Inside Noah Abich's grand plan to trademark ‘This is Job, do not sabotej me!’ phrase

The phrase “This is job, do not sabotej me!” has become a slogan synonymous with former Kibera Black Stars assistant coach Noah Abich.

The former Kenyan international has now announced plans to trademark and commercialise the phrase.

“I should trademark it and put it on a t-shirt and other items. I am willing to work with anyone who can help me actualize the idea,” Abich says with a laugh during his interview with The Eastleigh Voice.

Abich played for various football clubs in Kenya’s top flight as a defender before transitioning to coaching after hanging his boots and the phrase became synonymous with him when a clip of him berating Kibera Black Stars players during a halftime team talk went viral in November last year.

On that occasion, Kibera Black Stars was flirting with relegation having collected only five points from their first seven matches in the 2023–24 FKF National Super League season and, with the team trailing 1-0 at halftime in their eighth match of the season against Dimba Patriots, Abich scolded the players for allowing a cheap goal and not giving their all in their previous matches.

The club’s media team recorded Abich’s explosive rant and when the clip surfaced online, it went viral and, as a result, elevated the popularity of Abich among Kenyan football fans.

You all know Noah Abich right? Currently an assistant coach at #NSL side Kibera Black Stars.

Here is him giving a half time talk to his players in a recent encounter 🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/kywEewhLSK

— Zachary Oguda (@zaxoguda) November 6, 2023

As the clip took on a life of its own with Kenyans online using sections of it to give punches to jokes and create memes, Kibera Black Stars, as Abich had urged the players in that clip, became more serious, and in the months that followed, the club’s performance improved, and they are now more than assured of featuring in Kenya’s second-tier league next season.
Kibera Black Stars is now 10th with 39 points from 28 games, after collecting 34 points from 21 matches since Abich's famous tirade.
Abich is no longer at the club, but he is convinced his words had the desired impact.

“The talk I gave is a normal occurrence in dressing rooms all over the world. At times, it is necessary to scold players when you sense they are slacking. Giving tactical advice does not always work. At times, you have to speak into the hearts of the players,” Abich said.
"If you look at the club's results after that talk, you can tell that they had an impact, and during the transfer window, we even had players leaving for clubs in the FKF Premier League after their performance improved," Abich added.
Abich and Kibera Black Stars parted ways in late March after the club went three matches without a win. The club also severed ties with its then coach, Moses Onyango, and replaced him with Owen Makokha, while former Gor Mahia striker Edwin Lavatsa took Abich’s place as assistant coach.

“We parted on mutual consent and right now I am waiting for the season to end so that I can look for opportunities elsewhere,” Abich said.

As he ponders his next move, Abich is also thinking of upgrading his coaching badge to a CAF ‘B’ license.

“The federation recently announced applications for the next intake of the CAF ‘B’ Coaching License but I am unable to join the class at the moment. "The course costs Ksh 60, 000, and that is money that I do not have right now," said Abich, who holds a CAF 'C' Coaching License.

“If there is a well-wisher out there who can sponsor me, I will appreciate it,” he added.

Abich has known no other life than being a football professional, which is why advancing his coaching badges is critical to him.

When people ask me what I would have done if I hadn't chosen to play football, I always respond that it was God's plan. Being in football is what God willed for me. I do not think of myself doing anything else. If I had the power to choose what I would have wanted to become in life, right now I would be the Governor or S

enator of Kisumu. However, I am committed to staying in football. This is a job, you know,” Abich said as he laughed when he uttered the final statement.

Noah Otieno Odhiambo Abich was born in 1987 in Kisumu's Otonglo area, and he grew up around footballers.

"There were just so many football players around me, and that sort of influenced me to get into the game." Hillary Ouma, Stanley Okumu’s father, was one of our mentors when I played for the Chemelil Sugar Youth team, which was nicknamed “Gusa Gusa” because of the way we played—a one-touch pass and move kind of football.”

As he grew older, so did his talent blossom, and in the early 2000s, Abich was part of the Thur Gem Secondary School football team that, together with Kamukunji High School, Mombasa High School, Musingu High School, and St. Anthony’s High School, dominated the secondary school football games.

“Competition was really tough back then. Teams like Kamukunji High School, Mombasa High School, Musingu High School, and St. Anthony’s High School had really good players, and we got to the finals only once, in 2002, when we lost to Kamukunji High School in Malindi,” Abich said.

Dennis Oliech, a Harambee Stars legend, played for the Kamukunji High School team, and Abich was still in awe of his football prowess back then.

Dennis Oliech could play. He was bad news and troubled us so much. Oliech was so good that the late Chris Makokha nicknamed him “Kompyuta” (Computer),” Abich said.

After Thur Gem, Abich went on to feature for Nzoia Sugar, Chemelil Sugar, Tusker, Nakuru All Stars, AFC Leopards, Kakamega Homeboyz, Mathare United, Sofapaka, Bandari, Mount Kenya United, and Nairobi City Stars in the Kenyan Premier League.

After leaving Tusker, there were rumours of Abich joining Gor Mahia, only for him to end up at Nakuru All Stars. Despite leaving Tusker as a league champion, Abich felt he wasn't ready to play for a club as big as Gor Mahia.

“I just did not feel ready to play for Gor Mahia. Gor Mahia is a big and very serious club. You cannot make jokes there. It would have been good to play for them but only if I was going to make an impact as big as the other good players that they had.”

Abich maintains great respect for the players he played with. He finds it hard to name the best player he's ever played with, but he singles out current Bandari FC coach John Baraza, former AFC Leopards striker Fred Ambani, and former Gor Mahia striker Dan Serunkuma.

"I played with really good players." It is hard to single out the best of them all. However, Dan Serunkuma, Fred Ambani, and John Baraza were headaches to defend against. You just had to be alert all the time, particularly with Baraza since he had a way of ghosting in a match only to pounce and score when you least expected,” Abich said.

"Nowadays, I struggle to see such quality in our league when I go to the stadium to watch a game. I do not know. These days, players do not entertain me. They need to work harder,” Abich added.

Noah Abich keeps getting better with age, just like fine wine pic.twitter.com/z21cfxXIUB

— Jeff Kinyanjui (@_JeffKinyanjui) October 29, 2019

Abich knows the value of working hard. During his playing days, he established himself as an expert in dead balls. He scored most of his goals on free kicks and penalties, and he delivered accurate crosses for his teammates to score from. He attributed his excellence on that front to putting more work into training.

"Nowadays, I observe players leaving immediately after training concludes, which disheartens me." I used to remain behind to practice crossing, free kicks, and penalties, and that is how I got to be good at that. I even used to attend matches for other teams so that I could spot weaknesses in goalkeepers and defences that I could exploit when sending crosses or taking free kicks and penalties. It was never luck. Even right now, I can still score a free kick against the best goalkeeper in the FKF Premier League.”

As a coach, Abich works on imparting that spirit to his players, however slow the progress is.

"I do my best as a coach to instill the value of hard work in players." I played under so many good coaches, and they taught me a lot of things about the game. It is now my turn to pass on that knowledge and I am eager to make a difference. As I say, this is my job,” Abich said.

Part of the new generation of players that Abich hopes to see excel is his 20-year-old son, Starlon Odhiambo, who plays as a leftback for Mathare United.

“I never got to play abroad or feature consistently for Harambee Stars and I hope my son can surpass that on those fronts,” Abich, who also has three daughters, said of the ambitions he has for his son.

“His crossing is good but he still needs to put more work into improving his free-kick and penalty-taking skills. He has yet to meet my level in that regard. I am still the master,” Abich said with a laugh.

Dead ball specialist, Noah Abich #SimbaWaNairobi pic.twitter.com/xL3OMmuJFx

— Official Nairobi City Stars Fc (@NrbCityStars) July 4, 2022

 

When asked whether he named his son Starlon after movie star Sylvester Stallone, alias Rambo, Abich simply said, “Not really. I just liked the name.”

On the subject of names, his name Abich means “five” in Luo, making it stand out for its uniqueness. Sadly, there is no interesting story about how the name came about in his family.
“Abich is the name of my father, Erick Otieno Abich. I do not know how he got the name, but when I started playing football, I decided to use it too because it is more unique than my other names, Noah Otieno Odhiambo.”

For someone who was born in Kisumu’s Otonglo area, Abich has come a long way and as he ponders his next step, one thing will remain constant - “This is job!"