Mugalu, Walusimbi and Nestroy were cut from same piece of cloth

Darling Of Bugolobi. The strong Coffee side of 1992. Standing L-R: George Sserunjogi, Mathias Kaweesa, John Mapeera (RIP), Obadiah Ssemakula, Moses Basena, Richard Makumbi, Fred Kajoba, Richard Mugalu. Squating L-R: Eric Onyait, Asuman Kabuye, Ronald Nkoyooyo, Ibrahim Buwembo, Sam Sserunkuma, Moses Kasiita (RIP), John Oyet Front: Goalie Paul Ssentongo (RIP). PHOTO | FILE

What you need to know:

  • Left Backs. Richard Mugalu played much earlier than Joseph Nestroy Kizito and Godfrey Walusimbi. The three especially Mugalu and Nestroy were known for their attacking ability, crosses and vicious thunderous shots.
  • In June 2011, Walusimbi scored for the Cranes in a 2-0 win against Guinea Bissau in another crucial Afcon qualifier. He announced his retirement in October 2019 after playing in two Afcon showpieces, paving way for upcoming stars like Mustafa Kizza and Isaac Muleme.

The talented trio also left indelible marks on the Ugandan football scene for their ability to pick the pockets of great strikers that crossed their paths. In all, their style of play demonstrated how left backs had steadily become an integral part of the modern game. Read on about the three in our Sunday Feature.

GODFREY WALUSIMBI

Fearless Warrior. Walusimbi’s long enduring career was characterised by a fearless persona and a never-say-die attitude. PHOTO | EDDIE CHICCO


He could play on the left wing as well and was a tough tactical tackler. Walusimbi has retired from international football with Uganda Cranes but still boasts of the accolade of being Uganda Cranes most capped player, having donned the national team stripe reportedly 105 times between 2001and 2019.

Therefore the man nicknamed ‘Jjaja Walu’ belongs to the elite club of players that have won most caps for their respective countries. That class consists of greats like; Peter Shilton (England-125), Sergio Ramos (Spain-168), Lotha Matthaus (Germany-150), Gianluigi Buffon (Italy-176), Lilian Thuram (France-142), Cafu (Brazil-142), Javier Mascherano (Argentina-147) and Wesley Sneijder (Netherlands-134) among others in the coveted category.

For a decade from 2001, Walusimbi played almost all Cranes matches that were scheduled. He was a product of Jogoo Young, the defunct nursery side of SC Villa, which prepared him for greater heights in football. Walusimbi also featured for St Mary’s Kitende, winning a number school titles. In the popular Masaza Cup, he will be remembered for once winning with it with Mawokota County.

At club level, Walusimbi had no option but to join Jogoo Young’s senior side, SC Villa in 2006. He made 92 appearances during the four seasons he spent there and even managed to net 20 goals. At the end of the 2010 season, Jjaja Walu decided to move on, crossing to Bunnamwaya FC before its name was changed to Vipers FC. There he reunited with the club owner Dr. Lawrence Mulindwa, who had earlier mentored him while at St. Mary’s Kitende.

At Bunnamwaya, Walusimbi made 34 appearances and scored five goals. His next port of call was DRC Congo’s CS Don Bosco where he spent just a season. Walusimbi was such a wandering player that in 2013 made a U-turn to his old club SC Villa where he hardly spent a season.

Towards the end of the season he crossed the eastern borders to Kenya and joined the record league champions Gor Mahia. At ‘K’Ogelo’ as Gor Mahia is famously called, he settled in so quickly thanks to the fact that the club was tutored by Bobby Williamson who handled him during his tenure at Uganda Cranes.

Walusimbi was part of the Gor Mahia team that dominated Kenyan football winning four titles in 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2018. He played 59 matches for the club and managed to find the back of the net six times.

In 2018, Gor Mahia smiled all the way to the bank when they sold Walusimbi to South African giants Kaizer Chiefs. His deal was worth of South Africa at ZAR4.4m (an estimated Shs960m) for a three-year contract which was unfortunately cancelled just after a season. Later he left for Albanian club - FK Vllaznia Shkodër.

In national colours, Walusimbi made his debut during the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) home qualifier match against Angola on September 4, 2010. Cranes strolled to a 3-0 victory and Walusimbi came on a replacement for the injured Joseph Nestroy Kizito.

Former KCCA FC (then KCC FC) and Cranes star Jackson Mayanja, who was by then Cranes assistant coach to Bobby Williamson disclosed to Sunday Monitor that it was him that convinced the head coach to field Walusimbi.
“The coach preferred Habib Kavuma of Vipers (then) and not Walusimbi whom he disguised because of his small size.

“I had to explain to him that Walusimbi was actually a brilliant and better player. By the end of the match I had proved right and since that day Walusimbi became a Cranes,” recalls Mayanja.

In April 2011, Walusimbi helped the national U-23 side - Kobs beat Tanzania in an All Africa Games qualifier and created the first goal through a beautiful overlapping raid.

In June 2011, Walusimbi scored for the Cranes in a 2-0 win against Guinea Bissau in another crucial Afcon qualifier. He announced his retirement in October 2019 after playing in two Afcon showpieces, paving way for upcoming stars like Mustafa Kizza and Isaac Muleme.

WALUSIMBI FACTFILE (ACHIEVEMENTS)

  • Played for Villa, Bunnamwaya (Vipers), Don Bosco (DRC Congo), Gor Mahia (Kenya), Kaizer Chiefs (S.Africa), and Villaznia (Albania)
  • Won league titles with Gor Mahia (Kenya) in 2014, 2015, 2017 & 2018.
  • Gor Mahia sold him to Kaizer Chiefs of South Africa for ZAR 4.4m (Shs960m).
  • Made his Cranes debut in 2010 in an Afcon qualifier against Angola.
  • At 105 outings, he is the most capped Cranes player.
  • Part of the Uganda Kobs side that beat Tanzania 2-1 in All African Games qualifier. He made the assist for the first goal.
  • In 2011, he scored against Guinea Bissau in an Afcon qualifier.

RICHARD MUGALU
He was one of those great Ugandan footballers whose serious careers begun in an awkward little known village club Lufula FC (present day Kyetume FC) but against all odds reached the big stage.

Mugalu can be compared to others like Ronald Vubya whose career also began at the same club on his way to playing for SC Villa and Uganda Cranes.

Like Nestroy, Mugalu’s family boasted of several footballers. His other brothers Raphael Mugalu once played for Bell FC in the Uganda national league while Geoffrey Mbogo spent some time at KCCA FC.

At Lufula FC, Mugalu was spotted and signed by fans following Express FC. Because Express then had so many stars it became too difficult for the newcomer to be fielded in the starting team. In 1981, Mugalu went to Coffee FC which was fast becoming a big club. On joining Coffee, tacticians James Nswaswa and Sam Timbe took no time in recognising Mugalu’s immense talent.

They found out that he would be a better player at left back and thus had no option but to switch Sam Sserunkuuma, the club’s veteran player at the position, to the right back. This is how Mugalu became part of the much feared Coffee side of the mid-1980s and early 1990s. The club consisted of other no nonsense stars like Alex Olum, Obadiah Ssemakula, Richard Makumbi, Vincent Ssemanobe and Simon ‘Mupiira agaana atya’ Omba.

Mugalu’s former teammate at Cranes Jackson Mayanja regards him as the best left back he has seen in action both at club and national level. Mayanja made no secret of this when he talked to us this week. “Mugalu was one of the most complete footballers I have seen because he had so many things to show. That is one reason why many coaches preferred him to other left backs like Charles Baker Masiko and Geoffrey Higenyi.”

According to Mayanja, Mugalu had fantastic ball control, good passing of the ball while his height was good. “If Mugalu played today, he would certainly have gone professional with a big European. It was unfortunate that during his time there were not so many scouts like those we see today. Besides, most foreign clubs of that time preferred buying midfielders and strikers, hardly noticing defenders,” Mayanja explains.

Mayanja recalls that at his peak, Mugalu was one defender few players could dribble past, a defender that played the game with such calmness not seen before. Mayanja could be right for Mugalu’s teammates both in the Cranes and Coffee baptized him the moniker ‘slow motion’ because of the slow and calm way with which he used to co

MUGALU FACTFILE (ACHIEVEMENTS)

  • A product of a little know village club like Lufula FC who went on to don the national colours.
  • Came from a soccer-playing family. His brothers Raphael Mugalu and Geoffrey Mbogo played for Bell FC and KCCA respectively.
  • Part of the much-feared Coffee FC team of the mid-1980s.
  • Ex Cranes stars Moses Basena and Jackson Mayanja rate him as the best left back of his generation.
  • His club Coffee was robbed of their first league title in 12 years in 1985 when three points were dubiously deducted from them.
  • Won the CECAFA title with Cranes in 1989.
  • Infront and ease past strikers. At club level, Mugalu won nothing at Coffee FC though everyone still remembers how they were robbed of the league title during the 1985 season.
  • Coffee was leading the table with five matches to go and judging by the way they were playing, most league clubs and pundits had predicted them winning their first title since 1970.
  • Then from nowhere something happened with them being deducted three points and goals for fielding a reportedly suspended player in Sam Sserunkuuma.
  • The club denied this and filed an unsuccessful appeal. This gave their rivals KCCA a chance to overtake them and win the league by three. It must however must be noted that Mugalu would have won many clubs titles if he had joined one of the three top clubs like KCCA, SC Villa and Express FC.
  • In the national team, Mugalu will forever be remembered for being part of the mighty Cranes side that won the Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup in 1989 after a drought of 12 years. He put up a gallant show during the final against Malawi.

JOSEPH NESTROY KIZITO

Slice Of History. Nestroy became the first Ugandan to play in the Uefa Champions League while at Partizan Belgrade in July 2010.
PHOTO | JOHN BATANUDDE


He came from a footballing family where his other brother Manfred Kizito was also gifted and played for Police, SC Villa plus Rwanda outfits APR and Atraco. When he featured for Rwanda side, he was lured into attaining Rwandan citizenship.

Nestroy, as he was popularly known to many, was gifted with an exquisite first touch and overlapping raids in the opponents’ goal area. He is arguably the most confident defender of his generation. In the blue stripe of SC Villa, Nestroy won four consecutive league titles between 2000 and 2003.

His gilt-edged passes were eye-candy especially in Cranes’ home matches as he delivered many perfect ones. An attacking left back, Nestroy redefined the word versatility.

Besides the four league titles he won at SC Villa in 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003, he added two Uganda Cups in 2000 and 2002 with an icing on the cake being the regional Cecafa Kagame Clubs Championship title in 2003.
In 2004, Kizito left SC Villa together with teammate Phillip Ssozi for a shot at professional football where he joined Srem of Serbia. He played 21 league matches and scored two goals.

After just a season, he switched to a bigger club, Vojvodina where he featured in 112 matches in four seasons. During his first season at Vojvodina (2005-2006), Nestroy etched his name into the club’s history books by scoring the only goal in a 1-0 win over giants and arch-rivals Red Star Belgrade, the first victory over them in almost a decade. Such was his outstanding display that year the fans voted him Vojvodina Player of the Year.

In January 2010, Kizito refused to extend his contract with the club and instead joined another Serbian club Partizan Belgrade.

Though he spent a brief stint at Partizan, he won a double with them - the Super Liga and Serbian Cup. Most remarkable of all, during his stay there Kizito became the first Ugandan footballer to feature in the prestigious Uefa Champions league.

It was in July 2010 when he played 90 minutes for Partizan against Pyunk of Armenia in the Second Round return leg match of the competition. All good things must come to an end, so they say. Nestroy’s contract with the club was terminated after just a season by mutual agreement.

He returned to Uganda and in 2012 joined Victoria University which he helped win the 2013 Uganda Cup. In the national team, Nestroy donned the Cranes colours from 2002-2011 registering as many as 34 caps.

One of his best matches, according to him, was the 2012 Afcon home qualifier against Kenya Harambee Stars, the match all Ugandans want to forget. Kenya held Uganda to a barren draw, denting the home team’s chances of qualifying for the continental showpiece.
Nestroy was such a consistent player and his position was never threatened by any one at the peak of his powers.

NESTROY FACTFILE (ACHIEVEMENTS)

  • He played for Srem, Vojvodina, Partizan (in Serbia), SC Villa, Victoria University and Lweza.
  • He won the Ugandan league with SC Villa in 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003.
  • He won the Uganda Cup with SC Villa in 2000 and 2002.
  • He won the Cecafa Kagame Clubs Championship title with SC Villa in 2003.
  • He scored the lone goal for Vojvodina to beat rivals Red Star Belgrade for first time in a decade.
  • Voted best Vojvodina player for 2005-06 season by the club’s supporters.
  • Won the Uganda Cup with Victoria University in 2013.
  • In July 2010, he played for Partizan Belgrade of Serbia in Uefa Champions League thus becoming the first Ugandan player to do so.
  • He played 34 matches for Cranes and always commanded a starting role.

What others say; by Innocent Ndawula

Moses Basena - Former Uganda Cranes coach
Richard Mugalu is among the best left fullbacks Uganda has ever produced if not the very best. He was a greater defender at Coffee FC and in the Uganda Cranes team. Actually he should have been summoned to the Cranes team much earlier because of his earlier performances at Coffee, which was unfortunately not a traditional giant.

Edward Kaziba - Sports Club Villa coach
Of the two; Nestroy Kizito and Jjaja Walu Walusimbi, the former was a better player because of his ability to move forward and help in search of goals. He was so brilliant in defence as well. As for Jjaja Walu, he defied his size and defended well at the left back. He also had a very long and fruitful career especially with Cranes.

Jackson Mayanja - ExCranes assistant coach)
Mugalu is one of the most complete footballers I saw playing and demonstrated so many things in football. He had a superb control of the ball and made accurate passes. If played today, he would be signed by a foreign club. As for Jjaja Walu, it is me that suggested he is fielded when I was a Cranes assistant coach to Bobby Williamson.

Abdu Wasike - Vipers Public Relations Officer
Heard good things about Mugalu but unfortunately never watched him.
Nestroy truly deserves his place among the best left backs of our time. He was a dynamic and direct runner who rose with a humble background similar to that of Walusimbi, who had superior positional and tactical awareness against any size of an opponent.