Muhammad Shaban has extended his utmost appreciation to honorary FUFA President and Vipers SC director, Dr. Lawrence Mulindwa, for allowing him join Onduparaka FC even when he still had a running contract at Kitende.
Things were falling apart for Shaban at Vipers, and as he sought for a move elsewhere to rediscover his mojo, the reknown educationist did not stand in his way.
A year on, the striker has put his career back on track, having finished the 2021/22 StarTimes Uganda Premier League season with 15 goals, only three adrift of the eventual top scorer Cesar Manzoki of Vipers.
“I want to thank Dr. Mulindwa for letting me go to revive my career. With all factors held constant, he would have refused to allow me to leave,” Shaban revealed.
“But he treated me as his child and said son you go and try to revive your career maybe some other time we could do business together again and I am thankful for that.”
The former KCCA FC forward struggled in the early stages of his return to Onduparaka going six games minus scoring something that haunted him as he explains.
“I did not score in the first six games and at one point I was mentally down to an extent that I wanted to give up but the courage from people around the club kept me going.”
“I realized that it happens and players can even go up to ten games minus scoring but when they start scoring, goals start flowing in.”
“And indeed after the six-game drought, when I scored my first goal what followed next was scoring goals consistently,” Shaban noted.
His performance in the just-concluded season earned him a call-up in the Uganda Cranes provisional squad that is preparing for the upcoming 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
“Returning to the national team has always been on my mind and I have been fighting and working hard to ensure that they call me again.”
“Part one is done I am back in the fold but that is not enough, I am looking forward to making it to the final squad and I know with God and more hard work it will happen,” Shaban stated.
The former Wydad Casablanca striker made his Cranes debut in 2016 and was part of the Cranes squad that played in the 2017 AFCON in Gabon.
Uganda will be hoping to return to the continental scene after missing out on the 2021 edition.
Their qualification campaign for the next tournament due to take place in Ivory Coast in 2023 finds them in Group F alongside Algeria, Niger, and Tanzania.
Cranes head coach Milutin Sredojević’s charges will start with a trip to Algeria on June 4 before they host Niger four days later on 8th June.
Courtesy Photos
