Bashir Mutanda is my pick of year 2018

Jan 02, 2019

This two-footed striker has Villa legend Magid Musisi’s build and raw hunger for goals

Vipers SC won the league. KCCA FC, the Uganda Cup. The Uganda Premier League and FUFA Big League got a new sponsor for the next 10 years - StarTimes.

At club level, a couple of new corporate sponsors came on board; Equity Bank and Betway as the UPL also secured a sponsor in Uganda Breweries Limited through it's Club Pilsner brand.

At individual level, a new star emerged on the scene via the FUFA Drum regional competition; Vianney Sekajugo while Moses Waiswa won the Airtel-FUFA Footballer of the Year award after an outstanding contribution to the Cranes AFCON 2019 qualifying campaign and Vipers league championship.

The biggest achievement though was by the Uganda Cranes after qualifying for AFCON 2019 - the second successive time it happened after Gabon 2017.

This success followed earlier success by the national U-17 team that qualified for the 2019 U-17 AFCON finals regional tournament.

While individual coaches Asaph Mwebaze, Moses Basena, James Odoch and Wasswa Bbosa will not have fond memories of the year after their unceremonious exits from their employment addresses, the others like Javier Espinoza, Simeon Masaba, Livingstone Mbabazi and Bamweyana will count their chicken.

Boardrooms were also not spared. SC Villa saw the back of Emmanuel Misagga as club president, while previously radar less Express ushered in a new leadership headed by Counsel Kiryowa Kiwanuka. Express saw an upturn in fortunes as they finish the year in the top half of the league table with old boy Kefa Kisala returning at the helm, while Villa battled to escape the dreaded relegation zone until Bamweyana's recruitment in November.

It's easy therefore to understand why Express supporters had the better part of the end of the year than their Villa counterparts who have suffered untold embarrassment.

The year was almost perfect for Vipers who won their third league title in history, until last week when they suffered an ignominious exit from the CAF Club Champions League qualification campaign at home - St Mary's stadium at the hands of CS Constatine of Algeria.

After re-launching their multi-billion stadium earlier in the year, the next level was a maiden participation in the group stages of the Champions League which sadly, hasn't happened.

On the far side at Lugogo's StarTimes stadium, KCCA club patron Jennifer Musisi departed after seven years and was sent off at a colourful ceremony. Football this year has been a mixed baggage. Still I've got to pick my single stand out moment of the year.

It's a footballer - Bashir Mutanda.

Just like any domestic footballer looking for career progression, Mutanda was unsettled at Kirinnya Jinja SS before he was offered to Vipers who rejected him and then found his way to Villa. They were desperate for players.

Since the start of the new 2018-19 league season when Villa has been struggling to keep their head above water, there's been one exception; Mutanda.

As at Christmas break, Mutanda was leading the goal scorers charts with nine goals, the last of his two goals coming in the one-demolition job of Express at Namboole. The 5ft 8in center forward has emerged at a time when Uganda is desperately in search of goal scorers.

This two-footed striker has Villa legend Magid Musisi's (RIP) build and raw hunger for goals. He has power in both feet, pace, finesse and a shooting technique that mirrors some of Musisi's better skills.

To refer to Villa as a one-man team, is not to overstretch Bashir's signifi cance in a mission that is single minded; get the record champions to a respectable position in the second round of the league season.

While KCCA boast Patrick Kaddu, Kirinnya SS, Paul Madondo and Vipers, Dan Sserunkuma , Villa could be the ones carrying a secret weapon in Bashir. With AFCON 2019 only six months away, Bashir could turn out to be the surprise package that everyone has been waiting for.

He looks raw but his young age is the perfect one for any serious technical team to nurture and develop. He's my pick from 2018.

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