Football
Andrew Jackson Oryada Snr, KweséESPN 6y

Too early to blame Uganda coach Desbare, says Obua

Former Uganda winger David Obua has said it is still too early to blame new coach Sébastien Desabre after the national team were eliminated from the running at the African Nations Championship.

Uganda were defeated 3-1 by Uganda in their opener before falling to a shock 1-0 defeat by Namibia in their second fixture, meaning it is impossible for them to reach the quarter finals.

Despite this, Obua still believes that Desabre, who was only appointed national team coach at the end of December, can be a success with the national side.

"I know some Ugandans are very unhappy that again for the fourth time the national team have failed to qualify out of the group of a CHAN tournament," Obua told KweséESPN.

"The new coach only started work on December 28th and needs time to understand the Ugandan players and their philosophy better."

Desabre's team will be playing for pride on Monday in their last Group B match against the Ivory Coast in Marrakech, with the Elephants already eliminated from the running.

Despite Uganda's poor return to date, Obua has said that he's seen enough to be encouraged by Desabre's impact with the Cranes.

"The Cranes looked more solid in attack although they failed to put away the many scoring chances created," Obua continued.

"Perhaps Desabre took over with the mentality that the team has a stable defensive line, but instead that department looked a little disjointed during the two matches played," he added.

Despite Obua's backing, Uganda fans canvassed by KweséESPN in Kampala are less forgiving about the national side's underwhelming displays to date.

"We spend a lot of money to pay the coach and yet we cannot get even a win," Cranes supporter Fred Mukalazi told KweséESPN

"Football is about winning and that is what we want to see the national team doing," added fan David Kazibwe.

Sarah Nalubega, who also supports Uganda Premier League champions KCCA FC, said that she is very disappointed in the national team after they continued an unhappy trend of failing to reach the CHAN knockouts.

"Why do we bring in expensive coaches who cannot lead our team to success and bring us joy?" she questioned.

^ Back to Top ^