Ze Maria recalls his time in Kenya

Former Gor Mahia coach and Brazil legend, Ze Maria, who coached Kogallo in 2016, spoke the the UK newspaper, the Guardian about his time in Kenya

Kenya was a jarring contrast. “I arrived in Nairobi and, when I got off the plane, I almost caught fire. The sun burns on your skin. I walked down the road and there were zebras on the other side. I was having lunch next to Lake Victoria and a guy came over and said: ‘Careful if you see any waves here, because it might be a hippopotamus.’ People wondered what I was doing there. ‘Zé Maria who played for Brazil and Inter?’ They wanted to touch me. People wanted to hear my stories. It was the biggest club in Kenya, so every game was like managing Flamengo or Corinthians in Brazil. The stadium was packed.

Ze Maria almost led Kogalo to a league title. But they were denied after a match against Tusker was awarded to Tusker due to misbehaviour from one fan. This led to a 6 point turnaround with Kogalo losing 3 points and Tusker gaining 3 points thus giving them the title.