Kenyan international Ian Otieno has revealed that former Manchester United keeper Fabian Barthez inspired him to pursue a career in football and also opened up on life at Zesco United.The 28-year-old started out at Posta Rangers and made the switch to AFC Leopards back in 2018 before a move to Zambia with Red Arrows followed in a few months later and is now currently on the books of Zesco United.Were, Otieno feature as Zesco return to winning waysOtieno revealed that he drew inspiration from Frenchman Barthez to take up a career in football and also credited his teammate Jacob Banda for helping him settle at Zesco. “When I was young I used to watch a lot of football and my favourite keeper was Fabian Barthez who used to play for Manchester United so I got that light to pursue something in football and another thing that made me pursue football was my coach back then who told me that I can be a great footballer.I give respect to Jacob Banda because I don’t think there’s any player in Zambia who is more decorated with Super League titles than him. There was pressure because I had to outsmart him, outwork him and outdo him,” said Otieno in an interview with Zesco. The former Ingwe custodian added that Banda has been very instrumental in him settling down because of his supportive nature and advice.Otieno added that since his move to Zambia he harboured dreams of playing for Zesco United as he was impressed by their fairytale run to the semi-final of the CAF Champions League back in 2016.Zambian League winners John Makwatta, Jesse Were and Ian Otieno. We love to see this #StarsAbroad #JazaStadi pic.twitter.com/lzlAZtQa4p— Jaza Stadi (@jaza_stadi) June 28, 2021 “I had one clear objective when I landed at Red Arrows, I wanted to play for Zesco and I never hit that from anyone even at Red Arrows. I used to tell them that I want to work hard so that I play for Zesco.That season Zesco had done very well in the Champions League and were playing in the semi-final and things like that motivate you, apart from that Zesco had Kenyans so they always told me to join them at Zesco,” added Otieno.
