Uganda Cranes defender Godfrey Walusimbi still feels hurt by the team’s back to back failures to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations 2012 and 2013 despite coming so close on both occasions.
In an exclusive interview with Kawowo Sports, Walusimbi lamented; “It’s something that still hurts at the moment. It’s difficult to tell how we failed to qualify for the Nations Cup on both occasions but that’s football. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose”.
It should be noted that the Cranes failed to overcome Kenya at Namboole in their last match of the 2012 Afcon qualifiers something that gave Angola which beat Guinea Bissau on the same day an opportunity to lead the group and recently lost to African Champions Zambia in the final leg of the final round of the 2013 qualifiers on spot kicks despite winning 1-0 in normal time.
On which moment hurts Walusimbi most, the gifted Jogoo Young product says that he felt more hurt after the Kenyan game than versus Zambia.
“Zambia memories can easily erase from my memory but not Kenya’s”, he admitted. “In my opinion, it was straighter against Kenya than against Zambia. It still remains the worst moment of my career so far”.
On what next after the heart break, ‘Jjajja Walu’ as nicknamed by fans brings back concentration to the league, Cecafa and 2014 World Cup qualifiers and insists that as a player, he has to move on.
“It’s time to shift focus to the league, Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup and World Cup qualifiers. As a player, you must learn from such circumstances and move on”, he concluded.
