AMAVUBI legend Jimmy Gatete has revealed that he has unfinished business in football and is close to returning to the sport.
Gatete, a former player for Rayon Sports, APR FC, Mukura Victory Sport and Ethiopian side St Georges, retired from international football in 2013 and ventured into business.
The veteran, who currently lives in the United States with his wife and their two children, has not been involved in any activities associated with football but admits it’s only a matter of time before returning to the sport in which he has fond memories of especially with the national football team, Amavubi.
‘I don’t see myself coaching, but I feel something is pushing me back to the game. I have a feeling that one-day I will return in football,” he told B&B FM Umwezi in an interview.
"Even if I can help a street football team, I think I still have something to contribute,” he added.
Gatete played 42 international games for Rwanda from which he scored 25 goals including the goal that gave his country the first and lone qualification to the Africa Cup of Nations in 2004.
After he hung up his boots, Vincent de Gaulle Nzamwita, former head of the national football governing body (Ferwafa), tried to bring Gatete back to football as a coach but he declined the offer.
Gatete attended managerial courses in Germany in 2015 but he did not complete the courses due to a hectic schedule as a business owner.
Rwandans, especially the media, have for years had questions surrounding Gatete’s whereabouts in football since his retirement but the 38-year-old declined any media interviews until he was interviewed in Kinshasa recently.
In what appeared to be a coincidence, Gatete, who was also in the Congolese capital for business purposes, met his former teammates, now coaches, Eric Nshimiyimana and his assistant Jimmy Mulisa who are in charge of the City of Kigali-sponsored club.
His best memories
Gatete will forever be remembered for his heroic performances during Rwanda’s journey to their first qualification to the 2004 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Tunisia.
July 6, 2003 will remain forever in Rwandans’ memories after Gatete headed home the lone goal that qualified Amavubi to the AFCON 2004 after beating Ghana 1-0 at Amahoro stadium.
"There are things that happen to you, whether you were prepared or not, but it was so exciting, and it went beyond emotions after the game. I don’t know how I can say it but it was super exciting,” he said.
Gatete’s goals helped Rwanda write a new football history but, to him, the goal against Ghana that secured the qualification for the national team remains his best moment of his football career.
"Both games against the Uganda Cranes and Ghana have something they mean in the history of Rwandan football but the victory against Ghana was more special because it was the reason we qualified to the AFCON 2004 for the first time in our history,” he recalls.