Richard Odada (born November 25, 2000) is a Kenyan professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Liga I club UTA Arad and the Kenya national team.

Club career Early career Odada played with Lasier Hill Academy as a youth player before joining Kenyan Premier League club Leopards in July 2018. While he made the first team game day roster 11 times in the 2018–19 season, he made no appearances.Odada, a young kenian talent on training with Juventus at malindikenya.net, 12-2-2018 Later that year, his performances earned him training and trial stints in Serbia with Red Star Belgrade and Voždovac, in Switzerland, and in Italy with Juventus and Inter Milan.Kenyan youngster impresses on trials with Juventus at nairobinews.nation.co.ke, 10-2-2018, retrieved 17-6-2020

Red Star Belgrade On 30 January 2019 after a successful trial, Odada joined Serbian SuperLiga club Red Star Belgrade. He was initially assigned to the club's under-19 side. To later get playing time at the senior level, Odada was initially loaned to Grafičar Beograd, an affiliate club of Red Star often used for development of its younger players.

On 30 January 2020, Odada was sent on loan to Serbian First League club Grafičar Beograd. He made his debut on 29 February 2020 in a 3–0 victory against Radnički Pirot, where he played all 90 minutes. In the 2019–20 season, he played 7 matches, recording one assist in a 5–0 victory over Sinđelić Beograd on 20 June 2020. In the 2020–21 season, while remaining on loan with Grafičar Beograd through January 2021, Odada played 14 matches in the First League, during which he recorded an assist against Radnički Pirot on 30 August 2020. He also played one game in the Serbian Cup against Voždovac.

Odada returned to Red Star in January 2021, and remained there through the end of the 2020–21 season. He made his SuperLiga debut as a substitute on 28 February 2021 in a 4–0 victory over Proleter Novi Sad. On 2 March 2021, he also made a substitute appearance in a 4–1 victory over Mladost Lučani.

During the 2021–22 season, Odada was loaned to Metalac Gornji Milanovac in the SuperLiga. He made his debut as a starter on 19 July 2021 in a 0–0 draw against Radnik Surdulica. He went on to play 27 games, including 17 starts, during the season, in addition to one game in the Serbian Cup. After the conclusion of his loan to Metalac Gornji Milanovac, Red Star had planned to loan Odada again to Grafičar Beograd for the 2022–23 season, with his contract set to expire on 31 December 2022. Instead of starting the season with a return to Grafičar Beograd, Odada switched player agencies on 9 July 2022 to help explore transfer opportunities.

Philadelphia Union On August 8, 2022, Odada joined Philadelphia Union in a transfer from Red Star on 2.5 years contract, with an optional 2 years. He will occupy an international roster slot.

On 15 August 2023, Odada joined newly relegated Danish 1st Division club AaB on a one-year loan deal with a purchase option.AaB lejer midtbanespiller hos Philadelphia Union, aabsport.dk, 15 August 2023

International career Youth On 17 January 2016, Odada was called into a provisional under-17 camp for Inter Government Agency Development games in advance of qualifiers for the 2017 Africa U-17 Cup of Nations.

On 1 April 2018, Odada scored the lone goal in his debut for the Kenya under-20 national team in a 2019 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations first round qualifier match against Rwanda that ended in a 1–1 draw. He also served as the team captain. Odada was a substitute in the return leg in Rwanda, a 0–0 tie which eliminated Kenya on the away goals rule.

Senior Odada made his debut for the Kenya national football team on 2 September 2021 in a World Cup qualifier against Uganda. He started and played the full match in a 0–0 home draw. His national team coach, Jacob Mulee, praised Odada's debut, saying "we have had different players coming in, and new players who were making their debut. I was impressed with Odada, meaning he has solved our problem in the midfield department. He is just 20 and has a lot to offer.". His performance neutralizing the Uganda attack and replacing Victor Wanyama as Kenya's defensive midfielder also earned him accolades in the press. Odada also played World Cup qualifiers against Rwanda (a 1–1 away tie) and Mali (a 5–0 away loss and 1–0 home loss). In his 5th international game, Odada scored his first national team goal, a game-winning penalty kick, for Kenya in its November 15, 2021 World Cup qualifier 2–1 win over Rwanda.

Career statistics

Club

+Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupContinentalOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsGrafičar Beograd (loan)2019–20Serbian First League70———702020–21Serbian First League17010——180Total24010——250Red Star Belgrade2020–21Serbian SuperLiga200000—20Metalac Gornji Milanovac (loan)2021–22Serbian SuperLiga27010——280Philadelphia Union2022Major League Soccer0000——00AaB (loan)2023–24Danish 1st Division21410——224Dundee United2024–25Scottish Premiership13000—10140OFK Beograd (loan)2024–25Serbian SuperLiga6000——60UTA Arad2025–26Liga I20220——2222026–27Liga I6000——60Total26220——282Career total12165000101276

International

+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsKenya202151202200202380202490202530202640Total291

Scores and results list Romania's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Odada goal.

+ List of international goals scored by Richard OdadaNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1 15 November 2021 Nyayo National Stadium, Nairobi, Kenya 2–0 2–1 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours Red Star Belgrade Serbian SuperLiga: 2020–21 Serbian Cup: 2020–21

References

External links