Origi picks Amrouche as best coach he worked under at Harambee Stars

Arnold Origi has singled out Adel Amrouche as the best coach he worked under during his playing time with Harambee Stars.

Origi, who was Kenya’s goalkeeper for close to four years after he took over the mantle from Francis Onyiso and made his debut against Ghana in an Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifier in 2005, rates Amrouche ahead of Mohammed Kheri and Francis Kimanzi, the other coaches to have handled him.

“I have to single out Amrouche, he was a really good coach. He was a popular guy among the group and everybody was comfortable working under him,” Origi is quoted by Nation Sports.

“He was a people’s coach who always had the players’ interests at heart. Off the pitch, he was like one of us and this made it easier to play for him. We knew we could really joke with him but when it was time to be serious we could really get down to work.

“It’s a pity he didn’t continue with the national team because I think we could have done great things and he could have taken us somewhere.”

On Kheri, Origi said: “Kheri was a very good manager. I enjoyed working under him, he gave me confidence. He was the kind of coach when he talked to you, you felt like you could go and give an arm for him on the pitch.”

When asked about current coach Kimanzi, whom he played under when Kenya achieved their highest ever Fifa world ranking at position 68 in 2008,” Origi said: “We really had a good time [with Kimanzi] until I got injured.

“He is a good tactician and every time you step onto the pitch you knew what was expected of you. Your role was clearly defined and I think it makes it easier for a player if you step on the pitch knowing what the team or coach expects of you in every situation.

“He was detail-oriented and left nothing to chance. We couldn’t leave the pitch until he was convinced we had understood what he wanted from us and it bore results.

“I have never trained as hard in the national team as I trained under him and that just speaks of the kind of guy Kimanzi is. He was let down by the federation; I think with better organisation from the federation at that time we could have really done something special.”

Origi’s last game for Kenya was the 1-0 defeat to Guinea Bissau at Nyayo Stadium in Nairobi on March 27, 2016, and he went on to miss out on eight Afcon and four World Cup qualifying tournaments.