•Ochieng plied his trade with the brewers for three good years and joined Western Stima when his contract ran out
•His talent began to surface on the pitch and it wasn’t long before he won the admiration and trust of his teachers who would frequently give him a berth in the school team’s starting lineup.
Image: COURTESY
Sydney Ochieng’ could be in Europe today, playing in one of the top-flight leagues had his aunt not met her sudden death in 2017.
Ochieng’s’ aunt, Caren Atieno, was residing in Germany by then and had promised his nephew that she would do everything possible to create opportunities for him abroad before she met her death.
And although her departure left Ochieng devastated, the enterprising midfielder, who usually wows spectators with his exceptional dribbling skills and rasping shots, still believes in his dream, playing in the German Bundesliga.
Ochieng was born on December 31, 1997, in Nubian, Bamburi on the Kenyan coast. He is the firstborn in a family of two boys and a girl. His younger brother, Austin Otieno, plies trade with Western Stima in the Kenyan Premier League.
The midfielder, who currently turns out for reigning champions Gor Mahia, spent his formative years in Kisumu, where he lived with his family after they shifted base from Bamburi. He attended Lake Primary School and began developing a keen interest in football at the tender age of eight while still in Class Two.
When he was 10, he joined Kaloleni United, an academy side. It is during this period that he honed his basic skills under the watchful eyes of coaches Jaza and Isaiah Opiyo.
Meanwhile, his talent began to surface on the pitch and it wasn’t long before he won the admiration and trust of his teachers, who would frequently give him a berth in the school team.
Image: COURTESY
“I was among the players picked to form the select teams, right from the zonals up to the national level. I remember being recruited into the district-select team when I was still in Class Five. I went up to the nationals when I was in Class Six, Seven and Eight,” Ochieng' reminisces.
After sitting for his Kenya Certificate of Primary Education examinations, he proceeded to Kisumu Boys for his high school education but managed to stay there for just two years.
“I left Kisumu Boys to join Kisumu Day in Form Three. This was after Dan Otieno, the teacher who scouted me got a transfer to Kisumu Day and asked me to tag along,” says Ochieng'.
The transfer proved to be a hitch of sorts in his pursuit of a career in football given the Kenya Secondary School Sports Association rules dictated that he had to be at his Kisumu Day for at least three months before he could be allowed to feature for them.
However, he later got an opportunity to play for Kisumu Day and was part of the squad that secured a berth to represent the country at the 2014 East African School Games in Tanzania.
They finished second in the KSSSA finals after losing to hosts Kakamega High School in extra time after the teams had played out to a barren draw in regulation time.
The following year, they found the going a little bit tough and stumbled out at the national semi-finals at Kenyatta Stadium in Machakos where they lost to Passenga, on post-match penalties.
On completing school, he joined Manyatta United, a team run by Manyatta Resource Centre. He then linked up with Kisumu Youth Olympic Centre.
“I turned out for Kisumu Youth in the district and provincial leagues for a full season,” says Ochieng'.
He joined National Super League side Palos and was there again for a season before a lifetime opportunity to pen a deal with top tier side, Tusker came knocking on his door.
Palos coach Francis Baraza had been approached for a coaching job at Tusker and when he embraced the idea, he decided to take Ochieng’ with him. Baraza was actually the one who signed Ochieng at Palos after he impressed him while playing in Kisumu.
“I signed up for Tusker in 2016 and landed a chance to travel with the squad to Mauritius for the Caf Confederations Cup in 2017,” says Ochieng’.
He plied his trade with the brewers for three years and before joining Western Stima when his contract ran out at Ruaraka.
“I was with Stima for only six months before I left for Gor Mahia,” he reveals.
Ochieng fondly relives his memories with the brewers as his best football moments.
“We managed to advance to the group stages of the CAF competition and, of course, winning the league title that year was quite a milestone,” he observes.
The midfielder, who draws a lot of inspiration from Brazilian wizard Kaka, dreams of donning the jerseys of teams participating in the German Bundesliga in the near future.
He appeals to budding footballers to nurture self-belief if they intend to make huge strides in the game.
“Discipline, patience, hard work and believing in yourself will always take you places,” says Ochieng'.
Image: COURTESY
He says he will always cherish the moment he netted the crucial goal for Gor Mahia during their CAF Champions League encounter against APR of Rwanda and helped them progress to the group stages.
Ochieng, however, would wish to quickly forget the humiliating 6-0 thrashing they received at the hands of Algerian representatives in the competition — CR Belouizdad leading to their ultimate elimination. Ochieng appreciates all those who held his hand.
“I will always appreciate my late aunt. Although she passed away before she fulfilled her promise of taking me to Europe, she catapulted me to greater heights by setting the standards to play abroad,” he says.
“I also wish to thank my father, Simon Wahongo and mother Rose Akinyi, who both proved instrumental in my success as a footballer.”
“They would buy me the essential items for training and playing and give me bus fare.”
BIO
Name: Sydney Ochieng
Date of Birth: December 31, 1997
Position: Midfielder
EDUCATION
Lake Primary School
Kisumu Boys High School
Kisumu Day High School
CLUBS
Manyatta United (Academy)
Palos (District and provincial leagues)
Tusker (Kenyan Premier League)
Western Stima (Kenyan Premier League)
Gor Mahia (FKF Premier League)