Express ascent pushes Vipers, KCCA into revamp – but Villa flatters

Turkish author Husnu Ozyegin once remarked; getting to the top is not so easy; staying there is more difficult.
The is the exact scenario that greeted the Express long awaited Uganda Premier League victory in June.
Wasswa Bbosa’s Red Eagles had shattered the eight-year KCCA-Vipers duopoly on the league title.
They had to thank their gods that their seventh triumph partly came with the aid of the Covid-19 leading to force majeure decision with five rounds of matches to go as Sam Ssimbwa’s URA breathed down their necks.

To show that Express was now a force to reckon with, they descended on Dar es Salaam a month later and returned with their first ever Cecafa Kagame Cup.
Express was the talk of town until an outing in the Caf Champions League that had them ejected by Al Merrikh (Sudan) literally even before the tourney started, exposed their Achilles heel.

When the new league season commenced, cracks in the Red Eagles amour – after a few additions and subtractions – were visible.
URA also took long to recover from Sam Ssimbwa’s departure and a lukewarm display in the Caf Confederation Cup under Sam Timbe that had them ousted by Egyptian giants Al Masry at the second preliminary stage.

KCCA moves on from Mutebi
Few gave Mike Mutebi’s successor Morley Byekwaso the nod to turn around KCCA’s fortunes in a haste. Having finished a distant fourth last season, Byekwaso’s evenly blended and attack-minded team lead the table by matchday 12.
Byekwaso is yet to cultivate the eye-catching playing style that his former boss cherished but has been vindicated with most of his July-August transfer dealings.
Recruits like Davis Kasirye, Benjamin Ochan, Brian Majwega, Geoffrey Wasswa, Innocent Wafula and Usama Arafat have hit the ground running.
At Kitende, Vipers returned to expatriates with Brazilian Roberto Oliviera announcing his arrival with the Uganda Cup triumph.

Villa gamble
There matches when Petros Koukouras’ SC Villa portray shades of potential.And there games that show you how far behind they are from reality. Add that to the long standing administration standoff that is yet to get to life even with the return of Omar Mandela as president and you will understand why it has been a mixed year for the Jogoos.

The record league kings finished a dismal 10th last campaign, 22 points behind than eventual champions Express.
Banking on rookies Travis Mutyaba, Iddi Abdulwahid, Oscar Mawa, Joseph Kafumbe and Salim Abdallah, Villa had won only two matches in 10 outings to sit in the wrong side of the table.
Koukouras has asked for patience and a busy venture into the mid-season transfer window if he is to resuscitate the 16-time winners.

UPL feeds Cranes
When Micho Sredojevic returned to the Cranes fold in July, he opened up the doors to the local based players to prove their worth. Many upped their game to earn call-ups as the Serbian shelved the policy of giving pros priority.
Players such as Ibrahim Orit, Steven Mukwala, Aziz Kayondo, Bobosi Byaruhanga, and Milton Karisa enjoyed the confidence of Micho’s technical team in the World Cup qualifiers.

New stars are born
The year 2021 was highlighted by the  choreographed Fufa Awards skirmish between Vipers’ Byaruhanga and Express striker Eric Kambale. 
Kambale was the standout player last league campaign while Byaruhanga, who eventually won, helped the U-20 side to the Afcon final in February in Mauritania losing 2-0 to Ghana.

Ssimbwa, Mutebi major managerial casualties

The doyens of Ugandan coaches Mutebi and Sam Ssimbwa have been reduced to spectators. Many heads have rolled this year and more are set to go before the end of the season.
Fred Kajoba (Vipers), Baker Mbowa (Bright Stars), Douglas Bamweyana (Wakiso Giants), Edward Kaziba (Villa) and Kefa Kisala (UPDF) headline the biggest names that have been shown the exit this year.
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