Gor Mahia’s high-flying midfielder Austin Odhiambo is hopeful of making the Harambee Stars squad again in future after ironing out his differences with the national team coach Engin Firat. The coach had snubbed the on-form player when he named his squad last month for the Four Nations Tournament held in Malawi.
The omission of Austin raised quite a storm among football fans and other stakeholders in the country because he has been in excellent form this season for his club Gor Mahia in the FKF Premier League.
Fans demanded an explanation as to why, arguably, the best player in the league this season could not make the cut for the national team.
When the question was finally put directly to the national team coach at a press conference, he said he had omitted Austin from the squad for disciplinary reasons, and nothing to do with his footballing abilities.
Firat sensationally claimed that Austin feigned sickness and left the national team camp after failing to travel for a friendly in Qatar due to visa issues. When the team came back Austin was not in camp with other players left behind as the coach expected.
“The next day at 2 p.m., our team manager gets a message from Austin, and he says he has malaria and has started recovering. I wondered if he could recover from malaria in two days; it is not easy,” said the coach.
“A few hours later, Gor Mahia played against Mathare; who played, and who scored the goal?” Firat added that everyone in the federation knew this and wondered why he was being attacked online.
Nevertheless, all that seems to be water under the bridge now, at least according to the player himself. Speaking to reporters at Machakos Stadium this week, Austin claimed that the issue had been resolved and he was now focusing on working hard so that he can get a call up back to the national team again.
“About the issue, I think it has been resolved now. My aim is to work hard and get to represent my country one day. That is the dream of every player.” said the midfielder.
Austin also appealed to Gor Mahia fans to rally behind the team at this crucial time as they seek to win the league title.
“What I can tell the fans is that we are appealing to them to turn up, we really need them. Let us be united. Problems and challenges are everywhere, so my appeal to the fans who love this club is that we remain united, no matter the result. We will push because we want to win this trophy and we can win achieve that if we are united.”
Gor Mahia top the FKF PL standings with 50 points, 7 ahead of Tusker FC and Bandari FC in second and third place. There are 10 matches remaining, including the Mashemeji derby against AFC Leopards coming up on 20th April.