A Tribute to the Late Sammy Onyango Jogoo
For those of you who don't already know, Sammy Onyango jogoo former Harambee stars and Gor Mahia left winger died in a road accident on August 2 of 2002.
I am glad I had an opportunity to watch him during his heydays. This is the most complete player Kenya has ever produced.
He was the most accurate crosser ever to play. When Kenya qualified for ACN 90, it was his inch perfect cross to Mike Okoth that sealed
a 2-1 win for Harambee stars and led to their qualification. . And during the 4th All Africa games opener against Tunisia, it was his right wing cross to Golden boy Ayoyi that gave Kenya a 1-0 win.
He had one of the most lethal shots ever with either foot. And legendary keeper Mahmoud Abass can attest to this because sometime in the Mid 80s, Abass said in an interview that the one player he feared the most was Sammy Onyango. Abass
could be seen gesturing and shouting frantically at his defenders anytime Jogoo received the ball on the left wing and approached goal. In those days Jogoo scored in almost every game
against AFC. It all started on October 20 1983 during a Kenyatta day match between the two arch rivals. In the first 10 minutes, Jogoo's shot was saved by Abass who proceeded to taunt him in his customary way. Only 10 minutes later, Jogoo picked up a pass from Abdalla Shebe, weaved past Patrick Shilasi and unleashed a crashing left footer which Abass did not see until it hit the net.
No one who has ever played football in Kenya can curve corner kicks into bananas like Jogoo did. Remember 1988 in a ACN qualifier between Kenya and Malawi, Jogoo curved the ball straight into the net from a corner. The crowd literally went wild.
Jogoo was also one hell of a dribbler. I remember on one occasion during a match between Gor Mahia and Nakuru Scarlet, he literally abused two Scarlet defenders at the corner flag, much to the chagrin of the crowd at Afraha stadium.
To sum it up , there has never been anyone who can shoot accurately , cross and take corner kicks with either his left foot or his right foot as Sammy did. He typified everything that a youth team coach would want to teach his young charges. Indeed Jogoo was a product of the now defunct National youth development centres which produced so many of Kenya's best players in the 1980s.
He joined Gor Mahia at the tender age of 17 in 1979. There He prospered as an understudy of yet another legendary winger in Nashon Oluoch "Lule". When Lule left GorMahia in 1983, Jogoo was drafted into the starting lineup, a position he held until a 1989 directive forcing all employees of KPTC to play only for their company teams was enforced. It was then that He left to join Kisumu Posta as player coach. Jogoo was an integral part of the Gor Mahia team that won the Africa cup winners cup in 1987. It was his two goals that sunk Togolese outfit, Entente Deux in the quarter finals.
He was buried at Awendo in Migori district on August 16. Scores of mourners including current and former soccer stars attended the burial. The burial was attended by ex-internationals Austin “Makamu” Oduor, David “Kamoga” Ochieng, Morris Ouma “Ole-Tunda”, John Bobby Ogolla, Vitalis Owuor and Peter Otieno “Bassanga”. Speaking on behalf of the ex-internationals, Oduor said the late Jogoo was one of the most refined winger of his generation.