With KCCA brushed aside by Club Africain in the Total CAF Confederation Cup, Mike Mutebi will be conspicuous by his absence for the rest of the campaign.
As an antidote to anyone suffering from “Mutebi’s sideshow entertainment” withdrawal symptoms, we present his most quotable quotes during KCCA’s successful campaign as compiled by Ismael Kiyonga.
“I don’t want to dwell much on Kayizzi because these are just players trying to learn the game. They may be talented but have never known how to play it. So maybe they’re still learning – [On Kayizzi after his substitute appearance against Primeiro de Agosto]
“For a team that is leading, we wanted to close shop. All the substitutes we made were offensive. We didn’t bring in a holding midfielder or a ten but an attacking midfielder and forward. We emphasize go kill it in the first 15 minutes of the second half. Unfortunately it didn’t work. – [On his early second half substitutions at home to Mamelodi Sundowns]
“We can’t mortgage our identity. That business of parking the bus is not our way. We have to frustrate them even if they are at home because I believe we have the players to match them. We are going to play to win the match, the worst we want in that game is a draw but the priority is a win and that’s what we shall play for – [On how his team was to approach the game against Club Africain in Tunis KCCA lost 4-0]
“We must see Mutyaba more on the ball and using it effectively, not seeing him running with the ball. We are talking about creativity and not running over the place. He must be able to use it effectively and well in areas that make Mutyaba the creative player we are talking about. We are not going to see Mutyaba in defensive areas doing nothing, running like a headless chicken. No, we want to see Mutyaba, Mutyaba. – [On why he substituted Mutyaba in the 1-0 win over Angola’s Primeiro de Agosto]
“But unfortunately, he didn’t interpret things well. Instead of going forward, we started being defensive so it was a mistake from the player and I had to make a change. I am being honest; He had to do the job which he didn’t. – [On substituting Nigerian midfielder Sulaimon Akinyemi minutes after bringing him on against Mamelodi Sundowns]
“I am only worried about that big centre forward (Odumegwu). He is huge, left sided and uses the ball well. Actually, among all the clubs we have played, he leads the line well. He is the best of all we have faced on the continent – [On Rivers United forward Peter Odumegwu ahead of the fixture in Port Harcourt]
“I think the score line falters to deceive. We could have won 6-0 depending on the way we played. – [On the 3-1 win over FUS Rabat at Lugogo]
“We were short on experience. It’s a new thing to most of these players that’s why you see we concede in the first 15 minutes then after we have conceded, we start playing. It gets back to experience. – [On conceding early goals on the road]
“They will start to worry about how to stop Saddam, Mutyaba or (Jackson) Nunda when we meet them. For a team that creates chances like ours, we can get a result (in Tunis) – [On his new midfield trio ahead of the trip to Tunis minutes after they destroyed FUS Rabat at Lugogo]
“First of all, we played some very good football on the continent home and away. For me that’s very pleasing and as I have I said, we are an emerging force I think come next time, we are going to be different. We have a young team – average age 24 and the future is bright for us – [On the entire continental campaign that lasted 12 games]