Why Vipers struggle for impact on the continent

 Denis Bbosa
Another desperate attempt, another abysmal failure.

That puzzling phrase has become synonymous with Vipers Caf engagements over time with the latest bid halted in its 
infancy by Sudanese giants Al Hilal last Sunday.
For a local club privileged to have a decent stadium and resources to

take them to any corner of the continent, the habitual failure to make it to the lucrative group stages throws them in a state of bother.
In their identical 1-0 double loses to Hilal, there were moments Fred Kajoba’s Vipers looked to match their opponents but surprisingly couldn’t find their way back into the game.
Why always Vipers?

Veteran coach Frank ‘Video’ Anyau, who won the Uganda Premier league title with URA in 2008 and dragged the tax collectors to Cecafa final the following year is not surprised with the Vipers futile attempt.

“Before you expect big from Vipers, peruse through the resumes of the coaches that have guided them to the continent and see if they have the necessary experience,” he told Score.

“What had Edward Golola won outside Uganda, what has Kajoba achieved in Cecafa, the Kenyan (Michael Nam Ouma),Mexican (Javier Martinez) and Portuguese (Miguel Da Costa) were all no entities,” he added.

In his view, Vipers should opt for experienced coaches that have been there and done that.
“I won the U-20 Cecafa twice and reached the Cecafa club cup finals,

Mike Mutebi has won the Cecafa title and taken KCCA to Caf Champions League groups. Sam Time is four-time Cecafa club cup winner and the same experience can be attributed to Sam Ssimbwa. All these are available options that can take Vipers past the first hurdle,” the former Villa and Uganda Cranes coach opined.

To Anyau, Vipers may have excellent administration and stadium but have eternally failed to ad-
dress the issue of a technical director - the pivotal pillar of any ambitious club.

“The technical director must be one high technical knowledge and

must be above the coach. Vipers have one (Charles Masembe) with expertise in refereeing and not in coaching  realm. That leaves Kajoba in line of fire,” he added.

High player turn over Ssimbwa, the vocal coach at the helm of four-time league winners URA, says no team can succeed on the continent with constant player reshuffles experienced at Vipers.
“You build success with time, but vipers chased over 18 players and brought in new players days to the continental game,” he said.

“For Vipers to become a continental force, they must build structures that last, give coaches time and allow them sign players according to their preferred philosophy.”
Seasoned sports journalist John Vianney Nsimbe agrees with Ssimbwa.

“To state the plain truth, Vipers is  inconsistent on composition. Team lacks growth, the new players are missing cohesion and uncertainty in all aspects looms large. There is no way you can get past established teams like Al Ahly or Zamalek that have experienced and mature players,” he said.

Stage fright versus away form 
According to Ssimbwa, the continent big clubs have a ‘way’ of in-
fluencing the preliminary fixtures and urges Vipers administration to
establish a rapport with Caf rather than depending on match day re-
sults.

For all the dominance Vipers tend to exert at home, they freeze when juxtaposed to continental opposition, rarely putting up a commend-
able fight.

Couple that with a smouldering ugly trend of losing on foreign soil –
only managed a draw in six outings and you have a larger than lift crisis the club must fight to overcome.

VIPERS RECORD
Champions League
12/02/2016
Vipers 1 -0 Enyimba
28/02/2016
Enyimba 2-0 Vipers
28/11/ 2018
Al Merrikh 2-1 Vipers
05/12/ 2018
Vipers 1 -0 Al Merrikh
14/12/ 2018
Constantine 1 -0 Vipers
22/12/ 2018
Vipers 0-2 Constantine
28/11/20
Vipers 0 - 1 Al Hilal
06/12/20
Al Hilal 1 - 0 Vipers
Confederations Cup
11/02/2017
Vipers 0-0 Volcan
18/02/2017
Volcan 1 - 1 Vipers
11/03/2017
Vipers 1 -0 Platinum
18/03/2017
Platinum 3 -1 Vipers

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