From Nairobi to Real, Ochieng’s winding road to Primera impact | OneFootball

Job Ochieng has emerged as a distinct talent at Zubieta, his goal and two assists at Martínez Valero the latest surge in a winding rise with Real Sociedad.

According to Diario Vasco, he was born in Nairobi in 2003 and left his parents and two sisters in 2019, arriving via a company that brings young, mainly African players to Spain. During the pandemic, Maspalomas officials Orlando Galindo and Carlos Gaumet offered him a chance.

An intermediary took him to the Canary Islands, but payment delays left him abandoned. Maspalomas housed him in El Tablero, paid initial fees, and had him coach at the club school for 300 euros while Galindo covered the rent.

Gaumet took him to Zubieta with PDFs and a highlights video, though an ankle sprain complicated early tests. In Donostia he added seven kilos of muscle yet adapted slowly, signing for Juvenil B in February 2022 and finding socialising difficult.

Real backed him and, once Ansotegi handed him responsibility, momentum shifted. A goal against Zaragoza in Segunda sparked self-belief.

With his deal running down and interest elsewhere, he was called up at Barcelona in January without playing, then renewed that week after Matarazzo pushed for him and targeted him for next season’s first team.

He and his camp see decision-making as the main area to improve. Technical and powerful in space, he could thrive if Matarazzo keeps faith.

Now in Donostia, he visits the island when possible, missed a December trip, spent a month in Kenya in summer, and his family visited in February during renewal. He knows he must keep working to earn his place.

Source: Diario Vasco

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”