Express gem Kambale: Icon or false hope?

I t was a moment of raw magic in last Saturday’s Kampala derby between KCCA and Express at the StarTimes Stadium in Lugogo.
It happened in quick time: Express midfield Eric Kambale robbing KCCA captain Timothy Awany and advancing into the box with disguised speed, where he hesitated and swiveled, to eliminate Awany, before shooting low.
Up till now, Express had been happy to keep it tight and test for any weaknesses on the counter attack. Until that moment. It cut through.
Within minutes, Express took an unlikely lead after another box raid caused panic that gave away a penalty dispatched by the extremely cool John Revita.

Now Express fans found their voice and the hosts a moment of doubt. But what did the Kambale moment signify? Some say he is the icon of Express’ revival - from meek to ruthless.
But, like many moments of magic, this one simplified a complicated story. At times the details, need to be collapsed into one principal move that fans can relate to. They need to see Express finally standing up to a superior opponent.
Yet perhaps now that Express eventually surrendered the lead and the game, there is time for reflection.
Express is team that has not always been defined by the revival we see today.

Yes, there are deliberate attempts to build a structure that replaces the shambles of their recent past when they toyed with relegation.
It would be naïve however to expect that any such revival efforts will bear fruits overnight and their league placing demonstrates that the journey will be labored and devoid of any short cuts.
The Kambales and Revitas represent the rare finds that will pop up at any given club. They are a quick fire that ought to be harnessed to light up others, but one that could quickly extinguish.
In fact, there is something tragically ironic about the fact that Kambale’s magic was cut short by a self-inflicted injury from an unnecessary tackle chasing a no-where ball, that was more Isaac Mutanga than him.

That’s how quickly hope fades if early promise isn’t well managed and the club had better be built to withstand such.
The magic of Kambale, should remind us that this kind of player is the exception, rather than the norm. Of course, clubs, even ones that are rebuilding, are often refracted through the lens of the magicians.
But the space between the initial period of promise and the establishment of a club into a genuine contender can be frustratingly slow and full of false starts.

Express is well advised that the problem was never really unearthing the next Fred Tamale, but how much a lack of direction structure and grit didn’t offer a platform for past talent to fulfil its potential or indeed for the club to sustain any sort of momentum.
Icons are icons. And Kambale is good. But whether he ends up representing real progress or just a fleeting glimpse of what can be, will depend on if or when Express does learn something about how early promise can be leveraged to soldier on purposefully and patiently.

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MBanturaki