Many describe Steven Bogere as the best midfielder of his generation. In a family of seven, three brothers, Bogere, Frank Lukomwa (RIP) and Alex Isabirye all played football for top clubs and the Uganda Cranes.
Lukomwa, the eldest, paved way for their footballing journeys. He played for Nytil FC in the early 1970s and went on to play for Express, Gor Mahia (Kenya) and Uganda Cranes. It was out of Lukomwa's achievements on the pitch that Bogere also decided to play football.
Birth of a midfield gem
As a student at Jinja Senior Secondary School, Bogere's talent came to the fore when he led his school to various trophies. Realising his talent, Grains Millers FC signed him in 1981 but he crossed to top tier Tobacco FC in 1982.
At Tobacco, Bogere's quality tickled top clubs including SC Villa and KCC. In 1986, Bogere led Tobacco to second position in the league and also lost to Villa in the Uganda Cup final.
Bogere tormented Villa that club boss Patrick Kawooya made it a point to sign him on, a feat he eventually achieved in 1987. Bogere led Villa to the league and cup 'double' in 1988 and 1989.
Alex Isabirye was motivated to pursue a career in sports because of his brothers' successes.
By now, his stake had risen and was no doubt Uganda Cranes' most creative midfielder. He led Uganda to second place at the Kuwaiti Peace Games in 1989 and the first Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup in 12 years. In 1991, Bogere left Villa for Spear Motors and later, Nile FC but returned to Villa in 1993.
"I left Villa without thinking twice, so when I got to Spear Motors and Nile FC, I realised that I had made a mistake," he says.
That mistake came to haunt him because his career hit a bumpy road. He went to Oman and later joined Villa International, a break-away side of SC Villa. He quit soccer in 1995 and went into private business before embarking on a coaching journey that has seen him handle Idudi, Proline FC, SC Victoria University, SC Villa and Kiira FC.
Isabirye cames through
By 1984, Isabirye had started his career. As a pupil at Iganga Boys' Primary School, he was the school and district team captain. He was also training with Walukuba FC with the likes of Ali Lukungu and Ronald Mugabi.
"I was one of the youngest, very small but talented. I could use my brains as opposed to the physique," he boasts.
From there, Polly Ouma took Isabirye and Mugabi to Nile FC. Ouma was also the Uganda Cranes and Uganda Kobs manager.
At Nile, Isabirye grew into one of the best players and was called to The Kobs team that finished fourth at the 1999 All-Africa Games in Johannesburg, South Africa. He would later join Umeme, Express, Scoul and SC Villa. During the 2001 Cecafa Kagame Cup, Isabirye finished the tournament as top scorer.
"President Kagame gave air tickets to the best players. So I went to Italy with Tabula (best defender), Mike Ssebalinga (best winger) and Olivier Karekezi (best young player) for a holiday."
In Italy, he got a deal to Bangladesh, where he spent two years. He came back and joined Express and URA, where he retired to take up coaching in 2010. He has since handled Seeta-Misindye, SC Victoria University and is currently at Bul FC.
Bogere opposed Isabirye's career
Initially, Bogere never wanted Isabirye to fully focus on football. He instead wanted him to devote much of his time to education.
"When I was growing up, Lukomwa told me that life without education was hard. I also faced it when I grew up, so I wanted him to be different," says Bogere. It took Bogere a long time to accept Isabirye's decision and to let him play football.
"One day when he was still in Tobacco, they were going to Mbale for a football match but he decided to check on me at school first. Bogere was surprised that I was the school captain. He felt good and one of his teammates gave me a pair of boots. But before that, he would always stop me from playing," shares Isabirye.
No sibling rivalry
Isabirye believes that Bogere is one of the best players in Uganda's history. "I cannot even compare myself to him. I did not see much of him but I think my talent wasn't even a quarter of his. He was a special player and I tried following his footsteps but later realised that I could not. He was far ahead," Isabirye says.
Even as coaches, Isabirye highly respects Bogere. Their first meeting in the dugout came during a friendly match between URA and SC Victoria University, which Bogere won. Since then, they have faced off three times and at all those meets Bogere's team has been victorious.
"It is not that I am psychologically weaker when facing him. I think he is just a good coach, the same way he was as a player. I don't have anything to prove against him," Isabirye concludes.
Azam Uganda Premier League: KCCA, Vipers restore joint summit spot
Azam Uganda Premier League – Match Day 9:
Saturday Results:
BUL F.C 1-0 Sadolin Paints F.C
Bright Stars F.C 0-1 Police F.C
URA F.C 0-1 The Saints F.C
Maroons F.C 1-2. KCCA F.C
Soana F.C 1-2 Vipers S.C
Lweza F.C 0-1 JMC Hippos
The six Azam Uganda Premier league fixtures played on Saturday, 31st October 2015 produced nine goals.
Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) football won 2-1 away to Maroons to reclaim the top spot from Express Football club.
In the same vein, Vipers beat Soana 2-1 at Kavumba recreational stadium to get to the joint top position alongside KCCA F.C
The Jinja derby produced one goal scored by Augustine Nsumba for home side, BUL F.C against visiting Sadolin Paints football club.
Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) lost yet another game, falling to the league debutants, The Saints F.C 1-0.
Jimmy Kulaba scored an own goal to give George ‘Best’ Nsimbe his first ever win for The Saints F.C.
In Mwelerwe, Bright Stars football club suffered the first loss of the season, losing to visiting Police F.C by a lone strike.
At the Mutesa II Stadium Wankulukuku, the home side Lweza football club was on the losing side, falling 1-0 to league debutants, Jinja Municipal Council Hippos football club.
Mustapha Mugoya scored the lone goal on the day.
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