After compounding Harambee Stars to their record-equaling loss in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers, Mali assistant coach Fousseni Diawara still reserved praise for former Harambee Stars skipper Dennis Oliech.The tenacious right-back played alongside Oliech for six months after the Harambee Stars record goal scorer joined Ajaccio in the January transfer window but their short-lived union ended in the 2013 summer transfer window when Diawara joined Tours FC.#HBDAY TO “FOUSS” 🇫🇷 🇲🇱Joyeux anniversaire 🎄🎁🎂🎉 à Fousseni Diawara, le natif de Paris fête ses 39 ans. Bon anniversaire @foussenidiawara @femafoot @equipedumali @LesAiglesduMali @mali_uf @ASSEofficiel @RedStarFC @ToursFC @stadelavallois #Mali#TEAM223VJR 🇲 🏆 🇱 pic.twitter.com/sWTvrGeOW2— Mades Watt🇲🇱🇪🇸 (@MadesWatt) August 28, 2019 After a two-year spell with the French club, Diawara called time on his career in 2015 and transitioned into coaching months after his retirement as he joined the Mali national team as the assistant coach.The 41-year-old also had the privilege of playing against Oliech in the 2004 African Cup of Nations that Mali beat Kenya 3-1 and opened up on how the forward was in the Ajaccio dressing room. “I played with Oliech in Ajaccio, France and in the 2004 African Cup of Nations I played against him and we won the game 3-1, he is a good player, a good person with a strong mentality, I hope to see him in Kenya,”“I like the people of Kenya, it is a good country and I hope we will play a good game, Oliech was very shy in the dressing room but on the pitch, he scored goals, off the pitch he was a good guy and relaxed,” said Diawara. The French Cup winner with FC Sochaux-Montbéliard spent his entire career in France save for a spell at Panionios made 55 appearances for Mali scoring no goals in competitive matches.Diawara hopes to meet Oliech in the return clash slated for Sunday at the Nyayo National Stadium and waxed lyrical about the qualities of the former Harambee Stars skipper and would love to him transition into coaching. Dennis Oliech Played against Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Cristiano Ronaldo in his prime. TRUE LEGEND. A TRUE KENYAN HERO. #ShikaBallpic.twitter.com/tCaW3P84Xj— Pretty Ammina (@PrettyAmmina) October 2, 2021 “I need to meet him because it’s about six or seven years since we last spoke, I hope to see him in Kenya, he scored outstanding goals and had a good shot power which meant he could score from outside the box and he was also fast like Usain Bolt, I’ve never seen a fast player like him before,”“I would love to see him coach because he played many games for his National Team and would be in a good place to mentor young players in Kenya because I think the country has the best athletes in Africa, there are also good players like Olunga who I watched in Egypt,” said Diawara.
