A Day In The Life With: Dylan Kerr Part 1

NAIROBI, Kenya- As the beautiful sounds of the early morning chirping birds get melodiously louder, a figure wakes up ready to take on the challenges the new day brings, with a smile wide enough to brighten even the darkest of times.

From a fourth-floor balcony in an apartment block in Nairobi’s affluent Kileleshwa Estate, a jovial British man emerges with his traditional cup of coffee in one hand as the other scrolls through his mobile phone, catching up with what is new on micro-blogging social media site Twitter.

Sounds of his favourite Essex-based English electronic music band, Depeche Mode, can be heard blasting from his television, a ritual he religiously observes to set off his day to a charged, boisterous and pumped up mood.

His identity? Dylan Kerr who since landing in the country in July last year, has proved to be a breath of fresh air in Kenyan football that was crying out for a fitting character to add stardust to a sport that had grown to embrace the mundane.

After a journeyman 18-year playing career as a defender, Kerr, 51, is rapidly getting recognition from across the globe as a potent coach, having led Kenya’s greatest club, Gor Mahia FC to back-to-back SportPesa Premier League (SPL) titles and a successful defence of the SportPesa Cup.

A bronze medal at the regional Cecafa Club Championships and storming to the group stages of the CAF Confederations Cup where his team came to within a point of qualifying to the quarterfinals has only served to enhance his bludgeoning reputation as a manager.

Kerr has faced two sides from his native England, Everton FC and Hull City FC, going down narrowly to both 1-2 in Dar-es-Salaam and 3-4 on post-match penalties after a 0-0 draw at a game in Nairobi where the biggest sporting cathedral in Kenya- Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani (60,000-seater)- filled to its rafters and beyond.

SportPesa News ventured out to spend time with the charismatic Kerr, as part of it’s a ‘Day In The Life With’ series where he graciously opened the door to the engrossing and informative tale of what makes him count as one of the football managers to watch for.

Humble abode

From the moment he opened his door and welcomed us into his humble abode, we knew immediately that this would be one for the books.

Unlike the ordinary tea-drinking English folk and as cheerful as ever, Kerr offers the visiting reporter a cup of coffee and we have one together, his second of the day already and it is barely 9am local time (+3GMT).

Kerr wastes little time to break the silence as we soak in the setting he retires to that mirrors his charm.

“So, how do we do this? Are you just going to be with me throughout the day and we just talk?”

Yes coach, that’s how we had planned for it to go down if you don’t mind

“No, not coach. Just Dylan is fine. I mean, you’re already in my house. We can drop the formalities for today,” he said with a radiant grin on his face.

All he said was simple but enough to ensure that we would not face any challenges as we prepared to leave the house to tackle the day, the Dylan way.

Soon, the coffee is done and Dylan picks up our cups, puts them into the kitchen sink, and stands beside his shoe collection for a few seconds before picking a blue and yellow pair of sneakers to wear.

As he ties his laces, he looks up and asks, “So, will you join me for my run?”

Run to where? Is the bewildered response.

Since his move to Kenya we establish, he has never owned a vehicle.

You would think at 51 and the boss of the biggest football team in the land famed for its ‘swag’ the swashbuckling display of opulence, his mobility would depend on a big personal or official motor but this bubbly Brit, is not your ordinary man.

“Well, every morning when I have a training session with the team, I run to the grounds,” he candidly offers.

Gor train at Camp Toyoyo in Jericho, a cosmopolitan lower middle class estate east of Nairobi located some 15km from Kileleshwa or Parklands Sports Club, which is approximately half the distance.

Dylan’s challenge to run all the way was politely turned down and having been in the world of football for 40 years, K’Ogalo’s manager can tell a fit and unfit man with one look.

“You look like the lazy type, so I won’t torture you by making you go on this run with me,” he chided.

We walk out, jog down the stairs and as we are on our way out of the estate he stops at the gate and takes selfies with three cleaning ladies, not before telling them how gorgeous they looked.

Infectious charm

That infectious charm that had endeared him with friend and foe of Gor immediately came to play and throughout our experience, it was a screaming constant in explaining his magnetism.

Even the smallest gestures and choice of words Dylan uses, speaks greatly of the type of man he is and one can easily understand how he has become such a loved and appreciated member of the Kenyan football fraternity and society as large.

Before we get the chance to absorb it all, he shouts: “I’ll race you to the Sports Club, you better hope for your sake that I do not get there before you.”

So there he was disappearing into the horizon, with an Adidas bag on his back and a slight limp in his step, which he later reveals was due to an injury that he sustained while playing many years ago.

Knowing all well we could not even dare to keep up, the company vehicle came in handy only for the choking early morning Nairobi traffic to give him a sizeable advantage.

We only caught up with Dylan barely a kilometre to the training ground and ease ourselves to the venue before he gets there.

As always, the sweaty Dylan jogs into the ground before any of his players arrive and as he sips on a bottle of water he begins to tell me about how and where his love for the beautiful game began.

Born in Malta to Keith Kerr and Gloria Jean, Dylan discovered his love for football at a very young age.

His family moved to the United Kingdom when he was 18 months old and the rest as they say is history. History, we will dig into deeper as we continue.

His father was a loyal Leeds United FC fan and by default, a young Dylan became a follower of the Yorkshire-based team that became the first ever winners of the rebranded English Premier League (EPL) in 1992.

Little did he know at the time that he would one-day play for the team that he supported as a young lad, fulfilling a dream few of the boys all across England cherish but never get to accomplish.

Despite an undying love for Leeds, Dylan’s allegiance switched to Manchester United FC- the record 13-time EPL and 20-time English league winners- a club he supports to date.

“I remember my neighbour was learning to drive when I was still quite young and he would sometimes drive me to Old Trafford,” he reminisced.

“It was then as a 13-year old that I became a United supporter.”

Dylan then cuts his statement short to ask the reporter which team they support.

Disappointment drops

That was the first time his face dropped with disappointment when the answer came as Chelsea FC.

Just as we were about to get into a heated argument about which club is greater in the present day, we are interrupted by the Gor team bus pulling up before depositing the players who all walked in single file to greet their coach ahead of the morning training session.

The camaraderie between him and his players is such a beautiful sight. One can easily tell the mutual respect and freedom with each other the boss and his charges enjoy.

It is a factor that has helped them achieve more than what everyone else expected in his short stint as coach and a perfect example to their domestic challengers who try as they might, they simply cannot even come close to touching the SPL champions.

There is nothing sluggish about his movement and enthusiasm on the pitch and despite coming from a tiring 7km run that morning, he digs in to team’s training with zeal and vigour, participating in drills and occasionally taking the ball to show them how its done.

As he divides the team into smaller groups to play small-sided games, we stand next to him on the touchline and ask if he misses playing football.

With the ever-present smile still on his face and his arms folded across his chest, he looks up and says:

“I will always miss being in the game. I’m very grateful that I can still be a part of this beautiful game and as long as I can pass on my knowledge to better other people’s careers, that is more than enough for me.”

After an intense one and half hour session, the training ends.

Kerr gathers the players around and after a few minutes of their customary pep talk, he dismisses the group and remarkably, still full of energy, he jogs towards where we are standing besides a water dispenser.

In scorching heat, we were patiently waiting in line with the players and technical staff for a welcome cup of cold water to quench our thirst.

Dylan taps on our shoulder and says he’s hungry so we should go and get something to eat, a suggestion that is quickly accepted.

Stereotypical expatriate

The Gor boss is not the stereotypical expatriate white man or Mzungu as they are known in Swahili, the prevalent language of East Africa, who is want to dine at the finest restaurants in the city.

To our consternation, Dylan insists we walk to where we will have our lunch.

After a 10-minute walk, we get to a place in the Westlands an affluent area in the city but instead of waltzing into one of the fine establishments that litter the location, Dylan comes to a stop at a basic eatery.

Two umbrellas are put up to provide customers cover from the elements and three women have set up shop by the roadside to sell food, which is how they make a living.

There are five tiny jikos (charcoal stoves) cooking something different and two long benches on opposite sides with a table separating them.

The amazing thing was not even his choice but the fact that all the women and customers already there, were not even the least shocked to see him at the shack popularly known as vibanda in local lingua franca.

Since arriving in Kenya to resounding success, his face has been plastered all over newspapers, television bulletins and talks shows, magazines, websites, blogs and above all, social media, boosting his celebrity status.

Instead, they exchanged warm greetings and hearty hugs before he sat down and made his order before we even had the chance to peruse what was available on the menu.

“This is my ideal place to eat. I visit places like these, at least three or four times a week.

“The food is clean, healthy and it is made with that homely touch which makes it more of a delicacy. Also, it’s cheap and the people you meet here have such interesting things to say,” Dylan explained to our bemused selves with a genuine look in his face.

We finish eating and as we are leaving, he tells us the perfect desert after the rather heavy meal would be. Guess what?

Another cup of coffee? “Yes that’s right, the third one of the day.”

We agree to take him but make it clear we will not be partaking. Another hearty laugh and a playful pat on the back and reporter and coach trot off.

Light bulb moment! An argument was pending from the morning we are keen on not abandoning.

So Dylan, why United and what makes you so certain that they are better than Chelsea?

“Are you joking mate? I don’t think we can talk about this while we walk; I have to look you in the eye as I break down all the ways that they are the greatest team in the world.

“As soon as I sip on my coffee, I will teach you a bit about football in England and Scotland, which I was fortunate enough to spend years of my career playing in both countries,” he charges back.

“Also, despite Sir Alex Ferguson achieving what nobody else has and being one of the greatest coaches ever, I’ll also tell you why he is not part of my top three coaches of all time.”

To be continued in part two