By Kenyatta Otieno

The saying of yore that if you live by the sword you die by the sword is true even to the beautiful game. Life is funny and has a way of making a fool out of someone. Every dog has its day and prudence calls us to make the best out of our day. Fate can conspire to throw a rope at us- the wise use it to climb while others may hang on it.

Sometime in 2009, Siang’a bowed out of Gor’s technical bench. One of his assistants Gideon ‘agido’ Ochieng’ came in and all was well. He had a rapport with the players and he managed to get the best out of the players Siang’a had assembled. Then he openly backed an official during club elections and the said official lost.
He was dismissed but the players and over passionate Gor fans insisted he be reinstated. The new office looked for a good way to send him packing and brought Zedekiah ‘Zico’ Otieno from Chemelil Sugar FC as a Technical Director. Zico began to issue instructions from the touchline, in direct disregard to bench protocol. He was well aware of what was being planned as ‘agido’ was soon out of his job at Gor.

Then things began to take a nose dive for Zico. It was either a draw or a 1-0 win. The fans became impatient; his appointment as Harambee Stars coach made matters worse. Fans began baying for his blood and he ended up being assaulted in Mombasa and at Nyayo Stadium after poor results.

Then another gaffer landed in town from Cameroun and was made the youth coach at Gor. He would sit on the technical bench with Zico sometimes. When things got thick for Zico that the club gave him a sabbatical, the ‘youth coach’ took charge.

It is a classical case of same script, different players same game. Zico was soon out of a job even with the national team. If you live by the sword, you will definitely die by the sword.