GACHURI'S PUNCHLINE: Harambee stars oh Harambee stars, where are you?

With the lions of Teranga from Senegal and Pharaohs of Egypt stretching it all the way to extra time and a penalty shoot-out after the barren draw.

Congratulations to Senegal for clinching the coveted regional soccer honours.

Kenyan fans were part of the celebrations for lions of Teranga. Yours truly included. But wait a minute… our beloved Harambee Stars was missing out yet again, from the continental tournament.

Harambee Stars finished third in group G Africa cup of nations qualifiers. That group also had Egypt, Comoros and Togo.

By the way, during the qualifiers matches, Kenya drew home and away against tournament runners up Egypt, drew against Comoros at home and lost away, beat Togo in Nairobi but drew in Lome. And that’s how our national team missed the ticket to Cameroon, with Egypt and Comoros proceeding to the regional contest.

Kenya has made an appearance at the continental tournament twice in the past two decades, while Senegal has featured 12 times in the same period. Day and night kind of a comparison? Maybe.

From the Senegal success story in Cameroon, and to some extent the excellent display by Comoros, the Kenyan football management team has huge lessons to learn. Key among them, success is a process, not an event.

There is no shortcut to success. It takes hard work, discipline, consistency, dedication, meticulous planning, teamwork and order.

For eight years, the lions of Teranga have been entrusted in the hands of

Aliou Cisse. From a national team captain to the national team manager, Cisse’s success story is truly edifying. It was the fifth time for Cisse at the Africa Cup of Nations; twice as a player in the 2000 and 2002 tournaments, and thrice as a coach.

The 46-year old dreadlocked manager was in charge in 2019, when Senegal lost to Algeria. He has led the lions of Teranga to win 46 matches, 16 draws and 9 losses. 

You’d wonder why I am telling you all these stories about Aliou Cisse. Well, he is to Senegal what Musa Otieno should be for Harambee Stars. But would ‘Otero’, as Musa Otieno is popularly known, get an opportunity or even be trusted with managing the national team, like Cisse has? Would he be allowed to grow the national team like Cisse has?

By the way, do you know who is the current harambee stars head coach? See! I see you are struggling to remember who he is. That is how low our national soccer standards are! For a country that had its heydays during the times of Mohamed Kheri, Reinhard Fabisch and James Siang’a, we are not in the best of times. Truth be told.

Cisse took charge of Senegal in March 2015, and has led the team in 71 matches.  For the period he has managed the lions of Teranga, our Harambee Stars coaching job has been a revolving door. Eight different coaches, yes 8, have been in charge for periods not lasting two years.

Three local coaches; Stanley Okumbi twice, Francis Kimanzi and Jacob Ghost Mulee. There are also three foreign coaches; Bobby Williamson, Paul Put, Sebastian Migne, and Turkish national Engin Firat, who is currently in charge.

Unfortunately, the untold story is that there’s a close link between our national politics and soccer management. There is a casual way in which national soccer matters are treated, yet it is a sport that can transform so many lives of our young, talented and ambitious players.

By the way, the Senegalese team comprises young professionals plying their trade abroad. They didn’t just land there. They were recruited by recognised academies. Haven’t we heard stories of how such young talents in Kenya have been used as pawns in a grand chess game of brokers and agents, some in top management of football federation in this country?

Ladies and gentlemen, there will be no shortcut if we want to return Kenya to its footballing glory days. It will take more than disbanding the football federation, hounding Mwendwa and his surrogates out of office, constituting a caretaker committee, or such zero-sum games.

It will take deliberate planning. Structures. Order. Discipline. Consistency. Investment. Talent scouting and development. And Senegal offers the perfect template. It is not too late to do the right thing. Let’s do it!