Africa-Press – Rwanda. In football circles, the second coming of coaches mostly doesn’t end well. Jo Bonfrere with the Nigerian Super Eagles, Jose Mourinho with Chelsea, and several others can be earmarked as typical examples.
Football is among the few things in the world which defies logic; everything about football, from the playing body to technical team and administrators, it is sometimes shrouded in mystery. One cannot understand as things can change in a split second.
Rayon Sports brought back Brazilian gaffer Robertinho Oliveira as their head coach in July 2024. The willy tactician masterminded their last league trophy triumph during the 2018/2019 season and they have since gone five years without the title.
The Blues were hungry for success as they had been in the shadows of old rivals APR FC who have been champions of Rwanda for the fifth time in a row.
The management settled on Robertinho who knows about the club and also has a rich CV after leaving the club in 2019. He handled big clubs in the region including Simba SC in Tanzania and Vipers in Uganda.
During his spell with Vipers, he became the first coach to qualify a Ugandan club to the sroup stages of the CAF Champions League.
Robertinho’s second romance with Rayon Sports started well and his project looked promising. The club went 14 games unbeaten and at the end of December 2024, they were leading APR by 6 points. Their unbeaten, however, came to an end on January 11 when Mukura Victory Sports beat them 2-1 at Huye Stadium.
The Blues have since gone dip in form as they struggled to bounce back. They have won just twice from their last 10 games in all competitions in 2025, a run that prompted the club management to suspend the Brazilian on Monday, April 14.
According to club president Thaddee Twagirayezu, it was clear that Robertinho had failed to “manage his players during the last couple of months both on and off the pitch and that affected the club performances.”
The head was suspended alongside goalkeepers’ coach Andre Mazimpaka who is said to have attempted to take players’ bonuses by himself besides making no impact in the goalkeeping department which led first choice shot stopper Khadime Ndiaye commit catastrophic mistake which saw him goals that cost Rayon against Mukura VS and Marines.
What went wrong at Rayon Sports?
It is an undeniable fact that the season-ending injury of star striker Fall Ngagne has affected the team. The Senegalese striker tore the ligament in his knee in a 1-1 draw with Amagaju at Huye Stadium on February 22 and has been sidelined until next season. Before his injury, Fall was on 13 goals and even up till now, he still leads the goal king race.
Were Rayon Sports myopic?
The biggest mistake Rayon made was releasing backup striker Charles Bbaale and Prince Rudasingwa in the January transfer window. It looks like Rayon keeps repeating the same mistake.
Two seasons ago, they were challenging for the title but the departure of Joackiam Ojera, Heritier Nzinga Luvumbu and Abdul Rwatubyaye in mid-season ended up affecting the team and lost the title to APR FC.
The Rayon Sports technical team should have known and talked to the management that injuries are part of football, Ngagne was scoring but they should have had a plan B. At least keeping either Bbaale or Rudasingwa would have been perfect but they released all of them and the consequences are haunting them.
After Ngagne’s unfortunate injury, Robertinho had no other striker option but to play Abeddy Biramahire, who is a natural winger as his number 9, a situation he complained about after the defeat to Mukura in Kigali. At least, a natural striker like Bbaale or Rudasingwa who knows the league already could have done a better job.
Whether Robertinho agreed to the release of Bbaale and Rudasingwa or not, that is a subject for another day.
Underperforming players signed in January
The January 2025 transfer window was clearly a loss for Rayon Sports. Probably not the players Robertinho Oliveira wanted.
He had submitted names on his transfer wish list among whom were Ugandan duo of Aziz Fahad Bayo and Bright Anukani as well as Muhazi United skipper Joseph Sackey whom he has spotted and talked to after Rayon Sports 2-1 victory over Muhazi United.
He wanted the Ghanaian midfielder as a direct replacement for Aruna Majaliwa.
However, he got none as the club management brought their own players in Souleymane Daffe striker Adulai Jalo from Guinea Bissau, and Biramahire among others. Out of the players signed in January, only Biramahire has made an impact.
Has Robertinho been made a scapegoat?
Robertinho has definitely been made a scapegoat. Actually, the plan to dismiss him was hatched in Huye after their 1-1 draw with Amagaju. A mini meeting was held after the game in which a management member was overheard asking when the contract of the coach was supposed to end as they wanted to sack him.
Definitely for now, it will be very wrong to blame Robertinho 100 per cent on for Rayon’s woes as management failed to sign the players he requested in January. Who knows? The three players could have beefed up the team.
The season is getting to its twilight with 6 games remaining as the title race reaches a decisive stage. Anything is possible in the league and, just like APR were behind until the 22nd match day, only to snatch the top spot on week 23, Rayon can also bounce back again.
Currently, Rayon have started pressing the panic button which is suspending Robertinho. It is just a single point separating Rayon and APR, they should have maintained the Brazilian and showed him support because he has what it takes to turn results around.
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