Abdalla flying Harambee Stars and Bandari’s flag high in Cecafa
What you need to know:
- Apart from netting a goal in each of the first two games, the speed demon who operates on the left side of pitch has been Harambee Stars mainstay in the attack
- Kimanzi may not be open to admit publicly, he must be regretting why such a talent was not part of Kenya’s team at 2019 Africa Cup of Nations where he was an assistant coach
- It is satisfying to note that the current Harambee Stars technical bench is not relying on names or history to call up players for national duty but current form
Back when when the national football team Harambee Stars used to dominate regional football, a sizeable number of players were drawn from the Coast region.
Mohammed Magogo and Mohammed Abbas still remain Kenya’s best shot-stoppers while Abbas Khamis Magongo still remains one of Kenya’s most gifted all-time midfield generals.
Most successful Kenya Premier League teams, among them Gor Mahia which has remained great to date, AFC Leopards, Luo Union and Kenya Breweries ensured they shopped for shot-stoppers and midfielders mostly from this region and that has not changed much.
The performance of Bandari’s attacking midfielder Hassan Abdallah at the Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup in Uganda with Harambee Stars so far has made me believe that there are several other talented players at not only Bandari but Kenya at large who can perform wonders if given a chance.
Apart from netting a goal in each of the first two games, the speed demon who operates on the left side of pitch has been Harambee Stars mainstay in the attack, dishing out several assists in front and often falling deep to help congest the defence making it very difficult for the opponents to penetrate.
The 23-year-old has made a statement at the Senior Challenge cup, and though the Harambee Stars head coach Francis Kimanzi may not be open to admit publicly, he must be regretting why such a talent was not part of Kenya’s team at 2019 Africa Cup of Nations where he was an assistant coach.
At Bandari, we still believe we deserve more players in that Harambee Stars team if our display at the Caf Confederations Cup tournament where we were eliminated in the play-offs is anything to go by.
Wilberforce Lugogo has been operating very well in the midfield, Darius Msagha remains our best right attacker while Brian Otieno has established himself as our best sweeper making me feel that they could be of great help to the national team if given a chance.
It is satisfying to note that the current Harambee Stars technical bench is not relying on names or history to call up players for national duty but current form something that if maintained will help discover more talents in the grassroots.
With a majority of the premier league teams dominated by foreigners, an average of five per team, I think that the coaches should shop around for talented stars from the National Super League which has now become very competitive.
Meanwhile, it is also important to note that Bandari is back and will soon be challenging for a top three finish if their current depth coupled by a good rotation from the technical bench is anything to go by.
I was happy to see captain Felly Mulumba back in the teams central defence replacing Sosthenes Idah who took a deserved break after four weeks of action. David Kingatua and Collins Agade are some of the star players who have been warming the bench but were back in the starting line-up same as Hamisi Mwinyi who came in a substitute, a rotation that I think the coach should maintain to ensure our players remain fresh throughout the league.
