Musa Otieno is undoubtedly a beacon of loyalty! The man spent a good 14 years playing for Cape Town’s Santos.
But the former Kenya international’s advice to his countryman Brian Onyango has been contrary.
“I told Brian Mandela [Onyango] that loyalty doesn’t pay,” he told FARPost in an exclusive interview at his Nairobi office.
Otieno, who joined Santos in 1997 from Tusker FC, looks back at the opportunities he missed because of his devotion to The People’s Team. He believes if he had taken some of those opportunities, he would probably be further up in life.
“When Andre Arendse went to Sundowns, I had the opportunity to go with him. I had decided to leave Santos. I don’t know how Goolam [Allie] convinced me to stay, I signed [a new deal] with them, and Andre left.
“People joked that once you eat the samosas at Santos, there’s no way you will leave the club. I also had an opportunity to sign for Kaizer Chiefs. I even went to SuperSport for a medical, but I didn’t succeed because of knee surgery,” said the ex-Kenya captain.
The Football Kenya Premier League side Kenya Police assistant coach has held Onyango’s hand since his move to South Africa at 18. The Harambee Stars defender arrived at Santos in 2012 – exactly a year after Otieno retired and was now serving as an assistant coach.
“Brian will not do anything without telling me; we have a beautiful relationship. I look at myself and Sundowns, I didn’t play there, but he is there. During our playing days, Sundowns players would be coming in with nice cars they were driving and [psychologically] they had already beaten us,” he recalled.
The 48-year-old Otieno remembers Onyango’s struggles when trying to leave Santos for Maritzburg.
“When Maritzburg came in [to sign him], Goolam didn’t want to give him a contract, so he sneaked out and went to Maritzburg. When Goolam found out, Santos went to his place and took all his stuff. I reminded Brian that loyalty doesn’t pay.”
While he is happy the 27-year-old has seemingly turned the corner at Downs, his constant advice is that loyalty doesn’t pay. He often cautions the former Maritzburg defender to put himself first in everything.
Otieno does not want the former Tusker defender to look back someday and regret not having taken certain opportunities because of ‘blind’ loyalty. He has a year left on his contract with Sundowns after joining them in October 2020, making 31 appearances across all competitions.
