Do Oliech and Mariga still have something to offer Harambee Stars?

With only weeks remaining before Kenya faces Zambia in the second match of the 2017 Afcon qualifiers, news that Dennis Oliech and Macdonald Mariga have been recalled to the national team must be music to the pair’s admirers but, at the same time, might have sounded like alarm bells to critics.

Dennis Oliech, is without a doubt, one of the greatest strikers that Kenya has ever produced. In deed, he blossomed at the same as England’s Wayne Rooney and Portugal’s Christano Ronaldo, and was at one time ranked amongst the top most young footballers with greatest promise.

Although he did not go on to dominate global football columns like Christiano and Rooney, Kenyans can confidently state that Oliech has been very important to the country’s national team for the past ten or so years.

It was due to his striking exploits that we made it to our last Afcon tournament in Tunisia in 2004, and he has filled us with joy on numerous occasions as we witnessed defenders cowering in the wake of his devastating runs towards opponents’ goal areas.

As for Mariga, well, what more could we have asked? In his prime, his contributions in midfield helped determine the difference between Kenya winning or losing matches. I remember especially his stand out performance when Kenya beat Zimbabwe 2-0 in a 2010 World Cup/Afcon qualifier.

That win put Kenya top of a group that also had Guinea and Namibia and, in deed, Harambee Stars eventually made it to the final qualifying round that was won by Nigeria after a big scare for the Super Eagles in Nairobi spearheaded by none other than Dennis Oliech. Were it not for some suspect refereeing, Kenya would have earned their first win against Nigeria on that evening.

Clearly, there are many good things that can be said about Mariga and Oliech as regards Kenyan football. But it has been quite a while now and huge question marks must be allowed as to whether these two great footballers should be fielded again in the national team.

After reaching the peak of his footballing career by winning the UEFA Champions League with Inter Milan under current Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho, Mariga’s career took a downward trend worsened by injuries and, to be honest, he has never recaptured his defence splitting form ever since.

Oliech also thrived in France with Auxerre before he started a downward spiral mirrored by his club, got relegated with them and tried in vain to rebuild his career at Ajaccio. As I am writing this piece, I do not know which club Oliech currently plays for.

It is my hope, as it is for all lovers of Harambee Stars, that Coach Bobby Williamson has done some thorough due diligence on these great gentlemen and found them worthy to wear Kenyan national team colours again.

If there is still a trick or two that they can teach the likes of Michael Olunga, Jesse Were and Victor Wanyama, then let them be given a chance in the team to face Zambia in Nairobi.