KISUMU, Kenya, Oct 2 – His meteoric rise in football wasn’t due to luck; it was blood, sweat and tears all the way!
And after years of hard work, his goalscoring prowess on the field of play has finally began to bear fruit.
He is none other than Obunga FC forward Dancun Odhiambo Omalla, one of the most sought after high school footballers at the present and a chip off the old block.
He’ll be turning 17 years in December and already speculation is rife that Kenyan Premier League clubs Shabana FC, KCB FC and Kakamega Homeboyz are scrambling for the signature of the form four student at Kisumu Day.
Wait a minute! Duncan is brother to the famous Benson Omalla who plies his trade with the mighy Gor Mahia and son of Migori footballer Peter Oluoch who hang up his boots in 1996.
Vincent is his first born in their family who used to play for Kisumu All-Stars.
And Benson happens to be the current K’Ogallo top scorer in the Kenyan Premier League so far.
Benson was discovered at the inaugural Safaricom Chapa Dimba while playing for Manyatta FC and was part of the team that went to Barcelona, Spain for the boot camp.
But Duncan is gradually positioning himself as a lethal striker and may as well become the next big thing in Kenyan football-thanks to the revered Chapa Dimba iniative where dreams always come true!
The soft-spoken player is determined hitch his wagon to a star in order to follow in the footsteps of his brothers Vincent and Benson and indeed his dad who played in the full back position in his days.
As if to prove his knack for finding the back of the net, Duncan notched two goals in their 4-0 drubbing of Nyaguku FC from Nyamira and dedicated his strikes to Safaricom for admirably transforming the Chapa Dimba to a “theatre of dreams”.
“I dedicate my goals to Safaricom who have granted me the opportunity to showcase my talent on a respectable platform that Chapa Dimba has become since inception. This is where talent is nurtured and I will give it my best shot as I want to be the top scorer of this tournament.”
-Good Humored Banter —
“My brother Benson has inspired me immensely, he is the one who buys for me boots. And whatever both of us get from the sport we use it to support our parents at home. We both work hard to change our background which is not that desirable.”
There has always been some good humour rivalry between the Omalla siblings with Duncan bantering over who will be the family’s finest.
“I want to be a better player than my brother Benson, that’s for sure, and this is the one thing I always tell him when he comes back home from Nairobi,” Duncan told Capital Sport.
“He is famous countrywide by virtue of the privilege and platform he savours at the moment but I keep reminding him that there will be a new sherriff in town, it’s just a matter of time.” Duncan bantered.
Duncan and Benson both possess more or less the same wizzadry on the ball. They share many things in common from talent, aspirations, level-headedness to so much more.
With an apparently insatiable appetite for the net, they both bang in goals “at will”.
But proded to reveal who the better footballer is between him and his brother and who will make their family prouder, Duncan went on; “At the moment Benson is the better player. Last season he finished 26 goals in the league and me I was playing Manyatta United in Division 2 and scored 11 goals. So that was a plus.”
–Failure Is The Best Teacher –
And when did his football career hit a rock bottom?
Duncan went on: “When Kisumu Boys failed to qualify for the school games nationals, we all grew more and more despondent as we knew we had missed a platform where we would showcase our talents.”
“But then again, we knew it was not the end of life, and here we go again at Chapa Dimba, doing our thing.”
“Sometimes in life you can embrace failure as it will make you learn about resilience, don’t fear It. We all fear failure, don’t we? But let me share a little secret with you – failure is not the enemy. In fact, it’s one of our best teachers. As players we learn from our past mistakes.”
The young Duncan hopes to join paid ranks in lucrative leagues. He dares to dream that one day his aspirations will come to fruition.
“What I keep saying about Chapa Dimba All Stars team is that if Safaricom can grant me the chance to go to Spain I will be the happiest boy in this world. I will give it my best shot. Such opportunities open the doors to success. This is a platform where all and sundry have an opportunity to prove their mettle as young footballers,” the Chelsea FC fan said.
Duncan aspires to join Barcelona where his favourite player Robert Lewandowski is a prolific striker.
–Like Father Like Son –
His dad Peter Oluoch was in Kisumu during the Chapa Dimba Season Four Nyanza Region finals to witness his son’s knack for scoring goals.
“Benson has opened the way for Duncan. Truly God is working miracles. As a family we come from a very humble background and its God’s grace that talent has elevated us and given us something to cheer about.” Oluoch remarks.
But the father candidly Admits that Benson is a better player of the two though he is flabbergasted by Duncan’s progression in the sport.
“I must admit at this juncture that Duncan is coming up really well, he is young with amazing potential. And from the look of things Duncan might become a greater player, capable of surpassing his elder brother, he has the much needed speed and gusto for football,” Oluoch expounded.
Whether or not Duncan will board the plane to Spain, his family believe he has a bright future in the sport and that he will continue burning the midnight oil no matter what!
Oluoch said in finality: “it’s my prayer that the aeroplane that Benson boarded to Spain, Duncan should also get the same opportunity to do so. I used to deny my kids the opportunity to play football as I wanted them to perform well in academics, but then again, I realised that children need to be allowed the opportunity to realise their potential in sports as long as they balance it well with with school work.’
