Special Feature: 'Crazy' Gor Fans Brought Me To Kenya- Hassan Oktay

NAIROBI, Kenya- Not much was known about Hassan Oktay when the 45-year old arrived in the country to occupy the hot seat that is head coach of Kenya's premier football club, Gor Mahia FC.

Nine months later, Oktay is one of the most recognisable sporting figures having weathered an early storm and some backlash from the demanding Green Army to lead Gor to a third straight SportPesa Premier League (SPL) and a record-extending 18th national title.

Besides that, Oktay went where no other  head coach had ventured when he led his team to the quarterfinals of the CAF Confederations Cup for the first time ever since the second tier continental competition was remodeled in 2004. 

He was only six games from catapulting what is largely hailed as one of the best Gor sides of all time to a second continental title in their glittering history following the 1987 CAF Cup Winners Cup (Mandela Cup) success achieved by the legendary team that won the league and cup double three seasons in a row.

Their run in the SportPesa Shield domestic cup also ended in the last eight but there were few regrets with the eyes of most Gor faithful fixed on what was a promising Confed Cup run as well as the business of reigning supreme in the SPL.

Replacing the popular two-time SPL and 2018 SportPesa Cup winning coach, the charismatic Briton Dylan Kerr who bolted to South Africa after leading the local giants to Goodison Park to play Everton FC in an international friendly was always going to be a hard ask for any man, Oktay included.

However, the passionate but soft-spoken coach won over the hearts of the Green Army when his team overcame a slump in form that started towards the end of last season to clinch the SPL crown with two games to spare and in the process, became a local celebrity as well.

Ahead of the final game of the season against 2008 league champions, Mathare United FC last Wednesday, Oktay paid a visit to the head quarters of his club's title partners, SportPesa and it was an opportunity that was not to be missed SportPesa News as sat down with him to establish how his first year in the country had fared.

Good businessmen

When asked to give a no holds barred interview on his experiences, joys and pain of his first season in charge, Oktay- the Cypriot-born Turkish national- grinned, saying, "You are good businessmen, you cannot let this pass, right?".

Opting to give his story over lunch as opposed to the office, the first question on the cards was just how did he end up in Kenya, a country located in East Africa and almost 6,400Km from his homeland of Turkey, a journey that would take you 116 hours on road.

The charismatic and dramatic tactician insisted that the only reason he initially decided to move to Africa and coach Gor is because of the frenetic and loyal fans the club boasts, confirming the global allure of the record-equalling 10-time domestic cup winners whose fame goes far and beyond the mother continent.

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Born in Turkey, Oktay and his parents had to move up north to Cyprus due to rising tensions in their homeland and that is where he discovered his love for the beautiful game.

“I never knew about football in Kenya before I came here. All I knew is that Kenyans are the best long-distance runners but not footballers.

“My very good friend Abdul told me Gor is me. He said the fans are crazy and passionate just as I am and that made my decision very easy,” Oktay disclosed.

He was named the new coach of Gor on December 2 last year, a week before the start of the 2018/19 SPL season, taking over the reins from Kerr who left to coach the struggling Black Leopards FC of the Premier Soccer League in South Africa.

Having endured the rough and tumble of the SPL, Oktay, just like Kerr before him and ex-Brazil international Jose Marcelo 'Ze Roberto' Ferreira who preceded the Briton, Oktay saw enough to be convinced that local players have the natural gift to make a huge splash in world football. 

“The amount of talent and dedication I have witnessed in Kenya is simply amazing.

 “The next day after I accepted the Gor offer, I received offers from Konyaspor in Turkey and a South African team but my mind was already made up and that was the best decision for me at the time,” Oktay revealed further on how he turned down other suitors to pitch tent at .

Oktay left his position as the coach of Grays Athletic FC in the Isthmian League, which is a regional competition in London where his side finished 14th out of 22 teams to take over at Gor, a surprising choice by the club that is forging a reputation of turning little-known overseas coaches into stars.

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Before Grays, Oktay lived and worked with numerous teams in the United Kingdom where he got his UEFA A License at three-time English FA Cup winners West Ham United FC.

 “I completed my coaching badge with West Ham 19 years ago then I moved to working with older boys in the conference league,” he underlined.

The 45-year old father of three, a 24-year old son and 17-year old twin boys, was also at Banbury United FC where he served as an assistant coach as well as Watford FC Academy, Waltham Forest FC and Thurrock FC.

Oktay was also an assistant at Braintree United FC, a semi-professional team that plays in England’s fifth division, under another Turk Hakan Hayrettin who was in charge at the time.

“Braintree used to be a very strong team before financial issues forced them to be relegated. I absolutely enjoyed working in the UK.

“Such opportunities with amateur and semi-professional teams enabled me to gain all the knowledge and experience that makes me a great coach today,” he admitted.

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The outspoken tactician also reveals that charity begins at home and emphasizes the need to be a good and healthy person before one can even think of being successful on the pitch.

He spoke highly of life in Kenya and went on to identify that the lack of proper management of the top tier league and its clubs is the only thing keeping Kenya from breaking new ground in the sport.

“I’m a very hygienic person and my house has to be very clean. I cannot try to make a team successful if I don’t come from a clean environment.

“The problem with football in Africa is greedy people who only think about themselves and not the players," he highlighted the all too familiar failings that have chocked the development of the game in this part of the world.

“We have to all come together and remove the selfish people from power if we are to be like other teams from around the world. It’s very sad and has to change,” Oktay urged in a thinly-veiled dig at the managers of football outfits in his new home.

It is not difficult to see where he is coming from. Like his recent predecessors before him, the Turk had to weather the storm of pay disputes between his players and club officials that sometimes saw training boycotts, that famously boiled over before their Confed Cup first leg clash with eventual losing finalists, RS Berkane of Morocco.

Gor went on to lose 0-2 at home before a 1-5 mauling in Morocco after a chaotic trip to the away leg saw them crash out of the competition with a whimper, having roared to beat among others, tournament winners Zamalek FC 4-2 in Nairobi on a famous evening in February.

The second challenge he faced was the glut of fixtures as the SPL ran a marathon six month season to align itself with the international FIFA calendar, a tough ask for a side that had endured a back-breaking 2018 season where they were vying for honours on five fronts.

The Turk however, has managed to instill his philosophy on the Gor team and despite rumors of him losing his star players such as Kenyan international Francis Kahata and the departing Rwanda international striker Jacques Tuyisenge, Oktay remains confident he can build another formidable side.

Skipper Harun Shakava is also reported to be on his way out but Oktay has set out the grand target of conquering Africa as his priority for next season, knowing all too well domestically, his outfit are the team to beat.

He hailed his coaching staff led by his assistant and 1995 Gor title-winning captain, Zedekiah 'Zico' Otieno who has been an able deputy for the current boss and his predecessors Kerr and 'Ze Maria'.

“Every team gangs up against Gor in the league because we are the best and we have to remain strong.

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 “I have absolute respect for my technical bench, they’re all great people and I would not have achieved what I have this year without them.

“I really like working them and that is very important to me as a coach. I’m a believer of a good working environment brings forth good results,” he acknowledged.

Oktay will leave Kenya on Saturday to visit his family before returning to prepare for a busy 2019/20 season where Gor will be once again fighting for trophies in the CAF Champions League, SPL, SportPesa Shield and SportPesa Cup as well as possibly, a return to the Confed Cup and the CECAFA Club Championship.

“I miss home, I really miss home and I'm happy to be heading there. I want to stay with my family for a few weeks before I can start thinking of how we can plan for next season,” he added.

Unlike his immediate predecessor Kerr who dug into the local cuisine and could be seen patronising local 'vibandas' (road side food vendors) for his fill, Oktay did not take long to identify a city restaurant that serves Turkish dishes and has since become a regular patron.

It has helped him stay in touch with his roots as he bedded into his new life in a land far from Turkey- a country that sits in two continents of Asia and Europe though it politically identifies with the latter.

As he found out, celebrity in Kenya invites tabloid attention and two months ago, Oktay found himself the subject of a photo that went viral on social media when he was snapped cozying up to a young lass.

In a country where the 'slay queen' culture (where among other things young girls snare celebrities into posing with them for attention, infamy and later commercial success) both fascinates and is frowned upon, Oktay was compelled to come out and clear his name after being accused of nailing 'a catch.'

Exuberant fans

"The girl was using me for fame on social media and I blocked her after seeing what she was up to. I had never seen or spoken to her before that day," the Gor head coach emphasised.

The lessons from that encounter have seen Oktay keep away from exuberant fans as he works on maintaining his status as a devoted family man who has no room for sordid shenanigans. 

The lass in question had found her way to their training base at Camp Toyoyo Grounds in Nairobi where Oktay was being presented with the Fidelity Insurance/SJAK Coach of the Month Award for April, the first of the two he collected in his title-winning campaign.

Delighted at being recognised amongst his peers, the excited Turk posed with fans who had come to witness his moment of personal glory as the beaming coach was photographed with the woman whom he thought was one of the thrilled supporters.

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Having delivered what is now a minimum requirement as a Gor coach in his first season by retaining the SPL crown, Oktay knows the follow up act will define whether the affection accorded to him by the Green Army will last, especially now that he has a rebuilding job in his hands.

For now, as he leaves for home, he can go with the satisfaction that he has proved his initial detractors wrong and etched his name in the African coaching lights.