Shaban Kisiga: When home is not the best place

Lonestriker · 2013-02-05T10:09:17+00:00

They say East or West home is the best, but to some footballers sometimes a home move from abroad turns into disappointment. Shaban Kisiga, Yusuph Hamisi and Salim Kinje are a talented bunch of players whose move back toTanzania never paid off and one might be rightly tempted to assume that they would chose otherwise if they could turn back the hand of time. These are among the few talented Tanzanian players who have had the courage to cross borders to pursue professional football careers in neighbouring countries. Shaban Marlone Kisiga ,currently playing for Mtibwa Sugar was a darling of Sports Club Villa fans in Uganda.In the early years of the new millennium,Sports Club Villa under Serbian tactician,Micho,was at the peak of regional club football,playing attractive football,attracting passionate fans. Villa attracted various talented footballers from all corners of the region.Shaban Kisiga was among the lucky talented footballers to don the the then prestigious Villa jersey. Gifted with a rare sublime touch,a magical left foot, coupled with an eye for goal, Kisiga was the darling of the Villa faithful. Many begged him to play for the Uganda Cranes in appreciation of his talent. In the talented pool of players at Villa, Micho,the current Rwanda coach, had his greatest admiration reserved for Kisiga. Those who are lucky enough to have seen Kisiga at his peak in his prime days would surely believe that Micho was not playing his usual gimmicks. After all,Kisiga was not a Ugandan,it would not have served his ambitions of coaching Uganda by praising a foreign player.Micho had genuine admiration for Kisiga. Kisiga was an exceptional left-footed attacking midfielder. His game was not built through pace or aggressive tackles and endless running. He had his own way of playing,took his time with the ball without wasting chances for his team.He knew when to hold on to theball and when to slide a pass to a well- positioned team mate. He had positional sense and instinct to be at the right place at the right time to give his team an advantage going forward. Unfortunately after leading Villa to CECAFA glory by defeating Simba ,Kisiga was lured back home,Tanzania.He left Villa for Simba . He was lured with the riches of Tanzanian league. Perhaps he wanted to enjoy the the attention of his country mate,to bathe in the glory of the over-hyped Tanzanian league. It might have been a patriotic desire to play for his beloved national team. Perhaps just like any other Tanzanian footballer,the child in him wanted to play for Simba, after all, nearly all Tanzanians footballers want to play for either Simba orYanga,it is their equivalent of Barcelona and Real Madrid,one has to automatically swear allegiance to one of the two clubs. Or, perhaps,he was offereda deal that he simply could not refuse.That ,we will never know unless he himself speaks out. One thing for sure,the move back home backfired, it simply never turned out as he and many others would have expected. Kisiga was constantly injured, his time at Simba was restricted to injuries. Despite the constant injuries, he gave out his best whenever he was given a chance to play. Tanzanian clubs have never been patient with injured players, the moment a player picks up an injury that puts him off for a big duration of the league,he is sure to be kissed away. Rejected, neglected and cast awaylike the lepers in Chinua Achebes Things Fall Apart. He also played for Azam,currently he turns out for Morogoro based club,Mtibwa Sugar where he has shown a glimpse of his old form. He was voted the most valuable player in the ABC cup last year,a lucrative 8 team tournament in Tanzania. It can certainly be said that his best days were at Villa.The hoof it up nature of the Tanzanian league never suited his style of play.

Thread starter Lonestriker
Start date Feb 5, 2013

Lonestriker

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Shaban Kisiga: When home is not the best place

Lonestriker

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