The former Harambee Star joined the Lansdowne club and went on to earn an near legendary status, especially at the beginning of the millennium
Kenya’s long-serving captain Musa Otieno has revealed why he turned down moves to Premier Soccer League (PSL) giants Mamelodi Sundowns, Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates.
Otieno said his love for Santos FC was so big that it ended up denying him a chance to play for South Africa‘s ‘Big Three’ clubs.
The former Tusker centre-back joined the South African club in 1997 and won the PSL title in the 2001/02 season.
“I believe we all have our own destiny,” Otieno told The Standard.
“I don’t regret not playing in Europe because I enjoyed my time in South Africa and that’s why I recommended both [Brian] Mandela and [Joseph] Okumu to PSL clubs.
“Of course, my dream was to play in Europe but I found an opportunity in South Africa and that’s where my destiny was.
“I became too loyal to Santos to the extent that I turned down offers from big teams like Mamelodi Sundowns, Orlando Pirates, Kaizer Chiefs and SuperSport United.
“I wish I had left, but I think I just loved Cape Town and felt it wasn’t the right step.”
He later left Santos on loan to Cleveland City Stars in 2008 before returning to the Lansdowne club and retired in 2011.
Otieno also spoke about training with Gor Mahia in the early 1990s before he joined their Mashemeji rivals AFC Leopards.
“I trained with Gor Mahia for a while in 1992 when I was still in form two before AFC Leopards snatched me,” Otieno revealed.
“I went on to make the headlines after scoring against Kenya Breweries in a league match. I can’t forget that year because it opened doors for me, but then the challenges were that being a Luo, I wasn’t supposed to play for ‘Luhyas’ [AFC Leopards].
“That was quite a difficult moment for me but I remained focused and won the league with AFC before moving to Tusker.
“As far as I’m concerned, Tusker were one of the best locally assembled teams during that period and getting a starting position ahead of players like Sammy Omollo, Vincent Kwarula and Sammy Sholei wasn’t easy.
“That’s why I think there is a big difference between the current Tusker team and our squad.”
The 2004 African Cup of Nations participant also explained what Kenya can do to be regular competitors in the continental tournament.
“We need to do a lot of homework; it took us 14 years to go to the Afcon finals in Tunisia then 15 years to Egypt,” he concluded.
“I honestly believe we have a lot of talent around. But for us to achieve this, we must have strong leagues and structures. We must constantly participate in all the big tournaments, be it for women or men.
“The more players we have abroad, the better for our football because one day, we will need them. I’m happy with what is happening with the Harambee Starlets.
“That experience from different leagues will be valuable to our national teams soon.”
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