Not so many former successful footballers have made it as coaches in world football.
Diego Maradona, Gary Neville, Paul Scholes and Thierry Henry did a lot on the pitch but have so far failed to scale similar heights as coaches.
But of course not all have failed. Zinedine Zidane, Johan Cruyff, Didier Deschamps, Diego Simeone, Antonio Conte and Fabio Capello among others have been a hit.
That’s the path former Uganda Cranes and SC Villa attacking midfielder wants to take.
At the moment, he is the man in charge of the SC Villa Junior side that plays in the FUFA Junior league, a job he says he took up to pay back a side that nurtured him into a great footballer.
“I had a dream of starting Phillip Ssozi academy but when an opportunity to manage the Villa Junior side came, I couldn’t think of anything else,” Ssozi told Kawowo Sports.
I was raised by this great club after joining as a young boy and it’s time to pay back by managing the young boys.
It could be just a few years into the trade but the former winger has products to show from his time including the U-20 national team captain Gavin Kizito Mugweri, Shafik Nyanzi, Juma Sekiboogo (Stahiza), Salim Abdallah, Bobosi Byaruhanga and Charles Lwanga among others.
He emphasizes discipline, understanding of the game and having players of the right age.
“For us, the first thing is identify players of the right age, discipline and then we teach them how football should be played.
Lwanga alias Neymar is arguably the best product out of the Villa junior side but has of recent opted to leave Villa Park after misunderstandings over a contract but Ssozi doesn’t give damn.
“It’s not a guarantee that the players we nurture from the youth side must feature for the senior side. If Lwanga fails to agree terms with the bosses, it’s not my problem but I keep wishing him well. We got Bobosi as a young boy from Kabale and he then moved to Vipers but as a coach, I just wish all these boys success and my pride is to see them grow into proper footballers.
Ssozi won several league and cup titles with SC Villa before he moved to Serbia where he featured for FC Srem before a short stint at Express FC.