Mutumba out to silence his critics

By Fred Kaweesi

Saturday

Uganda v Liberia

WHEN Martin Kayongo Mutumba kicked a ball about as a teenage boy on the parish fields of Stockholm, he had two dreams.

The first was turning professional which he did after signing a lucrative deal with Swedish side AIK, and second was representing either Sweden or Uganda in a major tournament.

A couple of years down the road, he achieved the latter with the Cranes after a fine display in the 1-1 draw against Angola in Luanda.

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Weeks later, the stage was then clearly set for that eagerly awaited home debut -unfortunately not in the manner that it eventually turned out in front of an expectant crowd against Senegal.

Apart from being lambasted for failing to impact on the game and perform to the bare minimum standards in front of an expectant crowd, a section of fans even raised placards that read ‘Mutumba out’ in the aftermath of the game.

However, just minutes after setting foot in the country yesterday, the Sweden-based star sounded determined to bounce back from his humiliating display in the best possible way if considered on Saturday.

“I am fit and ready for the game. I feel a lot better now. I need to meet with the rest of the team and settle in so we will talk a lot more about the game at the stadium (after my first session),” Mutumba told New Vision Sport on his way from the airport yesterday.

How Mutumba will fit in 

Mutumba attended yesterday’s afternoon session with the team at Namboole. 

If he impresses coach Multin Sredojevic and does start on Saturday, it will be interesting to see how the Serbian will deploy him.

In Tripoli, Micho opted for a 4-4-2 formation but would switch to a 4-3-3 to accommodate Mutumba behind the two main strikers.

Looking at the team in camp, the Cranes are blessed with more holding midfielders (Tony Mawejje, Boban Zirintunsa, and Geofrey Kizito) but with few or no player with the ability to dribble their way into the opposition through the central axis.

Mutumba’s low centre of gravity enables him twist and turn quickly, drive away from opponents in confined spaces —attributes that Cranes will need to unlock the Liberian defence.

His agility might also make him the right candidate to resolve Cranes’ troubles on the left, where Said Kyeyune and Luwagga Kizito are the only offensive-minded candidates.