Austin Odhiambo eats humble pie, resolves Harambee Stars issue with Firat

Highly talented Gor Mahia midfielder Austin Odhiambo has publicly announced that his spat with Harambee Stars head coach Engin Firat is now a thing of the past.

Speaking to Gor Mahia media ahead of their game against Kakamega Homeboyz on Saturday, April 6 at Kenyatta Stadium in Machakos, Austin revealed that the issue that locked him out of the Harambee Stars squad in the just concluded Four Nations Tournament where Kenya was crowned winners has been resolved.

Without delving deeper into the details, the midfield maestro hinted that he is now on good terms with the national team gaffer.

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The Gor Mahia star man further pointed out that he is more focused on representing the country after solving the issue.

In what sounded like a warning to other national team midfielders, Austin made it clear that he is putting in more work to earn his spot if selected by coach Firat.

"About the issue, all I can say is that my aim is to represent the country. I will keep on with the hard work in order to represent our country because that's everyone's dream," Austin stated.

"About the issue, I think it has been resolved and I'm looking forward to joining the national team," he added.

ALSO READ: Why Gor Mahia ace Austin Odhiambo was omitted from Harambee Stars Squad

 Uproar after his Omission

When Firat named his provisional squad for the Malawi tournament, Austin was not included sparking outrage from the local fanbase. Some questioned Firat's decision arguing that Gor Mahia's midfielder is among the best in the league.

In a rejoinder, the Turkish tactician attributed the decision to an indiscipline issue. The former Moldova tactician accused Austin of feigning sickness to withdraw from the team but was later captured representing his club. Firat noted that Austin's actions infuriated the technical bench.

“It is very simple with Austin. Very simple.  Last September he was in camp here with Stanley Wilson also. So, what happened is we couldn’t fix the visa for both of them to go to Qatar at the right time.

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We were only going to Qatar for two and a half days. So, I told them to stay back in the hotel. We came back, Stanley was already in the hotel but there was no sign of Austin and nobody could reach him.

His brother Tyson was here and when I asked him he did not know which was strange," Firat divulged.

So, what happened a few hours later, Ken came to me and showed me that Austin played in a Gor Mahia friendly and had scored a goal against Mathare. If someone thinks they are very important then I have no problem,” Firat disclosed.

After sorting out the issue, Austin could stand a chance to earn another national team call-up in the upcoming Group 'F'  World Cup qualifiers against Burundi and reigning African champions Cote d’Ivoire set for June 3 and 10 respectively.

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