Arnold Origi plans for one more dive in Harambee Stars jersey

What you need to know:

  • He was the undisputed ‘Kenya Number One’ in the early parts of the new millennium before injury, frustration and then change of citizenship took the shirt away from him, but at 36, and with new found motivation, the ex-Mathare United player now wants to see action with Kenya at the Africa Cup of Nations and maybe even the World Cup

Arnold Origi has three birthdays. On November 15, 1983, a bouncing baby boy became the latest addition to the Origi family and on March 23, 2005 the next “Kenya One” was born at Kasarani taking over from Francis Onyiso.

That Wednesday remains the day Mohammed Kheri, then Harambee Stars coach, made arguably his biggest gamble in a long coaching career. It was a gamble that paid off, unearthing one of Kenya’s finest goalkeepers.

Harambee Stars goalkeeper Arnold Origi trains with the squad at the Nyayo National Stadium on September 4, 2015. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

A star-studded Ghana side featuring the likes of Stephen Appiah, John Mensah, Matthew Amoah and Asamoah Gyan was in Nairobi for an international friendly match. Naturally, Kheri was expected to field his best team to gauge themselves against one of the strongest sides in the continent.

His first name on the team sheet sent a deafening silence across his hotel room during the last team meeting at Kasarani six hours before the 4pm clash.

“When I called out Origi instead of (Francis) Onyiso, everybody was shocked, you could see it on their faces. I paused a bit to let it sink then named the rest of the team but still you could see they thought I was crazy,” recalls Kheri of his announcement.

Earlier that morning, Kheri had a candid talk with the 21-year-old Origi and informed him of his decision to field him ahead of Onyiso.

“You can do it, your handling is good, your positioning is good, your diving is super. When you step on that pitch, talk to your defenders and keep your eyes on the ball all the time because they like shooting from distance,” Kheri told Origi.

“Mimi hii fulana nakupa na nataka uiweke ama nitairudishia mwenyewe (I’m giving you this jersey and I want you to keep it or else I’ll return it to the owner),” he summed it up thrusting Origi into the deep end.

TOP SAVES

On the pitch, Origi didn’t disappoint producing a string of top drawer saves to emerge man-of-the-match despite conceding twice as the game ended 2-2.

One such save saw the acrobatic Origi fly at full stretch to the top right corner to cleanly gather a long range drive from Appiah.

“Appiah alipiga akachoka (Appiah ran out of shots)!” says Kheri with an assuring voice clearly proud of his decision.

“That (was the) day Origi was born in (the world of) football. I knew he would do wonders because I had watched him in training and he was at the same level with Onyiso.

“Many coaches had called him up before but dropped him probably because of his physique, he was so tiny. But I felt this was the right time to give him a chance and I’m glad he made the most of it,” Kheri said.

Then came the words that have stuck in Origi’s mind to date. “Kenya has now found a number one goalkeeper for the next 20 years,” Kheri told Origi in the dressing room after that Ghana game.

“That was who Kheri was and those are the kind of things he could say. For a player, hearing that from the head coach of the national team means a lot. It makes you feel like you can jump out of the window, you feel like you’re unstoppable,” says Origi, now based in Finland at top tier side HIFK.

Indeed, Kheri’s “prophesy” came to pass as Origi turned professional in 2007 when he joined Norwegian side FK Moss and thereafter emerged as Kenya’s first choice custodian for almost a decade delivering some memorable performances in goal both for club and country.

But 15 years and 36 caps since his debut at Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani, Origi is still chasing his boyhood dream.

WORLD CUP DREAM

The Origis — Austin, Mike and Divock — have achieved considerable success at national team level. His cousin Divock stands out having played at the 2014 World Cup with Belgium at only 19 years.

Belgium's midfielder Marouane Fellaini (right) celebrates with Belgium's forward Divock Origi after scoring his team's first goal during their Group H match against Algeria at the Mineirao Stadium in Belo Horizonte during the 2014 Fifa World Cup on June 17, 2014. Belgium won 2-1. PHOTO | GABRIEL BOUYS | AFP

“My dad, my uncle and Divock have been blessed, they have done great things with their respective national teams. Whenever I play for the national team, I do it for my own personal ambitions not because of what my dad or uncle did.

“It’s the dream of every Kenyan boy to play for the national team and it’s not different for me. My dream has always been to represent the country at a major competition. That’s my biggest motivation whenever I represent the national team,” says Origi, who was named the best goalkeeper in Norway’s top league, the Eliteserien, in 2015 while at Lillestrom.

It was put to him that his achievements at club level, the highlight being winning the Norwegian FA Cup in 2017 with Lillestrom at Ullevaal Stadium the same venue where he won the Norway Cup with MYSA in 1995, outweighed those of the national team.

Lillestrom's Kenyan goalkeeper Arnold Origi in action during the Norwegian FA Cup final against Sarpsborg at Ullevaal Stadium in Oslo, Norway on December 3, 2017. Lillestrom won 3-2. PHOTO | COURTESY

To put it into perspective, Origi has missed out on eight Africa Cup of Nations and four World Cup tournaments since he made his debut for Kenya.

However, he insists he still has time to balance the scales.

“I cannot let it be a catalyst for regret. If anything I’m so proud of my achievements at club level. I started watching the national team play when I was a kid so every time I play for the national team I go there as a supporter first then as a player. So every time we lose, the supporter in me really suffers. I was really disappointed by every loss and every unsuccessful qualifying campaign.

“Of course I want to achieve more with the national team and there is still time for that because I’m still actively playing and not planning to stop any time soon. The opportunities will still arise to do something great with the national team,” says Origi.

It's now four years since he donned the national team jersey, his last game being the 1-0 loss to Guinea Bissau at Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi on March 27, 2016.

Occasionally, he has been on and off Harambee Stars due to injuries but his latest absence was caused by his “third birthday”.

On August 23, 2017, Football Kenya Federation (FKF) announced that Origi had acquired Norwegian citizenship which meant he had to surrender his Kenyan passport.

Origi was eligible for citizenship having lived in Norway since 2007 when he joined FK Moss. Since taking up Norwegian citizenship, Origi was overlooked by Harambee Stars coach Stanley Okumbi as well as his successors Paul Put and Sebastien Migne who guided Kenya to last year’s Afcon in Cairo, Egypt.

“Sometimes in life you have to make a decision and I think it cost him that opportunity (to play at Afcon) because of the paperwork that was involved in changing his citizenship. If he was there he would be a keeper people would be talking about because the keepers that were there were keepers of his calibre,” opines current Harambee Stars coach Francis Kimanzi, who was Migne’s assistant at Afcon.

Lillestrom's Kenyan goalkeeper Arnold Origi celebrates winning the Norwegian FA Cup after beating Sarpsborg 3-2 in the final at Ullevaal Stadium in Oslo, Norway on December 3, 2017. PHOTO | COURTESY

It’s under Kimanzi that Origi had his “most successful” period with Kenya helping the Stars achieve their highest ever Fifa world ranking at position 68 in 2008. But the custodian singles out Adel Amrouche as his favourite coach at the national team even though he still holds Kheri and Kimanzi in high regard.

“I have to single out Amrouche, he was a really good coach. He was a popular guy among the group and everybody was comfortable working under him.

“He was a people’s coach who always had the players’ interests at heart. Off the pitch he was like one of us and this made it easier to play for him. We knew we could really joke with him but when it was time to be serious we could really get down to work. It’s a pity that he didn’t continue with the national team because I think we could have done great things and could have taken us somewhere,” said the Eastleigh High School alumnus.

“Kheri was a very good man manager. I enjoyed working under him, he gave me confidence. He was the kind of coach when he talked to you, you felt like you could go and give an arm for him on the pitch,” added Origi.

“We really had a good time (with Kimanzi) until I got injured. He is a good tactician and every time you step into the pitch you knew what was expected of you. Your role was clearly defined and I think it makes it easier for a player if you step on the pitch knowing what the team or coach expects of you in every situation. He was detail-oriented and left nothing to chance. We couldn’t leave the pitch until he was convinced we had understood what he wanted from us and it bore results.

“I have never trained as hard in the national team as I trained under him and that just speaks of the kind of guy Kimanzi is. He was let down by the federation, I think with better organisation from the federation at that time we could have really done something special,” opened up Origi, who singles out defender Brian Mandela as his best friend in the national team.

Kimanzi’s penchant for details and Origi’s strong work ethic makes them a perfect match. The Uefa ‘A’ holder also waxed lyrical of his former number one both at Mathare United and Harambee Stars.

“He has the resilience that is needed and when you have a young guy who pushes himself to the last minute and stretches his limits then you can achieve something. He also loves to win matches and this is something very positive about him and every coach would be willing to work with such a player,” Kimanzi said.

Clearly, there is no love lost between the pair and it’s now only a matter of time before Origi returns to Harambee Stars.

“At the moment we (technical bench) have agreed to shelve every decision about selection. We can’t talk about the future of football until we fight this (coronavirus) pandemic,” said Kimanzi, careful not to let the cat out of the bag.

In this period of growing uncertainty, one thing is for sure post Covid-19 crisis: Kenya can still qualify for next year’s Afcon with four qualifying matches left to play.

If Kheri’s prophesy is anything to go by, Origi still has five years left in the national team. However, Origi — a believer in hard work — was philosophical about whether he will have a role to play in the remaining qualifiers.

“I don’t think I have ever been called to the national team because I am Arnold Origi. It has always been based on my performance and being the best goalkeeper in the country in those moments that I’ve been called.

“The Finnish league is good and competitive, the Scandinavian culture is the same which has really helped me to settle but I have to work hard at my club to get the call up,” he said.

Kenyan goalkeeper Arnold Origi in action for Finnish top tier side HIFK. PHOTO | COURTESY

When normalcy returns and the Afcon qualifiers resume, Origi will have probably turned 37 and he can’t wait to don the Kenya no. 1 jersey again. “I have dual citizenship and I’m eligible. It’s always a dream to play for my country. If the coach thinks I’m good enough I will honour the call-up,” he asserted.

What a special feeling if his 37th cap coincides with his 37th birthday. It’s never too late to chase a dream.