Peter Opiyo

Peter Opiyo Odhiambo (born 1 August 1992 in Bondo), nicknamed "Pinchez", is a Kenyan footballer. He primarily plays as a midfielder, currently turns out for Kenyan side Nairobi City Stars. He previously played for Kenyan Premier League clubs Tusker, Thika United and A.F.C. Leopards, for the Finnish Veikkausliiga side FF Jaro, and had loan spells at Gor Mahia and Indian side Viva Kerala.

Peter Opiyo
Opiyo with FF Jaro in 2015
Personal information
Full name Peter Opiyo Odhiambo
Date of birth (1992-08-01) 1 August 1992
Place of birth Bondo, Kenya
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Nairobi City Stars
Youth career
2004–2008 Tusker
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2011 Thika United 20 (1)
2009–2010 → Viva Kerala F.C. (loan) 23 (0)
2010–2011 → Gor Mahia (loan)
2012–2013 Tusker
2013 A.F.C. Leopards
2014–2016 FF Jaro 51 (0)
2014 → Jakobstads BK (loan) 1 (0)
2016–2017 Al-Markhiya
2018 SJK 13 (0)
2019 Altyn Asyr 0 (0)
2020– Nairobi City Stars 0 (0)
National team‡
2009–2014 Kenya 34 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 30 October 2018
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 08 January 2020

Club career

Opiyo began his youth career with Tusker and signed for Thika United in January 2008. After only one year with Thika United, he moved to Gor Mahia in February 2009 on loan, and his loan spell with Gor Mahia was set to continue until 2010.[1]

In 2011, he returned to Thika United [2] for the remainder of the year, before rejoining Tusker for the 2012 [3] season helping the side to clinch their ninth league title. He moved to A.F.C. Leopards in 2013,[4][5][6] helping the side to a second-place finish in the league and a ninth domestic cup. He scored the lone and winning goal against arch rivals Gor Mahia.

On 11 March 2014, Opiyo completed a move to Finnish top-tier side FF Jaro in a two-year deal.[7] He made his debut for the club in their fourth-round 2014 Finnish Cup match against FC Hämeenlinna on 15 March,[8] but could not help prevent the club from a 2–1 loss and an early exit from the tournament.

After flirting with AFC Leopards in the June transfer window, Kenyan international midfielder Peter Pinches Opiyo sealed a move to Qatar second division side Al Markhiya on 25 July 2016,a team he led to promotion at the end of the season.[9][10]

Opiyo, who had been a free agent since his two-year deal with Finnish side FF Jaro expired in December 2015, was reported to be on his way to the 13 - time Kenyan Premier League (KPL) champions in the June transfer window but he intentionally refused to put pen to paper.

On 26 July 2018, Opiyo signed for SJK.[11][12][13] He left the club again at the end of 2018.

In August 2019, Peter Opiyo and Nigerian Uche Kalu signed a contract with FC Altyn Asyr from Turkmenistan. They were the first foreign footballers in the history of the club and the first legionnaire in the 2019 Ýokary Liga. Despite of having a contract paperwork complications saw him fail to join the team and in mid November 2019 he issued a termination notice and consequently ended his engagement with the club in early December to become a free agent.

After weeks of training with promotion chasing Nairobi City Stars, "Pinchez" joined the second tier side in January 2020 on a one-and-a-half year deal.[14]

International career

He featured for the Kenya national team between 2009 and 2014. He was first capped on 14 Mar 2009 by German coach Antoine Hey as Kenya took on Iran at the Azadi Stadium in an international friendly. It ended 1-0 to the hosts.[15] He was also part of the squad that won the 2013 CECAFA Cup on home soil.[16]

References
  1. Futaa. "| Futaa.com Kenya". futaa.com. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  2. Thika United, Jan 6, 2011: Peter Opiyo Is Back
  3. Futaa, Dec 26, 2011: Pinches signing a stroke of genius for Tusker
  4. Goal, Jun 19, 2013: Tusker’s Peter Opiyo finally joins AFC Leopards
  5. Michezo Afrika, Jun 20, 2013: Peter Opiyo pinches 450,000 Shillings off AFC Leopards
  6. Nation, Jul 7, 2013: ‘Pinches’ addition is spot on
  7. Jeff Kinyanjui (11 March 2014). "Pinchez joins FF Jaro in Finland". Futaa.com. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  8. Vincent Opiyo (14 March 2014). "Pinchez's Jaro set for domestic cup clash". Futaa.com. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  9. Futaa, Apr 4, 2017: Kenyan international promoted to Qatar elite league
  10. Futaa. "| Futaa.com Kenya". futaa.com. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  11. Football Finland, Jul 26, 2018: SJK signs 3 new players
  12. Nation, Aug 5, 2018: Kenyan midfielder happy with return to Finland
  13. Goal, Aug 8, 2018: Kenyan midfielder Peter Opiyo joins Finish side SJK Seinäjoki
  14. Nairobi City Stars, Jan 8, 2020: City Stars sign ‘Pinchez’
  15. "FIFA-Turniere Spieler & Trainer - Peter OPIYO". FIFA.com (in German). Retrieved 23 April 2018.
  16. "CECAFA 2013 Harambee Stars crowned Cecafa Champions after beating Sudan 2-0". www.cecafafootball.org. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
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