Was Blackberry given a chance ?
Little over a year ago, former Gor Mahia striker George Odhiambo “Blackberry” left for Denmark to play for top tier side Randers FC. This occured after he had taken the Kenya premier league by storm, scoring some breathtaking goals that saw him earn a place in the national team as well as several accolades such as premier league player of the year. He looked set to take Denmark by storm.
Things however did not go according to plan. Blackberry soon found himself warming the bench endlessly. There was no explanation from the technical bench as to why he was not getting playing time. Even when Randers were demoted to the Danish second tier, he was still not getting to play. The explanation from the Danish side was that Blackberry was not adjusting to Danish football. It was inexplicable because he played well whenever given an opportunity to showcase his skills. In the 14 months he spent in Denmark, he made only two appearances.
The writing was on the wall when Randers went to Turkey for a pre-season trip to Turkey but Blackberry was not included. So he asked to be released for tryouts in Finland with club side Kups. Despite impressing, the Finnish side did not select him.
In the last few weeks, Blackberry seems to have lost his patience and had a run in with his coach. He cites the souring relationship between himself and the coach Michael Hemmingsen as the reason why he and Randers FC decided mutually to terminate the contract. It is likely that Blackberry was frustrated at his lack of playing time. Indeed he made his frustrations known to the Danish media. Perhaps not a good idea. But why the club never gave him a chance to prove his worth is not easy to understand. Who knows maybe they wanted to deliberately frustrate him until he had no choice but to leave.
Denmark has not been a happy hunting ground for Kenyan players. Emmanuel Ake played for several Danish clubs but recently saw his work permit terminated. Anthony Akumu recently had unsuccesful trials as did Pascal Ochieng 6 or 7 years ago. For that matter, few Kenyan players have found success at Europe’s top tier sides.
We hope that Blackberry will use this setback as motivation to work harder towards his ultimate goal. We also hope that he has learned a few lessons that he can apply in his next station.
Come back home Gor needs you.
Home is best.come back home BB
We need you wuod Luo.
Mr Coach, your perfect striking solution is here, do not think twice. You need to know people and BB is one person you must have heard about.I am looking at an unbeaten secong leg, sawa?
Guys let’s hope but not be sure that all our problems will be sorted out. One player cannot be the solution to all our problems. Will he manage the fans, the coach and the EC? Putting all that ‘weight’ on those young shoulders without sorting our internal mess is just deluding ourselves
my-take 1.BB. . the guy who was recruiting u surely knew ur potential but this was not the same feeling of the coach. i thnk the coach never liked u from day one. ur better off playing in gor … but nxt time mature up and go for a worthwhile club. ur even better off playing in s.africa. gor players should weigh themselves , find out ur REAL potential b4 u make a move. do not just turn pro coz of hunger for money. also take note that that a players playing life is really short. so BB, get back to gor RE-DEFINE and take another go. try to shine fast in africa b4 going out. can u really blame the the coach, maybe he simply had no KENYAN CV to rely on. kenyan players pls understand that even the west african players look down on u when u go out as PRO’s. b4 gor went out for mandela, the record in east and central was well known. since ’79 gor and afc had exchanged the cup severally. in short conquer the region first.kenya is beaten in preliminary matches in e.and central cup, how would a coach in europe really take u seriously. remember during fabisch, nigerians said that even if kenya trained in germany for one yr, they wiould be beaten. acts of desperation of playing for div 4 clubs in europe only cement these notions.
PASTED DOWN HERE IS DAVID ALABAS PROFILE.YOU MUST HAVE NOTICED THE 19 YR OLD BAYERN FULLBACK WHO POCKETED DE MARIA IN YESTERDAYS CHAMPS LEAGUE SEMIS.
Alaba began his career with SV Aspern, his local club in Aspern, in the 22nd district, Donaustadt, before joining the youth setup of Austrian giants Austria Vienna at age 10. He rose through the ranks quickly, and in April 2008 he was named on the first-team substitutes’ bench for a Bundesliga match.[4] He also played five times for Austria Vienna’s reserve team,[5] before leaving in summer 2008 to join German Bundesliga side Bayern Munich.[6]
He started out in Bayern’s youth system, playing for the U-17 and U-19 teams, before being promoted to the reserve team for the 2009–10 season.[7] He made his debut in a 3. Liga match against Dynamo Dresden in August 2009[8] and scored his first professional goal for FC Bayern Munich II on 29 August 2009.[9] He was named in Bayern Munich’s squad for the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League,[10] where he was assigned the shirt number 27. In January 2010, it was announced that Alaba would train with the first team for the rest of the 2009–10 season.
The rest as you know is history.Here in kenya you have berry ,wanga and shikokoti as good examples of how we are ailing our youth.A player comes from the village to the KPL league then trials overseas and then comes back home after being found to be tactically wanting.Logarussic or whoever will not sort this sorry state of affairs.its up to individual clubs to get it right from the start by investing in youth teams.
Come back home and rebuild afresh. All is not lost and take heart since this has happened with a reason. You’ll shine very soon.
George Odhiambo aka BLACKBERRY dont give up! one Abedi Pele of GHANA tried HIS LUCK to play proffessional football more for than 8 times?in countries like INDIA,QUATAR,UAE,EGYPT,PORTUGAL,and eventually made it in FRANCE.DON’T LOOK FOR SETBACKS PUT YOUR EYES ON THE BALL. THE JOURNEY IS LONG KEEP WALKING
LOGARUSIC.KOOPS & KENYAN SOCCER
The way we run soccer in kenya is the main reason why we have become the continents whipping boys.what we have done is to push aside those experienced in the game-ex players and let politicians run the show.look at gormahia and afc leopards WHERE WILL THESE 2 TEAMS BE IN SAY 5 YEARS TIME? what we have are officials who are out to please fans instantly without laying any single foundation for continous success.in leopards case players are motivated due to the winning bonuses paid but the soccer displayed is pathetic and will not take them anywhere even regionally-cecafa.in gormahias case we have panicky officials who are fast to please myopic fans and are ready to hire anyone to cool down tempers.personally it is foolhardy to expect the coach to pull the team from the abyss that we have thrown ourselves into.i dont know where those tactically refined players he dreams of signing will come from and who will fit the bill.this man will one day do a gattuso on us and leave us high and dry.
WAY FORWARD.When Moitse Katumbi Chapwe the TP MAZEMBE president was asked if the club will ever reach the heights that it soared to after reaching the finals of the world club cup and most of its players were getting top dollar offers from abroad ,he answered that he is anot afraid of the future as he has a thriving and promising youth academy whose graduates will ably take over their departing seniors in future.
DO WE HAVE visionary leaders in our club???????
OMERA EUROPE IS NOT HEAVEN…THEY HAVE WASTED YOUR 14 MONTHS , I HOPE YOUR ARE STILL IN TOP FORM AND FITNESS. COME BACK TO KENYA AND TRAIN WITH GOR MAHIA FOR FREE…….HOPEFULLY WE WILL SIGN YOU IN JUNE IF FINANCIAL SITUATION ALLOWS….GOOD LUCK !!!!
Lets take back our boy. We could release the excess baggage of say 5 and savings made in salaries to sign up BB. We all make mistakes in life but depends on how quickly and willing to rectify. Lets all support him.
I think someone made mistake by offering black berry in the expenses of club getting some money but did not consider club status in Denmark
consult, consult & consult from the veterans.
who dealt BB transfer from GOR, he should be blacklisted and investigated by KACA (GACA – gor anti corruption agency)
what was the hurry for? he could have stayed one more season in kenya i beleive angekuwa mbali saa hii
we want our blackberry back. we had let the alcatel to go away. we already have digital.
With reports that Gor Mahia officials have preferred players and would never allow the technical bench to make professional decisions, I fear for BB as he may not be the officials’ choice. My advice to BB is success does not come on a silver platter. Remember how many times times Oliech oscillated between Al Arabi and Nairobi? Be patient, however, come back to Gor for keeping yourself match fit but I do not see a bright future for you at Gor given the officials’ mindset of yester-years. I have no idea what direction and destination Gor is aiming at. Somebody save Gor Mahia from the officials. Allow the coach to coach, or coach yourselves. Cbworr
duogi we want u our lost sheep
Etoo was also chased away by Real Madrid, Messi warmed the bench and was considered “stunted in growth” by Barcelona, Moses of the bible had been rejected in life all the time TILL WHEN HIS RIGHT TIME CAME! GOD’S TIME IS NOT YOUR TIME! WELCOME BACK TO GOR! YOUR ADVANCEMENT HAS JUST BEGAN!