The 2016/2017 Azam Uganda Premier League season was undoubtedly a stellar one for Onduparaka striker Muhammad Shaban. The striker in addition to finishing as second league top scorer with 13 goals was this week named in the team of the season at the UPL Awards that were partly sponsored by club partners Betway. The reward was in recognition of the player’s excellence as Onduparaka finished a decent fifth in what was the club’s maiden season in the topflight league.
He was also nominated on the three-man shortlist for the League MVP title where he missed out to veteran KCCA forward Geoffrey Sserunkuma. The week meanwhile also marked an important period in the young striker’s Onduparaka career. First he returned from South Africa alongside Rashid Toha after cutting short their trials with Supersport United. In doing so, the pair turned down an opportunity to play first division football in South Africa opting to develop their careers at the Arua based club.
That in effect put an end to speculation about the player’s move with Shaban who first rose to prominence with the National Under-17 team Cubs back in 2014, quick to reveal this. ‘’The past is the past, am going nowhere; I want to play my football with Onduparka and work hard to score more goals next season. Guys we should not take anything for granted, let’s work together as a team, the same things we do here are the same things in South Africa, the difference is just hard work,’’ he told his teammates this week.
Having played at times with several niggling injuries, Onduparaka coach Charles Livingstone Mbabazi was quick to grant the lethal forward two weeks of rest. “Shaban needs to rest, he has been up and down in one way or the other. This coming season we really need to manage him well, last season he missed many games due to niggling injuries and suspensions, it’s up to us to manage that straight away’’ Mbabazi said. He is expected to return next month when the caterpillars host Singida United of Tanzania in an international friendly.