Luwagga cherishes purple patch
Decent Run. Luwagga’s shifts give Ugandans fans joy. PHOTO | JOHN BATANUDDE
What you need to know:
- Renewed Passion. After making a name as a globe trotter, Luwagga seems to have found ‘home’ at Hapoel Sfar Kaba in Israel with a fine start of four goals in five outing.
BY DARREN ALLAN KYEYUNE
William Kizito Luwagga is one of the Uganda Cranes’ players that are enjoying an early purple patch after several leagues across the world kicked off their 2020-2021 seasons.
PROFILE
AT A GLANCE
Full name: William Kizito Luwagga
Date of Birth: December 20, 1993
Height: 1.74m (5ft 9 in)
Playing position(s): Winger / Striker
CLUB CAREER
2009–2012: Vipers
2012–2014: Leixões (5 gls)
2014–2015: Covilhã (15 gls)
2015–2017: Rio Ave 11 (mts)
2016: Feirense (loan) (5 gls)
2017–2020: Politehnica Iași (28 matches, 3 goals)
2018: Borisov (loan) (3 mts)
2019: Karagandy (loan)(5 gls)
2020 - Todate: Hapoel Kfar Saba (4 goals)
*Mts for Matches, Gls = Goals
Often played as a winger, Luwagga has scored four goals in five outings to mark a fine start for his club Hapoel Sfar Kaba in Israel.
The form has come as a huge reward for the former Vipers SC player. “I feel grateful and thankful to God because my hard work is being rewarded,” Luwagga told Sunday Monitor in a chat early this week.
“But at the same time, I feel an extra responsibility to maintain the level and do what the club and fans are expecting from me.”
Sweet winner
First, Luwagga scored three goals in four games as Kfar Saba finished eighth in the Toto Cup Al.
And last Saturday, he opened his account in the league by striking the winner with the left foot inside the box after 79 minutes to guide his side to an opening 2-1 victory over Hapoel Tel Aviv.
“The secret has been hard work and always challenging my limits to improve my performance and, having a strong mind set ready to face all the challenges,” the man in his mid-20s said.
It is now eight years since Luwagga left the Kitende-based Vipers to Europe and settling in has been tough.
At a point, he even found it hard to break into the Cranes’ set-up especially during Micho Sredojevic’s 2014-2017 spell.
But an itinerary comprising three loan spells across eight clubs at Leixões, Covilhã, Rio Ave and C.D. Feirense in Portugal, Politehnica Iași in Romania, Bate Borisov in Belarus, FC Shakhter Karagandy in Kazakhstan and now Kfar Saba seems to have reignited Luwagga’s career.
Despite the tough course, Luwagga says the almost-a-decade experience earned across Europe is now helping him greatly.
“Of course, it’s helping me a lot because I have seen different styles of football and faced different situations. All the journeys, I have faced good and bad moments on the way, but in all situations I have faced, I have put hard work and faith.”
Season objectives
“My main target is helping my team reach its objectives of the season. Hapoel Kfar Saba is a good club on a high level but I have played for clubs like Rio Ave and Borisov which always participate in European competitions,” added the exciting winger. His recent consistent shifts have already impressed Cranes coach Johnny McKinstry.
“If you look at our other players around the world, they are all playing and starting; Kizito, Awany [Timothy], Lubega [Edrisa], Miya [Farouk], Bakka [Alexis], you know Onyango [Denis], everyone is starting and playing a majority of time,” noted McKinstry during last Saturday’s Lockeroom Show on Radio One FM.
“Robert Kakeeto, all of them, regulars in their teams. So it’s not that they are just contracted or making up numbers, these are guys who are starting and that’s really good for Ugandan football.”
If Luwagga keeps this shape, he will definitely take a lot of McKinstry’s attention ahead of the planned double-header against South Sudan in the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers come November.
