Early last year Sofapaka had a half decent run in the Confederations Cup but still failed to make it to the money stage. This was despite Sofapaka having such a strong squad and one of the most qualified coaching teams around. Francis Kimanzi may not have physically been in Sofapaka yet, but he was pulling the strings already; from buying players in December 2010 to selecting the squad that beat Ismaily 4 – 0 here at home; a result that Ezekiel Akhwana still takes credit for.
The paragraph above is from Carol Radul's blog on www.supersport.com We must save our league , she talks about raising the standard of Kenya Premier League. I agree with her in almost everything she wrote except- the paragraph above.
It is good she noted that our best players are far away from football as they can get simply because Kenyan football does not pay. How do you expect clubs to pay players well when KPL gives clubs a paltry 8% of the total sponsorship from Supersport? No wonder our best players would rather go for careers in other fields, but that is for another day.
Carol Radul with all due respect tries to allude to the fact that Sofapaka had a half decent run in CAF Confederation Cup last season. I don't know what she means with a half decent run when the club was bundled out for allowing Club Africaine of Tunisia to score an away goal at Nyayo Stadium. Yes they failed to make it to the money bracket, does that amount to half a decent run?
Sofapaka had a strong squad compared to local clubs but regionally the squad was not the best. She also mentions that the coaches were most qualified. Sam Ssibwa left early before the tournament began, the burden was left on the inexperienced shoulders of Ezekiel Akhwana.
Yes, Kimanzi had a say in the purchase of players like Simeon Mulama, John Njoroge and may be Humphrey Mieno from KCB at the end of 2010 season. These players were not the best in Sofapaka, Sam Ssibwa had brought in Musa Mudde from Uganda earlier, a great talent on deed. Herritier Luvualu had come in from Congo and I doubt if Kimanzi knew him.
To claim that Kimanzi selected the squad that beat Ismaily 4-0 is an abuse to the person of Ezekiel Akhwana. If you ever talked to the Sofapaka players, you got players who had just been freed from the vice grip of Ssibwa and so Akhwana offered a breath of relief. They rallied behind him to prove Ssibwa (another 'special one') wrong.
Akhwana is a maverick, I doubt if he could accept to take Kimanzi's instructions when Kimanzi was reading theoretical football in Netherlands. The way Akhwana managed the team against Ismaily; the substitutions he made and how the team responded was the work of a man who utilized what he got well. I believe if he could get half the exposure Kimanzi has got, you will be writing a different story about him.
Ezekiel Akhwana deserves the credit for leading the team to victory over Ismaily. Even when Kimanzi claimed sabotage and he got Akhwana out, what did he do with Sofapaka? Francis Kimanzi is a good coach, but please give Akhwana the devil's dues. Your comment above is an abuse to a man I believe still has a lot to offer the local game.
The problem with KPL is so complex, almost a spaghetti like situation. You have to pick out each at a time, but with a good team with a common agenda, it is possible to sort out the mess. We need to look into building the capacity of our coaches to handle teams in major competitions. They will in turn prepare our players to match the challenges of playing at higher levels.
My two cents....
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