Wednesday, 19 January 2022 will forever be etched in the mind of Kenyan international Frank Odhiambo.
At exactly 10pm local time (+3 GMT), Swedish topflight side Djurgårdens IF officially announced the transfer of the defender from local giants Gor Mahia on a five-year deal.
At just 19, he had secured a dream move to Europe – an achievement that has eluded majority of domestic professionals in Kenya.
But for Odhiambo, it was a fast-tracked rise from local football to the bright lights of the European game.
In late 2020, he was turning out for fifth tier (FKF Regional League) side Bongonaya FC when his talent was spotted and snapped up by record 21-time Kenyan champions Gor Mahia FC where he only made his topflight debut in May 2021.
And after quickly establishing himself as a defensive lynchpin for K’Ogalo, his meteoric rise was complete when he hopped on a plane to seal a prized move to the Swedish top tier just eight months later.
Little did he know what was to unfold in Sweden following his whirlwind journey.
“I know personally I’m a good player, but when I went to Europe I had a couple of difficult times,” Odhiambo started his narration.
This is after his celebrated move to Sweden— taken by many African players as a pathway to top European leagues— quickly unravelled.
It forced him to make a prodigious move back to Gor to reboot his professional career in January 2026.
And after all the hoopla that welcomed his transfer to Djugarden locally, Odhiambo’s return to K’Ogalo barely had the pulses racing.
“I went there, played for a year, then I tore my quad, so I got a little bit of a risky injury which ruled me out for four or five months.
“And then coming back in Europe, you need to get it step by step,” he explained.
Try as he may, he could not quickly adapt to the relentless pace and intensity of Swedish football.
“Being away for such a long time, you find that you go out of the plan of the club and as a player, I wanted to get playing time.
“So I started to look for options and started to go on loan,” the defender, who is now speaking about his underwhelming spell in Europe for the first time, went on.
Harambee Stars Risk
Having been a regular at Gor, Odhiambo was at risk of falling out of consideration for national team Harambee Stars.
“Being on loan and you want to play for the national team is a little bit difficult, considering that I went to a lower division than the Allsvenskan (the Swedish topflight),” he explained.
Odhiambo never got to make a senior debut for Djugarden following his transfer, only featuring for the Under 21 side as competition for places in the main side proved to be beyond his reach.
Months went by and when it got to August, Djurgarden decided to send him out on loan to third tier side IFK Haninge until the end of the 2022 season.
That marked the start of his journeyman career in Sweden, as he spent the next three years on loan at third tier sides Vasalunds IF, AFC Eskilstuna and IF Karlstad.
That is when he decided to take a step back and return to where it all started, joining Gor in January 2026 with around a year left in his contract with Djurgarden.
For Odhiambo, walking away from Europe was not giving up.
“I knew it was going to be tough to be able to get a national call-up and I had to make a decision.
“Hopefully the decision that I made gets to prove me right, coming back home and playing for Gor Mahia so that I can be called to the national team and get good minutes.
“Because having caps for the national team and playing, weighs really, really heavy when you are playing outside.”
Having cut short his stay in Sweden before the lapse of his initial contract, Odhiambo now aims at finding his feet again.
His interest in the national team is fuelled by the fact Kenya is co-hosting the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations alongside neighbouring Uganda and Tanzania.
Every local player is aching to play in the biggest stage of continental football.
“That decision is what made me to come back despite having had a year or so left in my contract.
“I just had to see how I can improve and take my career forward,” he revealed.
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Outstanding Player
And in just two months since returning, Odhiambo has not only cemented his place in the K’Ogalo squad as they chase their 22nd title but has recently earned his Harambee Stars debut.
He was in head coach Benni McCarthy’s side that travelled to Rwanda for the FIFA Series 2026 tournament and played in the two matches against Estonia and Grenada as Kenya finished third.
The retired South African football icon hailed him as an ‘outstanding’ player and a ‘wonderful addition’ to the national team.
Kenyan international Frank Odhiambo
Lessons from Europe
Despite not going as planned, his four years in Sweden shaped him into an all-round footballer capable of facing any adversity.
“The biggest lesson is you need to believe in yourself that everything is possible.
“I came from Bongonaya which was a fifth division team, straight to Gor Mahia and started playing.
“Within a year I was scouted and went out to play in Europe. You just need to believe in yourself. That’s one of the biggest things I picked in my journey.”
Odhiambo’s path is not new for Kenyan footballers who excel on the local league only to see their moves abroad collapse.
And there is a precedent for the defender to follow.
Namesake and winger, George ‘Blackberry’ Odhiambo dazzled in 2010, being named the Footballer of the Year after firing K’Ogalo to within three points of the title— having then last won the trophy in 1995.
Odhiambo, who finally left Gor in 2023, earned a move to Randers in Denmark following his wonder season in 2011 in a five-year deal but he only lasted a year.
Moves to Finland, Tanzania and Armenia saw ‘Blackberry’ return to Gor in 2014, going on to be an integral part of the team that swept league titles between 2014 and 2019.
Three years were spent in K’Ogalo rivals Tusker FC (2019-2022) before his final season with the champions before leaving as a modern legend.
Before ‘Blackberry’ there was Francis Ouma, the lethal ex-Mathare United striker who fired the Slum Boys to the 2008 title, their only league success in the club’s history.
Ouma left for Tanzania moneybags club Azam the following season before finding his way to Italian Serie A side Parma AC (then playing in Serie B) and Portugal before returning to Kenya with Sofapaka in 2011, his promising career overseas collapsing in just three years.
Dozens of other examples of local players moving overseas with huge promise only to return deflated soon after abiding.
With Odhiambo now cautioning young Kenyan players on the perils of swift transfers from local to foreign football, he also advices what to do if it does not work out.
“You need to be determined in terms of the setbacks that you get. It’s you against you.
“You need to tackle each and every of these challenges that are coming because football is a game of contact and sometimes mental too because it drains you.”
He added: “My injury and then going on loan, seeing things like they are not working out, sometimes really took a toll on me mentally.
“But I’m glad I got to rise above these things and now I’m home enjoying football.”
Now back at Gor and gunning for the title, Odhiambo is not just seeking redemption, he is chasing a second chance.
And he has not abandoned the mission of another crack at European football.
“Hopefully my aim is to play here maybe a season or two and then get a good deal again probably to go outside because I know I’m capable.
“Now when I go back, I probably need to start on a higher note and not like when I went to Djurgarden,” he noted.
Overcoming Mental Strain
Seeing things not go according to plan affected Odhiambo and he hails Harambee Stars players including captain Michael Olunga, Eric ‘Marcelo’ Ouma and Henry Meja for being there for him during the testing period.
“During that time, I really relied on my family and friends. And then mostly the guys who helped me are the guys who were closer to me those days.
“We had Henry Atola Meja, he’s still in Sweden. He was a really good friend during those hard times. Marcelo Eric Ouma, they really supported me.
“Olunga was there. Sometimes he used to send me messages of encouragement and stuff like that. And I really, really appreciated that,” he revealed.
“And then my family also helped me to get by and recover really well which gave me that motivation to keep going,” he concluded.
Having never lifted a league title before, Odhiambo now finds himself in the middle of a tight race for the 25/26 SportPesa League title between Gor and archrivals AFC Leopards.
With the clock ticking to the end, the two eternal foes are only separated by two points but Gor have a game in hand.
“I think it’s really good competition for us and for the league because I think it’s been a while since we’ve seen a tight competition like this one.
“These tight gaps are really good for us because then we get to see who really has the balls to take it forward.”
It is a throwback to the past era when K’Ogalo and Ingwe used to trade titles and dominate local football and Odhiambo is ready for the run-in.
“With eight games to go, of course, we are looking to win each and every one of them. We are going to take a game at a time and the boys are ready.
“You can see sometimes we lack a little bit but we’re going to work on it and hopefully in the coming games we are going to keep on winning and give our fans something to go about.”
And wearing the green of Gor, nothing would make the defender happier than lifting the trophy at the expense of the old enemy.
“I’m looking forward to this because I think we are going to win it even if we have a tight race between us and Leopards.
“Also, we haven’t played against them so it’s going to be really good for us as we approach these games until we meet them because I think the games in between the derby are going to be a really deciding factor.”
The jury is still out on whether his decision to step back for a career reboot is a masterstroke.
But Odhiambo 2.0 believes he is stronger, wiser and more determined rise.