Gor Mahia can regain their stature as one of Africa’s best

By the time you are reading this you will already know the results of Sunday’s “Masehemeji” derby pitting Gor Mahia against our perennial opponents, AFC Leopards.

As I argued in this newspaper on Sunday, the derby has long lost its lustre and now the two teams take to the field just as a mere formality.

Long gone are the days when weeks leading to the derby would be a season of war with supporters of the two sides itching for the day of the kick-off to watch and cheer their hearts out as the battle was engaged.

Which is a pity, really. Recent high octane matches on the continent featured Al Ahly against their bitter rivals Zamalek.

The Kenyan link to this match played in Abu Dhabi was my friend, the top cameraman Ustadh Okello Kimathi. In his Facebook post, Okello confirms that this derby is not only followed in Egypt but across the Arab world and is one of the fiercest in the world.

The other was the Soweto derby featuring Orlando Pirates against Kaizer Chiefs. The other Kenyan link here was that former Gor Mahia player Teddy Akumu is now a dependable member of the Kaizer Chiefs.

Which brings me to my argument of today. Some two and three decades ago Gor Mahia was in the league of Zamalek and company.

I still remember the aborted clash between the two titans in 1984 when Zamalek used subterfuge and all that is crass to unfairly lock us out of the African Club Championship competition.

That Zamalek had to engage in underhand deals to have K’Ogalo locked out of the prestigious competition speaks volumes of the pedigree of the club and players we had then. I know many of our detractors have never tired of reminding me that I revel in history.

My advice to this cadre is that clubs are made from their history. That is why when you read pre-match analysis of the more advanced European leagues, the journalists there give us the respective clubs’ history going back to the turn of the last century.

As Zamalek’s fortunes have risen over the years, the same cannot be said of Gor Mahia and many outside our borders would be hard pressed to know about us.

Same dwindling fortunes have conspired to deny us the chance to hold on to our good players who I believe are some of the best on the continent if not the world.

Akumu’s move to Chiefs is a confirmation of our players’ prowess.

As I have argued in the past, it is up to those we have entrusted with our club’s leadership to think out of the box and provide us with a road map to the top of the continent’s football where we rightfully belong. Can we do it? Yes we can!