Can coach Firat change Harambee Stars fortunes?

The men's national football team, Harambee Stars, has embarked on a lofty mission to secure a World Cup berth for the first time since independence. 

Kenya has unsuccessfully vied for a chance to appear on the world's most prestigious football stage despite being a constant participant in the qualifiers.  

The East African nation participated in the qualification process for the first time in 1972 with sights firmly trained on the  1974 Fifa World Cup edition in Germany. 

 A turnover of several coaches has not steered the team to the dream tournament. However, the current head gaffer Engin Firat has vowed to turn around the nation's fortunes. 

Firat, 52, took over from Kenyan tactician Francis Kimanzi who resigned from the position in October 2020.

The Turkish tactician reckons he possesses the mojo to propel the country to the Africa Cup of Nations and, and a possible maiden World Cup appearance. 

The Stars are back on the international stage after being locked out in the cold for nearly a year due to a ban imposed by Fifa in February of last year.

Fifa suspended the country, citing third-party interference after the government expelled the Nick Mwendwa-led Football Kenya Federation administration over corruption allegations.

Firat, who presided over Kenya's 2-1 loss to Iran in an international friendly at the Azzadi Stadium in Tehran on March 28, said the fixture provided a good test for Kenya. 

“Iran is a World Cup nation and is ranked 24th in the world. Playing them in our first match back after suspension helped us assess where we are— which is the first step in rebuilding the team and working our way to a high level of competitiveness," Firat said. 

He believes the team will require more international friendlies to develop a winning strategy ahead of crunch international assignments.  “It is important to keep the team engaged, to keep working so that we can play at a good level when we return.”

Firat also oversaw Kenya's campaign during the four-team invitational tournament in the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius. 

Firat reckoned the 10-day tournament in Mauritius offered him a perfect platform to gauge the mettle of his recruits.

 "Our goal is to discover raw talent and guide them to their full potential. That's undoubtedly one of our projects," Firat said.

"Our intention at first was to try as much as we could to have some friendly matches in Kenya but none of the teams we approached were willing to come here," Firat said.

Firat has been busy compiling a stellar roster of players with the capacity to don the national colours in future assignments.

He has challenged the Football Kenya Federation to start organising friendly matches against European nations to bring the country to the desired competitive standards.

"Kenya hasn't faced formidable opponents in ten years of international friendlies. Friendly matches were scheduled against weak opposition that the nation could easily defeat because Harambee Stars have always been under pressure to produce results," Firat said.

"There is one drawback to playing weak teams because the players never learn how to handle the pressure against stronger teams in the qualifiers and it becomes very difficult to win games."

Firat promised to arrange a friendly matchup between Harambee Stars and a respectable European team in the coming year to give his charges the essential edge to succeed on the international stage.

"When I looked at Kenya's football history, I discovered that it has never faced off against a European team. We need to organise a friendly game with a team from Europe this year.

"Building a successful team, according to the tactician, will take time because he needs to first identify the ideal players with personalities that mesh well together before deciding on the best system to help them succeed.

"In actual sense, Kenya has only participated in the Africa Cup of Nations twice in the past 41 years. I was shocked to learn that Kenya failed to advance past the group stage on both occasions," he pointed out.

"Only Gor Mahia were successful at the club level in the 1980s. All of our national teams, including the women's and youth squads, haven't competed in the Olympics or World Cup."

Given the dubious history of the Harambee Stars, Firat questioned how anyone could speak so confidently about their chances of qualifying for the World Cup and the Afcon.

"Since my last visit, the situation in Kenyan football, particularly about infrastructure, has gotten progressively worse. Local clubs are struggling financially after the Fifa ban, and many of these issues are still not very fit because the league started late," Firat stated.

He has urged all parties involved to stop playing pointless blame games and start looking for solutions to Kenya's poor performance.

"Another significant issue in this nation is the widespread finger-pointing. For us to come up with workable solutions to our persistent problems, we must be willing to cooperate and face reality.

"Firat challenged his charges to prove their worth in the national team.

“It's time for them to show us what they can offer at the top-level stage. They need to show great character and the ability to cope with the pressure that comes with quality opposition," Firat said.

The outspoken gaffer pleaded with irate Kenyan football supporters to be patient with the Stars, pointing out that he needs more time to iron out the kinks that have been punching holes in Kenya's international efforts.

"There is still more work to be done. We require more time to advance," Firat stated.

"I've always said that these boys need time. They haven't played together in a while, and still managed to perform well against formidable opponents in the international friendlies we have participated in thus far."

Firat said he and his assistant coaches Ken Odhiambo and William Muluya have launched a nationwide effort to uncover and recruit new talent for the national squad.

"We'll continue to tour the country for players who can wear the national colours. The process is not limited to Kenyan Premier League players. I attempt to scout throughout all divisions of the country for young potential, including the second division."

Firat expects the team's performance to meet expectations due to the government's visible support.

"It's not only what we have as players. If you don't have any support, it is impossible to do anything. Everybody understands that if you want good results, you also need good conditions around you. You can't succeed in situations where you are unable to plan for the next day," Firat said.

"It's psychologically very important for us to feel the support coming from the government. It will solve a lot of problems we have in the organisation of the team," he added.

Firat said the government had intervened at an appropriate time they had no clue how they would chart the way forward.

He challenged the Football Kenya Federation to establish appropriate structures to tap into the wide pool of local talent to get the right personnel to steer the country to the desired heights.

"In Kenyan football, I don't know the potential and I believe no one else knows the potential of the country to produce good players. That's because there are no proper scouting procedures in the country.

"We must have a systematic way of identifying and nurturing talent.

"Firat will peg his hopes on his wealth of experience and impressive credentials to steer Harambee Stars to unprecedented heights. Born on June 11, 1970, in Istanbul, the Turkish football manager embarked on his football journey as a player at the tender age of 10.

German Super League side Samsunspor appointed him as Horst Hrubesch's deputy in 1997 when he was only 27 years old, making him the youngest professional football coach in Europe. Samsunspor wrapped up the season in fifth place.

When Hrubesch eventually left the club, Firat retained his role, deputising the new head gaffer Joseph Jaranbinsky, brought in from the Czech Republic.

In the next season, Jarabinsky and Firat bolted out of Samsunspor and switched allegiance to league rivals Antalyaspor. The dynamic duo's Midas touch gifted the side a sixth-place finish, the best they had ever ranked in history.

Between 2000 and 2002, Firat was incorporated into the technical bench of the Bundesliga side, Eintracht Frankfurt, and at some point served as the club's scout.

He would later join Turkish behemoths  Fenerbahçe S.K where he deputised German head coach Werner Lorant in 2002. Together, they secured a second-place finish in the league.

The coaching pair of Lorant and Firat struck an instant rapport and in January 2003, they both penned a deal with Bundesliga side, LR Ahlen. They took over the reins at a time when the club faced a relegation threat in position 17. They steered Ahlen to a fifth-place finish.

Lorant would later resign with three games left to end the season, paving the way for Firat as head coach. The turn of events made Firat the second Turkish head coach in the German Bundesliga history, after Mustafa Denizli.

The duo linked up again in 2004 when they joined the newly founded South Korean pro side Incheon United. In the following year, Lorant and Firat sealed contracts with the Turkish second-division side, Sivasspor.

Firat followed Lorant to the Iranian Pro League side, Saipa where he later landed the role of head coach after Lorant resigned. Saipa clinched the season after claiming an unassailable lead throughout the season.

In March 2008, Firat got an invitation from the newly appointed head coach of Iran's national football team, Ali Daei, who requested him to become his assistant.

The duo maintained a winning streak throughout their stay. It was not long, though, before Firat terminated his contract with the Iranian national team and accepted an offer to guide Asian Champions League finalist Sepahan as the new head coach.

First was earmarked as one of the frontrunners to guide African behemoths Nigeria to the 2010 Fifa World Cup, but he blatantly spurned the job.

He later rose to the rank of Sepahan head coach in the 2011–12 season after Luka Bonačić tendered his resignation.

Firat would later quit in October 2011 after presiding over the first twelve matches. Upon his resignation, he attracted offers from a host of clubs, including Galati (Romania), Rizespor, and Konyaspor (Turkey) which he turned down.

On May 11, 2013, Firat was appointed head coach at Saipa, where he identified and nurtured a new generation of young talented players who secured a historic home victory over  Persepolis.

They concluded the season in eighth place — their best in seven years. An Achilles tendon rupture he picked up while conducting a training session locked him out of the dugout and touchline for a while as he rejected lush offers from UAE Pro-League clubs to take a rest.

In November 2014, Firat landed a new role at Turkish giants Galatasaray as the assistant coach but refused to work with head coach Cesare Prandelli.

He later served as Vice President of the TÜFAD Europe (European Turkish Coaches Association) for two years from 2016 until 2018 when he was appointed Vllaznia Shkoder's sports director.

On 28 October 2019, Fırat took up a bigger challenge as the new head coach of the Moldova national team where he registered impressive performances, including a barren draw against Russia.