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 to
Tanzania 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. Among 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.H e knew when to hold on to the
ball 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 or
Yanga,it is their equivalent of Barcelona and Real Madrid,one has to
automatically swear allegiance one of the two clubs. Or, perhaps,he was offered
a 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 away
like the lepers in Chinua Achebe’s 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.
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