Sports
Superb 2009 but Uganda Cranes need to aim higher
The Cranes celebrate after winning their 10th Cecafa title at Namboole in January
The Uganda Cranes can for all good reasons say they’ve had a stable, if not, productive year. They’ve, despite the off pitch wrangles at football governing body, Fufa, defied odds matching and most times bettering their opponents with splendid performances in 2009.
Ending 2008 in disappointing fashion after failing to qualify for African Cup of Nations, the Cranes started 2009 in style and ended it in an equally chic manner - all this under the tutelage of a man who was hired only to salvage a sinking ship.
The sudden departure of Csaba Laszlo in September 2008 to Scottish club Hearts was a big blow to the local football governing body, Fufa but their timely and inevitable acquisition of Bobby Williamson to handle the last two qualifiers was spot on.
Williamson lost one game against Niger 3-1 and beat Benin 2-1 in Kampala but it wasn’t enough as Cranes crushed out of the campaign, yet again, since Uganda’s last appearance in 1978.
But that win against Benin, nonetheless, put the Scot in the right shape for the tough task ahead and he hasn’t disappointed thus far, winning two regional titles in a spun of a year.
Cecafa glory
Williamson and Cranes kick-started the campaign on a bright note dismissing arch-rivals Rwanda’s Amavubi Stars 4-0 in the opening match of the GTV Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup at the Mandela National Stadium, Namboole.
The youthful Cranes mostly got from the U-20 team that won the regional championship in Burundi the previous year went on to clinch all the other matches enroute to their first Cecafa title in over six years.
Somalia, Tanzania, Burundi and Kenya were the other casualties in the tournament held in Kampala as the Cranes emphasised their muscle in the region. The final against Kenya’s Harambee Stars at Namboole saw Uganda’s new kid on the block Brian Umony stand out from the crowd scoring his fifth of the tournament to give Uganda their 10th Cecafa title.
Jinx broken
The year 2009 also saw Uganda Cranes and Williamson break the away gremlin in May when they beat hosts Sudan 2-0 in an international build up in Khartoum. Umony once again used the opportunity to stretch his Cranes goals tally when he blasted in both goals.
Uganda had last won an away game in 2001 in Blantyre, Malawi when they beat the home side 2-1. In July, the Cranes continued their good run when they dismissed the same side 2-1 in an international build up at Namboole. Umony and Patrick Ochan were on target for Uganda.
That brilliant run saw Uganda climb 10 places on the Fifa World rankings going inside the top 70. As a result, Cranes, at the end of August, landed an invitation to play against the Black Stars of Ghana in a friendly they lost 1-2.
Eleventh heaven
The losses against Niger and Ghana were the only ones Williamson has tasted in over 10 games since he took over.
Quite a descent record for the Scotsman given that he was brought in at the time of despair and barely had liberty to know his players before his first game in charge.
But going into the Orange Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup, poor or blurred planning from Fufa and unclear commitment from government almost saw Cranes miss defending their title. The federation reasoned that court battles had drained their pockets. While they made last minute pleas to government for bail outs, Williamson – to his credit – was doing the professional duty of preparing the team, not engrossing in that administrative mess.
The team somewhat left and were to negotiate Tanzania, Burundi and Zanzibar in Group C in the preliminary round.
Based in the Kenyan western town of Mumias, the Cranes picked off from where they left at the Kampala meet beating Tanzania’s Kilimanjaro Stars 2-0 in the opener before dismissing Burundi with a similar score and booking a quarterfinal date against the hosts Kenya.
Williamson’s tactical noose came through as second half substitute Robert Ssentongo scored with his first involvement in the game at the Nyayo National Stadium, Nairobi, eliminating the home side to advance to the semifinals. The Cranes went on to overcome their bogey side Zanzibar 2-1 and hard-battling Rwanda in the finals 2-0 in the finals – Dan Wagaluka finishing from a rebound after Geoffrey Massa had squared in a beautiful pass and substitute Emma Okwi sealing the win in spectacular fashion.
Two Cecafa titles in a space of one year and 11 in total, Kenya following with a distant five, we’ve virtually won everything regionally and Williamson has passed the Cecafa test.
Now, what next?
Well, he answered the question before we even asked it, immediately after the tournament. We’ve now almost got used that Cecafa as our ‘local’ trophy and we now should be setting sights at Gabon 2012. “We’ve had it all in the Cecafa region and possibly our next target should be the Nations Cup.” We concur with Williamson but only if Fufa sort out their house and make it conducive enough for the Cranes, fans, and all stake holders in the game.
Some of Fufa’s alleged misdeeds that, according to inside sources, include apparent unaccountability of funds from world governing body Fifa, alleged mortgaging the federation, registering them as a limited company and maligning of stakeholders said to disagree with the president Lawrence Mulindwa on certain issues.
All that needs to be addressed if we’re to work together toward reaching Gabon 2012. Good luck to Cranes in 2010.
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