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Gor Mahia coach Oliveira leaves, Omollo targetted as replacement
The Brazilian tactician has already relocated to his native country after the Kenyan champions allowed him to go sort out his papers
Gor Mahia have confirmed coach Roberto Oliveira has been allowed to return home after having problems with his coaching qualification papers.
Goal can exclusively reveal the former Rayon Sports of Rwanda tactician left for his native Brazil early this week and will not come back.
K’Ogalo secretary general Sam Ochola has confirmed to Goal indeed the coach has already left for home and they are now in the market for a new coach to handle the team.
“The coach left early this week, right now we are still looking for a replacement because there is no use of having a coach who has no papers,” Ochola told Goal on Saturday.
“We have to save money for Gor Mahia and we cannot keep on having a foreign coach who does not have papers trying to coach the club, so we have told him to go home and when he gets his papers he can come back, but for now we are trying to engage Sammy ’Pamzo’ Omollo until things are sorted out.”
Asked whether they are working to engage Omollo for continental assignment only or on a full-time basis, Ochola said: “We are talking to him [Pamzo], to help us in continental and we are also seeking to have him on a full-time basis.”
The 60-year-old tactician arrived at the Kenyan champions on October 10, replacing Steven Polack, who had left the club on mutual agreement.
However, despite preparing the team in readiness for Caf Champions League and the resumption of the FKF Premier League, Oliveira, who has 25 years of coaching experience and has been to a number of African countries as head coach, even in the Middle East as well as Brazil, was banned by Caf from sitting on the touchline over his qualifications.
The Football Kenya Federation (FKF) also moved to ban the coach from handling the team in the top-flight and it forced Gor Mahia to hire Omollo of Posta Rangers, and he was in charge as they beat APR of Rwanda 4-3 on aggregate to advance to the second preliminary round of the Champions League.
Oliveira was on record to have defended himself over the allegations by stating: “Listen I don’t talk this about this story, but I prefer to talk about my players and my preparations and because two years or three years ago, I work in the Champions League with Rayon Sports in Rwanda," Oliveira told reporters after the team’s friendly against Posta Rangers.
"I qualified Stade Tunisien of Tunisia for Confederation Cup, okay I know sometimes in football it has more problems, but it is not a big problem.
“Because I have experience as an ex-player in the national team and also as a coach in 25 years and the last time here [in Nairobi with Rayon Sports], against Gor Mahia, I think everybody remembers very well about this game, and me too, because strong Gor Mahia was a strong team and we beat them 2-1.”
Gor Mahia will now face CR Belouizdad of Algeria in the second round of the competition with the first leg set to be played on December 22 or 23 in Algeria, and the return leg planned for January 5 or 6, 2021 in Nairobi.
