The tasks that await Mukura head coach Rodolfo Zapata

Mukura Victory Sport football club on Friday, March 26, announced the signing of Rodolfo Zapata who will lead the club as head coach for the next two years. The Huye-based club appointed the Argentine alongside Jean de Dieu Mateso who will be serving as his Assistant Coach while Theogene Ndaruhutse was hired as goalkeepers’ coach. Zapata’s appointment follows the sacking of Frenchman Djilali Bahloul in January following poor performances in the opening matches of the Rwanda Premier League, which was suspended last year to contain the coronavirus pandemic. The tactician was sacked after just two months after failing to secure a single win in three league games, putting the club at the bottom of the league table with just one point out of a possible nine. His departure from the club was also motivated by the fact that Mukura was not impressed by his coaching methods in addition to a strained relationship with the players also affected the club’s poor results. Zapata has enough experience about African football having previously coached Kenya Premier League club AFC Leopards, Nigerian club Sunshine Stars, MP Black Aces of South Africa and Botswana sides Gaborone United and Township Rollers. The Argentine, 54, has overseen a possession-based and attacking style of play at clubs he’s coached, especially Township Rollers FC, with which he won the 2018/2019 Botswana Premier League. In Zapata, club Technical Director, Jerome Gasana, believes they have found a good fit for the club’s football philosophy and is looking forward to the coach bringing glory back to the people of Huye and the club’s supporters in general. Prior to signing for the club, the coach was tasked to win at least one major trophy during his time in charge. “We were convinced that his vision matches that of our club while his coaching philosophy can fit our football style. African football is not new to him either and he knows how to win titles. With that experience, we believe that he can bring success to our club like he has done in some clubs he coached,” Gasana told Times Sport. While the club wants to build a youthful club that can challenge for titles in the future, Gasana revealed that the club management brought Mateso in the technical staff to help the team achieve its objectives, as a coach who has experience in working with young players and transforming them into good players. “We, at Mukura VS, have a vision to create our own players, give them a platform as well as help them extend their level of performances by finding them opportunities to pursue professional football careers, especially using the partnerships we are building with European Clubs. We hope the new coaches have such an experience that can help us achieve our targets,” he said. Mateso’s could therefore be a good match for Zapata, who is also known for pooling new talents and giving them exposure to shine at a bigger stage having done so in the United States when he was the Head coach of USA Olympic Development Program (2001-2009), a national process for identifying and developing the best youth football players, which represent the United States in international competitions, such as the World Cup and the Olympics. He performed a similar role in 2012 when he coached both the United States Youth Soccer Association and New Jersey Soccer Association where his role was to concentrate on the identification and recruitment of the best young players. Many of them have gone on to represent the USA Youth National Teams in various age categories.

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The tasks that await Mukura head coach Rodolfo Zapata