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By Timothy Olobulu
"Balotieno" training with team mates at the City Stadium
He says that his role model is Didier Drogba and wonders where the name Balotelli, later Balotieno came from; but all the same he says he does not mind the name given to him by the Gor fans. He also adds that he is not as rude as the Manchester City striker and says that people should not mistake him for that.
Though many think he is just another rural boy whose striking prowess was seen by K’ogalo during their pre-season tour, the budding striker has a rich CV that has seen him attend successful trials in Italy.
Otieno started playing soccer for Kisumu youth Olympic before moving to Kakamega high school. After that, current Harambee Stars assistant coach Yussuf Chippo noticed his prowess and took him to Bandari where he played for half a season before they were relegated. He had several Harambee Stars call ups but his lack of a passport reduced his chances of prominently featuring for the national team.
After Bandari, he moved to City Stars where he had a short stint, then moved to Mathare before being finally picked at Malindi United academy. This was his stepping stone to European links.
“When I moved to Malindi United, I can say that is where my career took off because there I found a very good coach called Ricardo Bota who also happens to be my manager. He taught me so many things in football and he has also helped me attend trials in Italy”, says Balotieno.
“The first time I set foot outside this country was when we went for an under 19 tournament in Umbria Italy. We played against very big names in soccer and we only lost to Italy in the finals”, he adds.
After the Under 19 tournament, he came back to Kenya but went back to Italy where he stayed for four months for trials. He attended trials at AS Roma and Serie C side American Latina where he was successful and was picked.
“I was picked by Latina and they told me to wait so that they sort out the work permit issues but up to now, they have not gotten back to me, though I am hopeful. If I manage to get the permit, then my manager will talk to Gor and Latina so that they can get to a deal”
After the Italy trials is when he moved back to Kenya and decided to go back to his village in Kisumu as he waited for good tidings from Italy. It was during this wait that K’ogalo stumbled upon him.
“I decided to wait in Kisumu for the work permit but when still there, I decided to play for Kisumu combined. I played a match against Gor Mahia when they were on pre season tour and they picked me. I played in their final two tours”, says Otieno.
At the prospect of playing for Gor Mahia;
“Gor Mahia is a very big team, a community team with so much potential. I am very happy to be playing for this team and I am glad that at least I have found somewhere to settle”, he says.
Otieno on his way to scoring in Monday's training session
To the Gor Mahia fans, he promises to give the best;
“I want to work very hard and I promise Gor fans that I will do my best for them. I do not think the pressure from the fans who are always demanding for results will crumble me. I have the experience because I have played infront of big crowds in Europe and I think I can handle the pressure pretty well”
“I am very happy to be playing continental soccer because it is a bigger stage in football. With the kind of team that Gor Mahia has I know that we will go far” he concludes.
The predatory striker hit the back of the net twice during his first day of training with Gor Mahia.
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