FKFPL: From Tusker outcast to Harambee Stars goalkeeper: The rise of KCB's Bryne Odhiambo

The KCB custodian aims to establish himself as Harambee Stars first choice goalkeeper.

KCB goalkeeper Bryne Odhiambo has endured a rather lengthy journey to where he is in his career right now.

His journey has not been too dissimilar to Aston Villa’s World Cup winning goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, who had to prove himself for several years before he ended up ascending to the top, from loan spells at lower division clubs, to becoming first choice by chance because the main keeper was suspended or injured.

“It has been a long journey. I have had to wait patiently for my chance,” he started, “ I have had to realize myself given the experienced heads that I have had to work with,” he added.

“ I have had to be second fiddle to keepers like Duncan Ochieng', Martin Musalia, David Okello, Farouk Shikalo and Patrick Matasi–experienced keepers who have played internationally— It was hard sometimes to even become second choice, let alone first.”

The 26-year-old goalkeeper says he had to learn to be mentally tough and resilient to overcome the toture of having to sit on the bench or not even making the squad most times by opting to learn from the experienced heads.

“I was having to take the positives out of it by learning. It was not easy but I had to just give myself, be patient and hope for five years. They were telling me to stay patient for my chance.”

It is well documented that keepers can play to an old age at the highest level. Legendary Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon and Egyptian Essam El Hadary are living examples of it.

“With goalkeeping, you can play till you are 40, so I used to view the bright side of not playing, and now I am reaping rewards for my patience. Someone like Dunco was 38-39 when I was there, so it used to give me patience.”

Odhiambo completed his high school studies at Manguo High Schoool in Limuru before joining Tusker in 2015. In 2016, he was transferred to Agrochemical on loan and then returned to Tusker in 2017, where he spent two years before joining Posta Rangers permanently in 2019.

In 2021, he moved out on loan to Mathare United, where he was able to get a chance to play regularly. It was at Mathare where his skills were displayed, including the ability to nonchalantly play with the ball at his feet.

“At Mathare, I was grateful for the opportunity and chance to get a lot of playing time, but being good on the ball has always been part of my game. I used to play in midfield back home in Limuru and in high school. That is where my composure came from.

“Even at Tusker, I would train as a keeper and then go home and continue playing infield in order to learn how to be composed on the ball. At Manguo high school, I played as a midfielder between forms one and three and returned to the sticks in form four.

“Mathare helped a lot because in the Premier League, you can be pressed, so you have to be composed on the ball as a result.”

Following his loanspell at Mathare, Odhiambo left to join Zedekiah ‘Zico’ Otieno’s KCB at the start of the season, but there, he had to overcome yet another obstacle of outsing an established international goalkeeper, Gabriel Andika.

“I knew my work was cut out when I joined KCB because Gabriel Andika is a quality goalkeeper. He has experience internationally, having been part of the squad that won the 2017 CECAFA Challenge Cup in Machakos. I knew competition would be there.

“I had to work hard to earn the opportunity to become a first choice keeper. When you get a chance, you have to grab it with both hands. I played my first game against Homeboyz and we lost, but it was in the second game against Bandari that I believe I fully earned Zico’s trust.”

Odhiambo has kept 13 clean sheets while Gabriel Andika has kept seven. The bankers possess the best defensive record in the league and have the best shutout record.

“The competition has been healthy. Both of us have kept clean sheets and there is no bad blood between us. You have to form a camaraderie with your fellow keepers and we have. We did not even know each other before I joined but we became good friends.If you wish your friend well, you also perform well.”

One of the fundamentals of the modern keeper apart from being good with their distribution is the art of learning how to communicate and organize your teammates. Omondi has mastered the art to the letter, but admits it was not part of his game originally.

“My communication used to be very poor.I learnt alot from Dunco and Matasi on communicating because both are serious goalkeepers who are no-nonsense between the sticks, which made me understand that I have to organize my defence.

“But first, it was important to also forge friendships with the outfielders so that it is easier to correct their mistakes as the game is going on, since as a keeper, you have the full picture of what is going on.”

The keeper is part of the Kenya squad that will be taking part in the Mauritius four nations tournament, where they will face Djibouti on Wednesday, before rounding it off against the hosts on Sunday.

In the Iran friendly in March, Patrick Matasi made two howlers and was subsequently not picked for this international window. Engin Firat called up the KCB custodian, Ian Otieno of Zesco and Brian Bwire of Tusker, and all three will stand a chance at staking their claim as the best keepers in the country.

“It is every Kenyan player’s dream to represent the Harambee Stars. I want to give my best so that I can give myself the best possible chance of becoming first choice and more caps so that it can be easier to even go professional.

“I want to play abroad because I will push myself to the limit in order to improve myself.”