turk, 52, who was initially appointed on September 19, 2021, on a, wait for this, two-month contract, saw his tenure extended indefinitely by the federation this year.

Like a thief in the night, he quietly came back to the country a week today to begin preparations for Kenya’s two international friendly matches against Burundi on March 25 and 28.

That there was hardly any media interest in his return spoke volumes about how Harambee Stars' allure has alarmingly diminished.

This is despite the fact the Istanbul-born man was about to handle the first international match involving Kenya in more than one year.

Could it be because of his underwhelming international record?

Before taking up the Harambee Stars job following a headhunt by the federation, Firat had been the coach of Moldova, who are currently ranked a lowly 174 by Fifa.

To be fair to Moldova, their highest Fifa ranking is an impressive 37 achieved in 2008, but they sunk to their lowest ranking in history of 181 at around the period when Firat was in charge.

In fact, Firat, who was once the head coach of German Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt and assistant coach of Turkish top league side Fenerbahce, holds an unflattering record with Moldova.

In the period between 2019 and 2021, when he was in charge, the tiny European nation, with a population of 2.6 million, failed to win a single match in 11 outings, losing nine times with two draws.

Firat, however, won Coach of the Year (2019) award in Moldova, no doubt helped by his heroics of famously pushing the then world champions France all the way at a jam-packed Stade de France in Paris before surrendering the match lead to lose 2-1 in a European Championships qualifier

Under Firat, Kenya lost 5-0 and 1-0 in back-to-back 2022 World Cup qualifiers to Mali, drew 1-1 away to Uganda before beating Rwanda 2-1 in Nairobi to prematurely end their road to Qatar campaign.

FKF CEO Barry Otieno said they were satisfied with the way the Turk had handled Harambee Stars thus far and happy to let him continue with his work.

The federation must be seeing something special in Firat.

Widely travelled

A closer look at his football career shows the Turk started professional coaching in 1997 as an assistant coach of Turkish second tier league side Samsunspor while just a fresh faced 27-year-old.

This would make him one of the youngest coaches to have handled a professional side in Europe.

Firat is also widely travelled with stints in Germany, Turkey, South Korea, USA and Albania.

He holds a Uefa Pro Licence and is a graduate of Universität Osnabrück in Germany according to his LinkedIn account. He says this about himself on the network's platform: “Skilled in Soccer, Event Planning, Sports Management, Coaching, and Football.”

He has publicly stated he sees a big potential and future in Kenyan football.

My former colleague - such a fine sports journalist, the late Chris Tsuma used to say that a coach is as good as his last game. So far, so good for Firat.

* * * * *

Two weeks ago, I was pleasantly surprised to read that the Kenya Cup league match between KCB and Kabras Sugar at the KCB Sports Club, Ruaraka, had been sold out.

How often do you see a local rugby match attendance bursting the stands?

However, on further inquiry, I was dismayed to learn that the home side had sold just 1,500 tickets, the number being the capacity of the venue.

The two teams will meet again in the final this Saturday at Kakamega Showground. I have no idea what the venue's official capacity is, but I darn hope it is more than a paltry 1,500.

Pity that the biggest annual club fixture in Kenya and even East and Central Africa will not be broadcast live on TV.

There are thousands of fans, yours truly included, who will not be able to travel to Kakamega Forest but would love to watch these two beasts of Kenyan rugby go head-to-head for ultimate glory.

May the best team win.

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