There has probably never been a more extended debate about the world’s best-ever footballer than the one that has involved both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo over the last 15 years. I have come to accept that it will never be resolved. Equally so, it has been a long-standing debate among Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA FC) faithful about who is the club’s greatest player of all time. Interestingly, many in the new generation actually consider Allan Okello as KCCA’s best ever footballer. They could not be farther from the truth, to be honest. However, my interest in penning this column at this time, is to set the record straight on who actually is KCCA’s greatest ever football player, and why. For so many years, the late Phillip Omondi has been considered the ‘GOAT’ and by and large, unmatched. But while I hate to burst several KCCA fans’ bubble, Moses Nsereko is actually KCCA’s best ever football player. First and foremost, Nsereko was a one team man. He only played for KCCA even when there were opportunities to make big money moves elsewhere. Nsereko never deserted the yellow shirt until he retired in 1985. In his famous shirt number 14, KCCA’s opponents famously said that to beat KCCA, you had to stop Nsereko first. During his football career, Nsereko emerged as one of the continent’s finest midfielders, showcasing remarkable athleticism, ball-winning prowess and strategic distribution. It was not surprising that he was named in the 1978 Africa Cup of Nations best eleven alongside Omondi. But even before that, he could single-handedly win a game for his team because of his meticulous approach and outstanding talent. It is against that background, that he was dubbed Master Planner and Kisolo Ky’amaanyi due to his raw power that enabled him to bulldoze most midfields he came up against. During Nsereko’s playing career from 1970 to 1985, which was preceded by him beginning as a ball-boy at the club, he proved to be arguably the best ever Ugandan midfielder. He always dominated his opponents on the domestic front. In 1976, Nsereko inspired KCCA to its first league title. Yet, as a midfielder, he was the league’s top-scorer with 13 goals. He followed that up by helping KCCA defend its league title in 1977. He scored five league goals and added seven assists. Although Simba FC beat KCCA to the league title in 1978, Nsereko helped his side win its first-ever Cecafa Club Championship that year. Nsereko, who was drafted into the KCCA team by Jaberi Bidandi Ssali, who was the club coach then, made his bow alongside talents like Rashid Mudini, Ibrahim Magala and Peter Mazinga. Nsereko was a fast player, whom Bidandi first played as a right winger, a position from which he laid on many assists. But later on, the coach switched a youthful Nsereko to midfield, where he excelled. His fine dribbling skills, coupled with good ball distribution, showcased him as a truly complete player at both ends of the field. On top of that, Nsereko was the one KCCA player that was versatile. He could play in several positions, proving what a gem he was. Nonetheless, Nsereko was largely a number 6, 8 and 10. As a talisman of KCCA, Nsereko ensured that his team swept all and sundry. To actually understand how good Nsereko was, is the fact that at 21 years of age, he made his Cranes debut in 1973. He helped Cranes win the 1976 Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup in Zanzibar, where he scored one of the two goals. He did it again in 1977, when Somalia hosted the Cecafa. In the long run, Nsereko became the team’s talisman. While Nsereko’s teammates: Tom Lwanga, Omondi, Jimmy Kirunda and Hussein Matovu joined the paid ranks in the United Arab Emirates in 1978, he stayed behind, and was named coach/player by Bidandi. It was an inspired appointment, especially because Bidandi had become very busy in his role as a government minister. Replacing Bidandi was never going to be easy, yet, Nsereko proved it was. He helped KCCA win the Uganda Cup titles in 1979, 1980, 1982, and 1984 as a coach/player. This was followed by another league title to KCCA in 1981. He wrapped up his playing career with league success in 1985. Notably, Nsereko was the one former KCCA footballer, who successfully transitioned from merely being a player, to a coach, and then an administrator for the club. That only adds to the man’s legacy, which, contrary to what many people believe, Omondi would not really compare. This is why: While Omondi joined KCCA in 1972 from Fiat FC, together with Lwanga and Sam Musenze, he was not as dominant as Nsereko had been. Omondi started out as a holding midfielder, before he was moved to the number 10 role in 1975, where he showed creative instincts. That year, he scored four goals, but created a number for the league’s top-scorer, Chris Ddungu, who bagged 12 goals. But in 1976, Omondi suffered an injury, which kept him out for 14 months. Up stepped Nsereko, from merely being a central midfielder, who used to play box-to-box, to filling in at number ten. He simply excelled there, not only by creating for teammates, but was league top-scorer with 13 goals. When Omondi returned in 1977, he only scored one league goal compared to Nsereko’s seven, who actually featured in 30 of the club’s 34 games that year. In 1978, after Omondi had fully recovered, he scored six goals that season, including two at the Cecafa Club Championship, which KCCA won. Do not forget that in the 1978 league season, KCCA’s top scorer was Jimmy Kirunda, a defender-cum-striker with 32 goals. This was a record that was broken in 1999 by Andrew ‘Fimbo’ Mukasa, who scored 45 league goals. In due course, I will write about Kirunda, and where he ranks in Ugandan football. However, in 1979, Omondi only scored four goals, before leaving the club for the paid ranks in the UAE. It was not until 1983, that Omondi returned to the club. He scored 10 goals then compared to Nsereko’s three. But Nsereko spent a long period sidelined because of injury. Nsereko’s injury went on until 1984, as he only featured in seven games, scoring only twice. Omondi, on the other hand, played 17 games and scored six goals. Although Omondi did not have any major interruptions with injuries in 1985 and 1986, he only scored five and four goals respectively in those seasons. Omondi’s off the field lifestyle just did not help matters. His last season at KCCA was 1987, where he only played 11 times and scored three goals. At the end of that season, the club could not continue with him, because of his indiscipline. He joined Bank of Uganda football club, instead. Yet, Nsereko was still at KCCA as a coach. The fact that Nsereko remained at KCCA was because he was a role model both on and off the field. Greatness hinges on such aspects. Notably, so many people have been carried away by Cranes 1978 Afcon performance to highlight Omondi’s greatness. But despite scoring three goals at the 1978 Afcon, Omondi, who was joint top scorer then, featured in the 1974 and 1976 tournaments, too. Yet, those were listless performances from him, something one cannot say of Nsereko, who was impressive even then. In a nutshell, Nsereko’s commitment to KCCA and overall performance through two decades at the club is certainly unmatched. If it is about leadership on the field, discipline, effectiveness as a player, role model, matchwinner with the X-factor, something that was propelled by his versatility, he is KCCA FC’s greatest of all time! NSEREKO FACT FILE He was born in 1952He played for only KCCA FCHe played at Naguru Katale and City High SchoolHe joined KCCA in 1970 and retired in 1985He won with KCCA 5 league, 4 Uganda Cup and 1 Cecafa CupHe coached KCCA from 1979-1987He was Fufa General Secretary (1989-1991) He played for Uganda Cranes (1973-1983)He won 3 Cecafa Cup tournament with Uganda Cranes (1973, 1976 and 1977)He featured in three Afcon tournaments (1974, 1976 and 1978) and was selected in the 1978 Afcon team.He died on September 15, 1991The post Why Moses Nsereko is KCCA FC’s greatest player of all time appeared first on The Observer Media Ltd.