Kuze will be hugely missed but…‘our’ compensation!

When news broke last October that Josip Kuze had been recruited to take over as Amavubi Stars head coach, the first thing I did, was to check out for his biography….and guess what, after reading through it, my mind told me…to get this man, it was as good as winning a lottery. And I remember writing something about him at that time and his being the right man for the job, but only if he is given the necessary support he would need as well as be let to exercise full authority over the team, specifically the team selection. I am delighted to note that, he actually went on to prove my point in commending him for the job was spot-on, when he, against all odds, steered a seemingly feeble side to the final of the Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup in Tanzania, his first assignment. There is no better way to start off a seemingly tough assignment than the manner in which Kuze got off his mission in Rwanda, and, I don’t know if am right or wrong, either way, signs were clear that things were only going to get better with time. Like everywhere else, the Croat had his critics, who for one reason or the other, never liked him, surprisingly even before he started his work! However, with such a rich CV, it was going to be a matter of time before bigger, richer and or even more ambitious teams came calling —at our expense. True to my legitimate fear, the inevitable came so much earlier than probably anticipated; however, my biggest concern is whether, as he plans to jump out of a two-year contract barely four months into it, is there any arrangement for compensation as it had earlier been agreed on? When Sports Minister Joseph Habineza was unveiling Kuze to the local media, he emphasized that, in case of one party pulling out or jumping out of the contract before it expires, there was a clause that calls for compensation. Fortunately or otherwise, but to many, yours truly inclusive, it is the ‘outside’ party (Kuze) that jumped ship and so he should or as the clause in the contract states, must pay Rwanda the compensation. Does anyone concur with me on this or I’m just being too pragmatic as I always do especially when it comes to issues that concern us all? Whichever way, Kuze has to compensate Rwanda for jumping out of the contract. Kuze quit the Rwanda national football team to take over the Japanese J-League side JEF United Chiba and went on to admit how, like he put it, ‘spent two wonderful months in Rwanda but I could not reject the Japanese offer’. He goes ahead to acknowledge that the Japan invitation was a big surprise for him; and his departure has been ‘friendly’, to who? I really have no clue. In an ideal situation, it would be upon the Japanese club to buy out Kuze’s contract—in simple terms compensating Rwanda. The former Dynamo Zagreb player then manager signed a three-year contract with the Japanese side reportedly worth around $400,000 dollars per season. The 55-year-old, who replaced German Michael Nees last October, led the Amavubi in six matches in which they managed four victories, one defeat and one draw. Besides Kuze jumping ship or not, I also have this other funny idea that possibly the ex-Croatian international knew he would not last here long thus insisting on having his compatriot Obradivic Tomisilav as his unofficial assistant! For starters, Tomisilav came along with Kuze to take up the job of Rwanda’s U-20 side but the later insisted that the former be allowed to work closely with him with the senior side—his wise was granted and here we go…… Some sources have confessed to me how good Tomislav is, they actually say, he could be better than his compatriot that’s why he (Kuze) insisted on working with him, but I am yet to buy that view preferably until he gets to business—you know very well that actions speak louder than words, isn’t it? The new man in charge could prove to be as good as they say but his major undoing is the fact that he neither speaks English nor French, so one wonders how best is going to communicate with not only the players but his assistants too. That means, the way I see, there is going to be a need to employ a translator, which in itself isn’t a bad idea but if truth be said, it is bound to be such a tiresome procedure. time will tell. E-mail: nku78@yahoo.com