Desabre has reason to smile as KCCA continue to marvel

When the Caf Champions League group stage draw pitted KCCA against continental aristocrats Al Ahly and Espérance de Tunis, the odds of the Ugandan champions having a sniff at the quarterfinals were paper-thin. The probabilities took another dip when a trip to Botswana on matchday one ended in a marginal defeat at the hands of Township Rollers.
But what was supposed to be a devastating example of punching above one’s weight took a turn for the better on M atch Day Two.
KCCA jabbed at Al Ahly and was astounded to learn that the eight-time African champions had been shaken to the core. It was not just Al Ahly that failed to beat the count at a sun-drenched Mandela National Stadium, but also its erstwhile coach Hossam El Badry who is now out of a job.

Forced to exit
For El Badry, going on gardening leave — barely weeks after guiding Al Ahly to a 40th league title — was a grim reminder of the pervasiveness of if not the brevity then absurdities of coaching life. As Giovanni Trapattoni once colourfully said, a coach can be a bit like a fish — if they stay around too long, they start to smell.
In El Badry’s case, Charles Lukwago was vastly responsible for the fishy smell. The KCCA net-minder kept a clean sheet en route to extending the minutes he’s gone without conceding a goal in the competition to an eye-popping 360! That, though, is just half the story. Lukwago twice played sweeper keeper, stopping forays from Al Ahly attackers with his feet. In between, he parried Walid Soliman’s penalty to safety for good measure.
If the Egyptian outfit went into the match with a paucity of information about Lukwago, as many believe they did, then its legions of fans will certainly never forget the goalkeeper and what he is capable of. Post match, Lukwago’s manager, Mike Mutebi, was a bit stingy with his compliments, but nevertheless hailed him for fitting the bill of “the goalkeeper we have in mind.” Mutebi added thus: “We want our goalkeepers to be able to play with their feet.”

KCCA’s brand
And play with his feet Lukwago did, not just making two fabulous last-ditch clearances, but also completing passes. Mutebi has a cast-iron commitment to playing the game with a style that is soft on the eye. This essentially means that his goalkeepers mustn’t reject the notion of playing with their feet. This has its benefits not just defensively but offensively as Benjamin Ochan’s assist during a last-gasp win over Al Masry showed during last season’s Caf Confederation Cup.
This all should be music to the ears of Cranes coach Sébastien Desabre as it dovetails with his football philosophy. If other coaches pull in a similar direction, no doubt Desabre’s work will be made that much simpler. Uganda will move a step closer to having a footballing DNA.