In life, there is always that big break that comes your way and changes your life forever.
For St.George’s and Harambee Stars goalkeeper Patrick Matasi it was helping the national team qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations finals in Egypt last year.
The qualification ushered in a big payday which enabled the former AFC Leopards, Posta Rangers and Tusker keeper finish construction works on his house in Kakamega town.
Every-time Matasi travels to Kakamega, he does not have to worry where he will spend the night. More importantly, his wife and child put up in the three-bedroom bungalow.
Besides that, Matasi explains that he also completed the construction of his mother’s house in the village.
“The preparations ahead of the qualification matches for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations finals were always top-notch right from our first match against Sierra Leone.
“That is why, even before our last match against Ghana away, we held discussions with Football Kenya Federation (FKF) in regards to how we would share the bonuses.”
“This helped us to focus and had nothing bothering us ahead of the training camp in France. For myself, I added the money to what I had received as sign on fee from my move to St.George’s and I completed my house in Kakamega,” he explained.
“My mother’s house was also incomplete too but I managed to finish it up, giving her somewhere decent to stay.”
The goalkeeper was one of the outstanding players in the tournament and he admits that it created interest in some of the biggest clubs on the continent including former African champions league winners T.P Mazembe.
Matasi saved a penalty from Sadio Mane during Kenya’s second match against Senegal although the East African side went on to 3-0.
“We did our best despite this being our first time at the tournament. Lack of experience was a big factor but now we have learnt and we believe it will be better next time. This was a good opportunity for us and it helped expose a lot of our players and with it several opportunities,” said Matasi.
Being in his second season in Ethiopia, Matasi says he has settled and is looking forward to doing even better.
“The first season was tough as I had to live in a camp where the food was predictable. I have now moved into my own house and it allows me to sample different dishes."
"On the pitch, I had a not so good first leg in the first season conceding 11 goals. The second leg was better with only two goals conceded. I was looking to do even better this season but it was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic,” he concluded.
