Call him Micho, Sserunjogi or whatever, that’s for the simplicity… Serbian Milutin Sredojevic is new Uganda Cranes coach for the next two years. I hope i spelt it right. Bienvenue Monsieur…
And that’s Fufa’s word any ardent Ugandan soccer fanatic will not even have a chance to query. For now, no more questions about our touchline business for at least the next 700 days unless the script is written upside down.
Yes, it will keep us in the coaches’ swing longer for now. From a legendary Sir Alex Ferguson putting his ‘iron hand’ to rest at Old Trafford and paving way for a chosen David Moyes, we can still keep our eyes off the pitch and look at the bench.
A pugnacious Jose Mourinho ends terms with the Galacticos in a ‘worst’ season of a glitzy career just days after noisy neighbours let go of an unlucky Roberto Mancini after a poorly done ‘Italian Job’ to shake Malaga’s coaching structure.
The next question would be who wears the best coat, who grunts most or buys the most chewing gum for just one and half hours? Anyway, back to our very own.
The 43-year-old from Prokuplje won the seat after beating close to 37 other tacticians including five local to the challenge. So the rest missed out but survived trying another grueling task that Micho is up for.
Just like things were not easy for Scotsman Bobby Williamson, so will be for the man who started his African route here.
About 12 years ago, Sredojevic started a coaching chapter on the continent with local side Sports Club Villa. In the 2001-2004 spell with the country’s most successful side, Micho won four successive league titles and a CECAFA title while at Villa Park.
From there, he’s moved to other clubs with Villa’s pedigree like Ethiopia’s Saint-George, South Africa’s Orlando Pirates, Tanzania’s Young Africans FC and Sudan’s Al-Hilal Omdurman before changing to national team work with Rwanda’s Amavubi Stars.
That’s quite a journey across the continent after being away from his second home for nine years. Micho returns not to rest but to start or rather engage in a mission that should put Ugandan fans at ‘rest’ someday to come.
How tough is it for him? Well, the future holds it right there. His ‘second’ life in this country’s football blatantly offers him more objectives to meet in an era marred with wrangles and unending bickering.
Not even his grey suit can comfortably avoid the dirt whether on the pitch or in the lockerroom more so at a time when tweeps hilariously call our national team dressing room a forex bureau. No pun intended lads.
Of course, the focus will be on what the results on the pitch hold. Just like his predecessor, Micho comes at a time when the yellow and black jerseys are sunk in deep pit at the ongoing 2014 FIFA Africa World Cup Qualifiers.
Uganda leads from the root of group J with two points from three clashes. A 2-0 loss to Liberia early this year forced Bobby out of the way and many including the top gurus expect a sweet revenge at the fortress in Namboole next month.
In a move to keep Fufa’s ambition on card, Micho already has that at the back of his mind. Hence, just beat Liberia as the rest fight and we are at least back in things.
Williamson, CECAFA’s most successful coach with four titles to his name, did it well too. Uganda beat Benin 2-1 in what cricketers would call a ‘dead rubber’ at the 2010 FIFA World Cup and Africa Cup Of Nations (Afcon) Qualifiers.
The Scot then followed with a series of heart breaks in front of a daring home crowd in the road to the 2012 and 2013 editions of the Afcon. The bizarre trip to Monrovia finally put the nail in his coffin. That’s how Beautiful But Unlucky he was.
Micho, who left good records (remember the 22-00 thumping of Akol FC) here, is now the one set feel the heat on this unfriendly frying pan. The gas is not yet fully turned on but its not far as the 2015 Afcon Qualifiers are almost underway.
Like any one, the reception is always appeasing but wait when you things turn out different, you painfully dance to all kinds of music!
Since 1978 when we lost to Ghana’s Black Stars in the final in Kumasi, a total of 17 coaches have failed to break the barricade and fly the Cranes to yet another dinner with the continent’s best teams.
Can Sredojevic orchestrate one move to Morocco and cement his name among the few coaching greats during his Second Chance here? Or will he be the 18th on the list?
Well comeback home Micho though and good luck, this is not your welcome letter sir. May be a congratulatory one then. Bon chance!