Thursday, September 9, 2010

Mariga, Oliech speak out over 'Rift in the Stars'

Dennis Oliech and MacDonald Mariga have dismissed a widely reported "feud" between them, instead blamed team officials of trying to milk a normal situation in a game of football for their own gain.

Inter Milan’s Mariga said he was disappointed that some team officials were out to cover up their failings, which saw the team arrive in Guinea Bissau late.

AJ Auxerre’s Oliech insisted there was no difference between him and Mariga, saying he saw nothing wrong in telling a teammate "not to hold on to the ball for too long."

McDonald Mariga

"I don’t understand these things when people said I undermined the team or that there is a rift between me and Oliech," Mariga told FeverPitch on phone from Italy on Thursday.

"Despite arriving late for the match, we resolved as a team to put everything behind us and we played well, created several chances but didn’t convert them which happens anyway.

"We even had a strong penalty shout waved away by the referee late in the game, but that is it. So for people to turn around and say there is feud or a rift, I don’t understand," Mariga said.

Oliech insisted there was nothing to hide because he, like all the players, wants to qualify for the African Cup of Nations in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea in 2012.

run out

"I have sat and reflected on what it could be. The only thing I remember saying is Mariga holds the ball too long, which allows defenders to close in on us or we run out of position. What is wrong with that? It is not only myself the coaches, too, said the same.

"So it is hard to believe that Mariga would be annoyed with that.

"He is a professional and he knows his role. For anyone to say Mariga or I are undermining the team is an insult," Oliech said.

Sofapaka striker Allan Wanga said if ever there was a problem then it was when they arrived in Bissau (the capital of Guinea Bissau) when Oliech asked the players to shake off jet lag before going to bed, a suggestion local players were uncomfortable with.

"Because of seniority some players asked Mariga to tell Oliech that we jog the following morning. However, Oliech told Mariga, ‘you are a pro and you know what we do in Europe.’ Yes you could see there was tension, but we moved and jogged in the morning and everything went well," Wanga said.

Asked about claims that some players were unhappy with Oliech being handed the captaincy, Wanga said: "Well there was that concern because Oliech had not trained with the team since the time he arrived.

The feeling was Mariga or Julius Owino be given the arm-band, but that was a small issue."

FKL Technical Committee chairman Hussein Swaleh said on Wednesday he would recommend that one of the two be dropped for the upcoming fixtures.
But Wanga said it would be counterproductive while Mariga and Oliech said it was time people took responsibility for their failings.

Dennis Oliech [Picture: Jonah Onyango/Standard]
"I got two clear chances and I couldn’t convert them. John Baraza got one and he couldn’t. What role did the officials play?"

Mariga said: "At no time did I criticise the coach as reported.

"Let the officials come out clearly and tell Kenyans what they have done to ensure everything works for Harambee Stars."

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