Arnold Otieno Origi (born 15 November 1983) is a retired Kenyan professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

er who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

and current goalkeeper coach of

Östersund Östersund (; ) is an Urban areas in Sweden, urban area (Stad (Sweden), city) in Jämtland in northern Sweden. It is the seat of Östersund Municipality and the capital of Jämtland County. Östersund is located at the shores of Sweden's fifth-larg ...

. He was one of the most successful keepers in Kenya, and the only Kenyan goalkeeper to play in Europe for more than 15 years.

Career

Club

Origi played for

Mathare United Mathare United Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Nairobi, Kenya. The club competed in the Kenyan Premier League (the highest tier of the Kenyan football league system), but in 2023, the club was relegat ...

and Tusker in his home country before joining

Moss Mosses are small, non-vascular plant, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic phylum, division Bryophyta (, ) ''sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Wilhelm Philippe Schimper, Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryo ...

, where fellow Kenyan

John Muiruri John Machethe "Mo" Muiruri (born 10 October 1979) is a Kenyan footballer who last played for Moss FK in Norway as a midfielder. He was known for his close ball control and ability to dribble the ball. He is one of the most talented midfield qua ...

was already playing. After a short loan spell with

Fredrikstad Fredrikstad (; previously ''Frederiksstad''; literally "Fredrik's Town") is a List of cities in Norway, city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Østfold Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipal ...

, and a brief stop at Ull/Kisa he joined

Lillestrøm Lillestrøm is a municipality in Akershus county. It is located in the traditional district of Romerike. With a population of 85,757 inhabitants, it is the fourth most populated municipality in Viken. It was founded on 1 January 2020 as a merger ...

in 2013. In January 2018, Origi was taken on trial by

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

club

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...

, but failed to gain a contract. As a consequence of Origi's trial at the British club, Lillestrøm had already found a replacement for him,

Matvei Igonen Matvei Igonen (born 2 October 1996) is an Estonian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Bulgarian First League club Botev Plovdiv and the Estonia national team. Club career FCI Tallinn Igonen made his Meistriliiga debut on 16 ...

. Therefore Origi and the club mutually agreed to terminate his contract so he could still find a new club after the transfer window closed. After signing with

Kongsvinger Kongsvinger () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Glåmdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Kongsvinger. Other settlements in the municipality include Aust ...

in September 2018, he left the club again at the end of the year.

International

Origi has played 45 international matches for

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

(as of February 6, 2018). On 23 August 2017, it was announced that Origi acquired Norwegian citizenship.

Personal life

Origi comes from a football family. His uncle

Mike Origi Michael Okoth Origi (born 16 November 1967) is a Kenyan retired footballer. Initially playing as a goalkeeper he converted to a striker at Shabana, a position that he would feature in for both club and country. He spent most of his profession ...

was a professional footballer in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. His father, Austin Oduor Origi, was a long term captain of

Kenyan Premier League The Kenyan Premier League (KPL), officially known as the FKF Premier League, is a professional league for men's football clubs in Kenya. Standing at the top of the Kenyan football league system, the league was formed in 1963 under the Kenya Foo ...

side

Gor Mahia Gor Mahia Football Club (), commonly known as is a professional football club based in Nairobi, Kenya. They have won the Kenyan Premier League a record 21 times, and have also won the FKF President's Cup a record 11 times. It is the first and ...

, and his other uncles Gerald and Anthony were defenders at Tusker. His cousin Divock plays for

AC Milan (), commonly referred to as Milan or AC Milan () mainly outside of Italy, is an Italian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Founded in 1899, the club competes in the Serie A, the top tie ...

in Italy's

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

as well as the Belgium national team.

Career statistics

Club

International

''Statistics accurate as of match played 6 September 2015''

Honors

Lillestrøm Sk

Norwegian Cup The Norwegian Football Cup () is the main knockout cup competition in Norwegian football. It is run by the Football Association of Norway and has been contested since 1902, making it the oldest football tournament in the country. The tournament ...

: **Winners ::2017 Individual * Lillestrøm Sk player of the Year 2015

References

External links

Origi joins Fredrikstad on loan from FK Moss
Michezo Afrika
Futaa
– Kenyan Football Portal
Club bio
* 1983 births Living people Kenyan men's footballers Norwegian men's footballers Kenya men's international footballers Tusker F.C. players Mathare United F.C. players Moss FK players Fredrikstad FK players Ullensaker/Kisa IL players Lillestrøm SK players Sandnes Ulf players Kongsvinger IL Toppfotball players HIFK Fotboll players Eliteserien players Norwegian First Division players Norwegian Second Division players Men's association football goalkeepers 21st-century Kenyan sportsmen 21st-century Norwegian sportsmen {{Kenya-footy-bio-stub