Moment of truth for Amavubi fans

Only a fool will underrate the power of luck in sports, particularly the beautiful game of football and if good fortune plays a big part in one’s success, then Milutin ‘Micho’ Sredojevic must be a very fortunate bloke.Rwanda’s Amavubi Stars has had about five permanent coaches and two on an intervening basis since 2004, but none seem to have been a lucky with the fans as the Serb.Normally, Amavubi faithful love to hate coaches and turn away from matches or even training sessions when the team is going through a difficult period, like the case at the moment, but somehow not with the current set-up.After what I witnessed during the team’s training session on Friday afternoon at Amahoro stadium, I would be off the mark to say that only those who have not been following the national team from close range since the highlight of 2004 in Tunis will not pay close attention to how the team does this afternoon.On estimation, between 2500 and 3000 fans turned up to watch Micho and his staff take the team through their paces ahead of today’s crucial 2014 FIFA Word Cup qualifier against Benin.Not very often, at any level, you get such numbers turn just to see a training session of a team that has lost three of its last four international matches, while drawing the other against, at best, a very average Chad team.When fans turn up in large numbers just to take in a training session, it shows they have faith in their team, but most importantly in the coach to turn things around—in other words, it appears as though Micho still has the backing of the fans, and so it’s upon him to return the favour. Benin won’t go down easily, and if they are lose this game, they will make sure they first give a real go at the three points, which means Amavubi will have to fight the hardest for the win—here am assuming a home win.Rwandans love their team and most especially when it is doing well. They will come in their throngs, fill the stadium, whichever it is, Amahoro or Stade de Kigali but often than not, they don’t get much to sing about, something that has, in the past, and actually until now, turned them away from not only the stadiums but also the team altogether.Now with three very important points, national pride and a chance to rise in World ranking at stake, it is imperative that everyone connected to Amavubi pulls on the same rope and in the same direction.If you can go to the stadium, don’t hesitate and for those who can’t or won’t turn up at the stadium to support the team for various different reasons, don’t lose hope, keep the faith as is the only way the team can feel loved and supported.I don’t want to call this match a moment of truth for either the coach or the team but for the fans—if they can temporarily forget about the last four results, come in big numbers, support the team and not the goal (if it or they actually comes), then the team will have a chance to get the first three points of the campaign.Benin won 3-0 on their last visit here and this will make them believe they have a good record against Amavubi in Kigali, so they will come into today’s game thinking, “we can do it again”, and if Micho and his team don’t rise to the occasion, they shouldn’t blame luck or the lack of it for the latest missed opportunity to bring more fans back on their side.Positive noisesThe 4-0 drabbing against group favourites Algeria last weekend still fresh in everyone’s mind, the mood in Amavubi camp appear to be relaxed and positive with some I managed to talk to sounding confident.“We know what went wrong against Algeria and we’re doing so much to put it right, we are confident of getting a good result,” assistant coach Jean Marie Ntagwabira said on the sidelines of Friday’s training session.But when reminded that Benin won quite comfortably on their last visit to Kigali, the former Amavubi midfielder, and who was Djukovic Ratomir’s sidekick when the Rwanda debuted at the Nations Cup in 2004, noted, “Yeah, we are well aware of that (result) but it won’t happen again.”Benin’s most important players Razak Omotoyossi and Sunderland’s Stephane Sessegnon are hopeful they can beat the odds and reach their first World Cup in 2014.After the 1-0 win over Mali last Sunday, goal scorer Omotoyossi, in an early interview with BBC Sport, said, “We beat them 3-0 in Rwanda in 2009 but so much has changed between then and now.” “The most important thing is to play every game with a great determination to win and not to draw, and it starts with this one (against Amavubi). “No one gave Togo or Angola any chance of making it to the 2006 World Cup, so why not Benin in 2014?Yet Amavubi goalkeeper Jean Claude Ndoli, who will need to be at his best to deny the Squirrel’s strikers didn’t seem too bothered about the task ahead.Speaking to him after Friday’s training session in which the coaches concentrated more on dead balls and goalkeeper’s positioning, he said, “We are playing at home, so ideally this is a game fans expect us to win and I believe we can win it. We’re very confident.”But all hope is that the player won’t be too confident for their own good and end up messing up such an important day for everything and anything Amavubi.Sometimes, overconfidence can have its own side effects as with what happened to striker Elias Uzamukunda, who suffered a knock on the knee in training on Friday. On the face, it didn’t look good and the player didn’t look happy.The France-based forward looked very comfortable in ball possession, protection and retention until that knock which could have hampered his chances of featuring in today’s game.