Africa-Press – Rwanda. As the saying goes in football; “coaches are hired to be fired” but sometimes, success is not achieved overnight as consistency is a key element which brings success.
There are 10 games left for the 2024/25 Rwanda Premier League season to end but newly promoted Vision FC have appointed their third coach in Marcel Lomami after the sacking of Abdul Mbarushimana and Shaun Calum Selby.
The team started the season with Selby who was relieved of duties after just six games. The club had lost 4 games and drawn two before the Englishman was dismissed on October 24.
Anyone who was watching Vision FC under Selby can attest that the team was playing good football. Their goalless draw with Police FC followed by a 2-1 defeat to AS Kigali, in which they dominated the game and missed a 95th minute penalty, can justify that it was work in progress.
The club management had, however, lost patience for Selby and sacked him and appointed Abdul Mbarushimana to replace him, two days before their game with Marines FC. Vision beat Marines FC 4-0 in his first game on October 26, 2024. The club’s next win was against Bugesera on November 23, before they have virtually lost all their games since then.
Mbarushimana was as a result sacrificed on Monday, March 3, and his place has been taken by Marcel Lomami who was fired by Kiyovu Sports barely a week ago.
How does Lomami compare with his predecessors?
Selby at Vision
League matches played 6
Won- 0
Lost -4
Drawn 2
Mbarushimana at Vision FC
League matches played -13
Win-2
Drawn-1
Lost- 10
Marcel Lomami at Kiyovu
Club: Kiyovu Sports
League matches played-4
Lost-4
Drawn- 0
Win-0
Is Lomami the right man to save Vision FC?
Currently, Vision sit at the bottom of the table with 12 points and, under new coach Lomami, they need to start winning games or effectively say goodbye to the topflight.
In terms of experience, Lomami has handled Rayon Sports, which is one of the top teams in Rwanda despite current struggles. He was assistant coach of Djuma Masudi but took over the team on December 8, 2021 when the Burundian trainer was sacked by the management of the Blues for poor performance.
He also qualified Gasogi United and Gorilla FC to the Rwanda League in 2019/2020 respectively. Vision FC who are languishing at the bottom of the Premier League table will be a litmus test for him to show his coaching credentials.
Kiyovu are in the same situation where Lomami will have to prove doubters wrong and get them out of relegation. Mbarushimana was fired after just one month at the helm.
Football defies logic and who knows, Lomami’s magic could work at Vision FC.
Do Vision have the needed materials to survive?
In terms of talent, Vision FC boasts a host of seasonal players who can at anytime walk straight to the first of many of the top teams in the domestic league. They have centre-back Stephen Bonney who has scored two goals and provided 1 assist this season.
The team also has the likes of Felix Ndekwe and Pierrot Kwizera who spent many years in the league playing top football in the midfield of Rayon Sports. They also have Onesme Twizerimana who has previously played for APR FC, Police FC, Gorilla, Muhazi, among others.
In January, they brought in former Rayon Sports striker Musa Esenu. These are players who have seen it all at a good level.
Vision’s main problem doesn’t lie in a below-par squad but rather the frequent changing of coaches. Some of the players are not happy as it makes the progress of the team stagnant.
“I don’t think the changing of coaches is a good idea. Maybe if we had maintained coach Selby we wouldn’t be at this position,” one of the players told Times Sport.
“We were playing good, we just needed 2 or 3 players to beef up the squad but he was sacked. Coach Mbarushimana also started well with us but now we can’t even win games. I don’t think the problem is we the players, because we have good materials. Is about the coaches,” the source added.
There are 11 games left to end the season and there remains 33 points up for grabs. Logically, Vision FC can even finish in the top 4 if they win all their games. The next five games promise to be crucial and it will show if Lomami can rescue them or not.
Vision FC next 5 games
March 8: Marines FC(Umuganda Stadium)
March 16: Etincelles vs Vision
March 30: APR VS Vision
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