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Ochieng' reveals why he opted to join Mathare United
The 28-year-old arrived as a free agent after his contract with Saudi Arabian outfit Al-Ansar FC expired
Experienced defender David Ochieng' has revealed he chose to sign for Mathare United owing to their style of play.
The 28-year-old, who is commonly referred to as 'Cheche', opted to join the Slum Boys at the start of the season. He went on to say the 2008 league champions are among a few teams that play a passing game which fits him.
"I joined Mathare because they play kind of football players want to be associated with," Ochieng' told Goal.
"They possess the ball and play as some big teams do.
"Mathare is among the few teams in the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Premier League who play tiki-taka type of football and that is my type of football."
The former Tusker FC and Nairobi Stima player has further thanked the Nairobi-based side for having faith in him and his abilities, to the point of going for his services.
"Football is a game of chances and I take this opportunity to thank Mathare United for giving me a chance to redeem my career," Ochieng' added.
"I am optimistic about repaying their faith in me by helping them to win as many matches as possible.
"The national team is for every player, I might be there or not, but as long as I am playing football I cannot rule out the chances of making it to the team again. What matters is your performance especially at the club level."
The 28-year-old has been a free agent after his contract with Saudi Arabian outfit Al-Ansar FC expired.
Ochieng' started his professional career in 2011 with the National Super League side Nairobi Stima. A year later, he joined Tusker FC and was part of the Kenyan Premier League (KPL) title-winning team. He also won the KPL Super Cup.
The defender then left for Saud Arabia where he played for Al Tawoon FC from 2013 to 2015. He was among the key players at the team and went on to make 51 appearances, scoring one goal in the process.
American outfit New York Cosmos were interested in the 28-year-old's services and they signed him in 2016, but the defender left again a year later. At the time, he had played a total of 29 matches and scored one goal.
The next destination was in Sweden for Idrottsforeningen Brommapojkarna in 2018. It was a short-term contract for the player and he played 13 times for them before he made a return to Kenya, signing a six-month contract with AFC Leopards in 2019.
After that, he left for Al-Ansar where he was plying his trade before his contract expired.
The ‘Slum Boys’ also confirmed the arrival of striker Eugene Wethuli from National Super League (NSL) side Nairobi Simba, Cersidy Okeyo from Sofapaka, and defender Moses Mburu from AFC Leopards.
