His name has been chanted by football fans in Kenya for years and till now, his name still inspires warm feelings in the hearts of Kenyan fans.
He is Harambee Stars Legend, Musa otieno.
Musa made his debut to the national team, Harambee Stars, in 1993 at the age of 19 and retired from his professional football career in 2010, at the age of 36.
Musa is now a coaching trainee pursuing the elite CAF B license, the second-highest qualification available in Africa.
“The best part of being a coach is using the knowledge acquired to impact the football community.”
His coaching journey began right before his retirement in South Africa.
“My transition to coaching was smooth, as my club Santos FC, had a program that introduced its senior players to coaching classes. Through this, I became the assistant coach for Santos FC after I retired from professional football. This gave me a stepping stone towards my coaching career,” said Coach Otieno.
“I would like to urge other clubs to emulate this example for its senior players to help them as they transit to the next level in their football careers,” he continued.
He also debunked the notion that as long as one is a football player they are automatically qualified coaches.
“There is a misplaced notion that once you are a football player one can automatically be a qualified coach without attending the classes. Once you sit in class, you realize there are other dimensions of football that you are unaware of and need to learn to be a qualified coach,” he opined.
Musa is not the only legend in the class, former Harambee Stars teammates Fred Ambani and Hilary Echesa are also in the class.
“Studying with my fellow players from back in the day, sparks a feeling of joy within me. It shows we want to learn and contribute towards the growth and change of Kenyan football.”
He continued to say, “To other former players who have not ventured into coaching, I would like to urge them to come and attend the classes. It is not an easy task but when they take the first step and open their minds to learning, it will be a smooth process and they can help us achieve our long-term vision of elevating Kenyan football.”
He closed off by thanking the Federation for creating such coaching opportunities that will help grow Kenyan football.
“The Federation has done a remarkable job in improving the world of coaching, by offering coaching courses right from the grassroot level, which is the foundation of football. This will see grassroot players being nurtured in the right way to bring up quality players and in the long run, the level of play will remarkably change in a positive way.”
Students of the CAF B coaching class are currently in the second module of the course and have been attached to various clubs to help them in the practical part of the course.