Kenyan international Richard Odada has admitted that finding his footing at Major League Soccer (MLS) side Philadelphia Union has been rocky thanks to limited game time.Odada joined Philadelphia in August 2022 but did hit the ground running at the club instantly as anticipated due to work permit-related issues.He penned a two and half-year-long deal with the club after cutting ties with Serbian giants Red Star Belgrade, an outfit he had served since December 2018.##NAJAVA_MECA_7312223##The defensive midfielder was, expected to bloom in the United States given the wealth of experience he had amassed in Serbia but he says, being deprived of game time at a time when he was fully fit was frustrating.The Kenyan international has made seven bench appearances for the Philadelphia senior team since being cleared to work in the United States, six in the league and one in the US Open Cup.Kenyan defender Christopher Oruchum reveals foreign players’ hand in promoting Tanzanian leagueHowever, he has been actively involved with the reserve team in the MLS Next Pro, making a total of eight appearances.“My first year at the club has been challenging as sometimes I am sitting on the bench or even missing out on the roster. Where I came from, I used to play on a regular basis. I was discouraged at some point,” he opened up.Odada who made his Stars debut in September 2021 revealed that it was satisfying to be cleared for senior team duties after waiting for several months.The extraordinary rise of Richard Odada: From trial at Inter to a debut for Red StarHe said, despite suffering a great deal of anguish for the time he was ineligible to play, he elected to remain hopeful and focused on his job“I chose to remain focused in the middle of the difficulties. I kept on working hard because football is my job,” he added.The former national U20 team and Leopard Youth team midfielder had several loan spells in Serbia. He had two loan stints with RFK Graficar Beograd and one with FK Metalac Gornji Milanovac.
