CECAFA 2019: Odhiambo Finally Fulfilled His Dream

At the age of 35 years and five months, Kenyan custodian Samwel Odhiambo made his debut for the Harambee Stars to fulfill his dream of playing for the national team.

The experienced goalkeeper who plays for Kenyan Premier League side Western Stima played his first game for Harambee Stars in the CECAFA Senior Challenge Cup opening match against Tanzania, Kenya went on to win 1-0.

“I am very happy and what I feel in my heart cannot be explained in words. I have always desired for this moment all my career. I have always come close with call ups but it has never happened. This is my third time coming for CECAFA and I have never played a single game. Now I have, it feels surreal,” Odhiambo said.

He was a late inclusion to the team having after being called up to replace youngster Brian Bwire who picked up a hip injury in training three days before the team travelled to Kampala.

“I was very pleased when the coach told me I would start. I didn’t panic. In fact, I was overjoyed and I looked forward to the game. I topped it up with a clean sheet and we won; that was the best thing for me. My teammates really encouraged me and it game me more confidence,” he noted.

His last call up to the senior national team was way back in 2009 under coach Antoine Hey, he was part of the 2009 and 2010 CECAFA Senior Challenge Cups, but didn’t get any minute of football.

“I knew one day the chance will come. I never gave up and I kept working hard. I just wanted to play at least one game before I hang my gloves and now I have two already,” he noted.

“I don’t want this to be the end. I will keep on working hard and my foremost target is doing well with this CECAFA and helping Kenya to win. If I do well here, I know I will still have my chance with the senior team during next year’s African Cup of Nations qualifiers and I will go there again to fight for a place,” he stated.

He started his career with Tusker FC and went on to win the 2011 and 2012 league titles with them before moving a division lower to Ushuru FC. He then made another move to upcountry side Chemelil Sugar before eventually crossing over to Western Stima in 2016 where he has been to date.

He is a goal scoring custodian, in the 2018/2019 Kenyan Premier League campaign, he scored six goals for Stima while so far after 11 matches played, he has scored four, all from spot kicks.