Vipers standing at the T-junction

Jan 05, 2019

If a multi-billion home stadium can’t inspire a home team to convincing home victories which would turn it into a fortress, what will?

New year, new beginnings. And so Vipers start again. Out of the CAF Champions League and off the top of the StarTimes Uganda Premier League table after 11 games, the defending champions have rang the riot act.

Mexican coach, Javier Martinez Espinoza is out. He has been sacked just after four months of his appointment.

With all their season hopes hinging on group stage qualification for the CAF Champions League for the first time, their ego was irreparably damaged. Algerian champions CS Constatine beat Vipers them 2-0 at St. Mary's stadium, Kitende to accumulate a 3-0 goal aggregate win after the second leg.

On the same day, their Ugandan continental rivals KCCA FC won 2-1 away to Mtibwa Sugar FC of Tanzania, accumulating a 5-1 aggregate win to qualify for the pre-group stage match in the CAF Confederation Cup.

They are the only Ugandan club to have featured in the group stages of both continental club competition.

Vipers were still licking their continental wounds when the unthinkable happened; a goalless draw with Tooro United, a team 11 points and nine places below them on the table.

At home, again. This dismal home form has followed a pattern all season. Vipers have had narrow 1-0 margin wins over newly promoted teams- Ndejje University, Nyamityobora and Paidha Black Angels. They were outplayed by KCCA before the eventual 1-1 draw.

With all the money and talent at their disposal, it's embarrassing that their attacking threat is not better than Onduparaka, Mbarara FC, Bright Stars, BUL FC, Police FC and Express FC with whom they hold the same stake when it comes to goal scoring.

This has posed several unanswered questions to the owners and observers alike.

If a multi-billion home stadium can't inspire a home team to convincing home victories which would turn it into a fortress, what will?

If the quality of Dan Sserunkuma, Moses Waiswa, Sseninde, Ndugwa, Tito Okello, Geoffrey Wasswa, Tom Masiko and team captain Tadeo Lwanga does not intimidate the opposition, then are they top quality?

Portuguese coach Miguel da Costa was fired six months ago for winning the league unconvincingly.

Now, the Mexican, still with an unbeaten league record since taking over has been sacked for dismally failing to impact on the continent but also for struggling to win football matches.

The two professional coaches were hired ahead of local coaches to take Vipers to the next level to match the club's ambitions and investment. In the interim, another foreigner, a Kenyan Michael Ouma has been hired as caretaker coach.

The one common denominator in all three instances is that below the professional coach, a strong local technical team was appointed to work alongside.

While Vipers are struggling to identify the winning formula that should give the club the base to reach the clouds, their counterparts KCCA are benefiting from establishing a stable environment that is rooted in local technical talent.

Not much is known about the team that Mike Mutebi works with behind the scenes but he has worked with the backbone for five years. In this period, this team has turned over players at will but the performances and results have remained the same.

For every super star who is sold for a penny, a new one emerges. For every young player who is promoted to the senior side, a protégé rises in their U-17 team. Money is helping the development and improvement of KCCA, but clearly, it's the vision, systems, personnel, a clear philosophy and identity that has set them apart.

Bring a professional coach at KCCA right now and the results and performances would be different.

Mutebi managed to sell his vision to the entire club set up that includes the owners, board, administration and players. Everyone is moving in the same direction. The challenge for Vipers is whether they have a clear vision and philosophy.

If they do, who holds it? Professional or not, whichever coach that takes over must be sold on this vision, adopt the philosophy and be given time to inculcate it into everyone in the club set up.

Without this, everything Vipers does will remain a smoke screen.     

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