Over the weekend, tactician Sebastien Desabre and his Uganda Cranes charges battled in their second 2019 Afcon qualifier game against Tanzania Taifa Stars but could only reap a stalemate. In spite of that result, the Cranes enjoy a 4 point lead in Group L, with Lesotho and Tanzania tied on two points while Cape Verde lie rock bottom with one point.
Our chances of returning to the Afcon finals will be discussed another day, but
let us for now focus on Desabre’s philosophy that is getting mixed reactions from the football fraternity. On Saturday against Tanzania, Cranes did not create so many chances but generally had above average possession and control of the ball. If we were to go back
to the day of Desabre was unveiled in December last year, he vowed to make million Ugandans happy by bringing attacking flair to the national team.
Yet, with most Ugandans only minding about results rather than the style of play, the Frenchman might be caught between a rock and a hard place. In his 10 games with the Cranes, Desabre has only won one, lost four and drawn five games. Such performances are
the reason his tenure is getting a lot of criticism and the list of doubters keeps growing but the fact remains if anyone believed and still believes in his football b‘manifesto’ he/she must be championing a campaign for him to be given more time.
The style of our local game has always been ‘kick the ball and run’ but Desabre’s
intended culture shift seems to be ‘pass the ball and move’. Nevertheless, some immediate changes have to be implemented to convince the majority that his project will work.
Introducing a new breed of players
In the just concluded game against Tanzania, only one new player was included in the starting eleven, Moses Waiswa, who plays his football for Vipers SC. If Desabre is to realise his dream of changing the style of play of the national team, he must be willing to trust the more local talent that exhibited some potential to fit into his philosophy.
Summoning ‘template’
Khalid Aucho has been a strong pillar of the Cranes side for a while but for the past eight months he has been without a club. Yet, because the coach prefers to stick to his summoning ‘template’, he was named in the squad and even given a starting spot against Tanzania denying youngsters who have been actively participating for their clubs an opportunity to show what they could add to the team.
Focus on players already playing ‘his way’
Barcelona players dominated the Spanish national team because the nation believed in their tiki taka style of play. If Desabre believes Uganda should play possession football, he must make use of players from local clubs renowned for ‘kawoowo’ – and make teams like KCCA FC the backbone of his strategy. It is incredible to think that not a single KCCA player was named in the starting line-up last Saturday, and only Patrick Kaddu was introduced in the second half when the game was crying out for the creativity of the likes of Saddam Juma and Allan Okello.