Why Dennis Oliech Is Having Problems Adapting To Professional Top Flight Soccer In Europe

Dennis Oliech is perhaps the best thing that Kenya football has ever produced but while watching his team Nantes narrowly beat Sochaux 2-1 in a French league encounter televised on DTSV on Sunday night, I was left wondering as to what happened to the promising striker who is a big hero back home.

For starters Oliech did not play for most of the game and was brought in late in the second half in a scrappy match that Nantes barely won as they fight looming possible relegation to the second division.

Oliech was a pale shadow of himself and his pacy moves and striking power were nowhere to be seen with obvious frustration showing on his face as he found himself frequently in his own half defending. I don’t want to look like a prophet of doom but I don’t think the lad has a future in the French club.

Worse of all, Dennis has a serious attitude problem he has never shaken off from his growing up days in seedy Nairobi estates and has failed to deal with not to mention a temper that makes a rhino look humble. While on holiday in Kenya he has constantly been in the news for all the wrong reasons including getting involved in ugly brawls with his childhood rivals.

At one time, a newspaper photographer approached Oliech at Nakumatt Nyali, in Mombasa but was attacked and viciously kicked with the ferocity Oliech would kick a football in a long range effort for goal. The hawk-eyed journalist had spotted Oliech with some young girl who was not his regular girl friend. The journalist pressed charges but later withdrew them under circumstances that were not clear. It is suspected that he may have been paid off in some sort of out-of-court settlement.

At another incident, the Kenyan professional soccer player was rushed to the Nairobi hospital with body injuries after an ugly brawl in the tough neighborhood of Eastlands only to reveal later in the press that he got injured while playing a 'friendly match' and there was no cause for alarm. Later it emerged that he had fought with childhood rivals who were making fun of his well-known stammering problem.

Oliech is known to have a very bad temper, which is aggravated by his stuttering problem to the extent that he does not do press conferences and leaves all the talking to his elder brother who doubles up as his manager. He has never considered taking anger management courses or better still, speech therapy to cure the condition.

It seems that the soccer star is being haunted by his violent past where physical fights was the only way of settling differences but he has to break from this sordid past as he is now a public figure with scores of youngsters looking up to him as their role model, but most important of all, he has a promising career which he should not throw away just because he can't control himself.

It is obvious that Oliech's attitude has greatly affected his progress in professional top-flight soccer where discipline and the enthusiasm to learn quickly have lifted the likes of Ivorian striker Didier Drogba to the top. It is clear that Oliech still has the Kenyan-ghetto mentality where if the coach does not field you then it has to be something personal.

Dennis, take some advice from me; Get a serious girlfriend, probably the marrying material, attend anger management classes and throw in speech therapy sessions. Ignore your childhood rivals and stop visiting these tough neighborhoods where you grew up.
Concentrate more on your football and in helping and encouraging youngsters on how to be professional footballers in future.

If you do all the above, you will not only be a successful soccer professional but you will also be judged well by history. If you chose to ignore this, you will be just another bum who can kick a ball and has lots of cash to waste on philandering.

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