In the five games in charge, the Venoms have lost to 5-to three-time African Champions Raja Casablanca on the continent and had to depend on shootouts to overcome lower-tier sides Bujumbura United and Jinja United in the Uganda Cup.
Vipers’ coach Bento Bianchi has not witnessed his team celebrate a goal since taking over the reigns from Roberto Oliviera who is now at Simba in Tanzania.
The Brazilian-Spaniard was unveiled on January 11th this year about 13 days after the Venoms confirmed Robertinho’s departure. Well, the superstitious have reservations about that number.
Robertinho was hired on August 27th, 2021 before exploding into the domestic scene with aplomb beating Police 2-0 in the semi-finals of the 2020/21 Stanbic Uganda Cup before walloping BUL 8-1 in his second match in charge to win their seventh trophy.
The former Brazilian scored a distinction in his stay at the ST. Marys Kitende outfit, losing only five and sharing spoils in nine, winning 36 games, a 70 percent win ratio inside 486 days in charge. He went on to win the Uganda Premier League with a record high 18 points clear!
He also led the club to their maiden CAF Champions League group stage appearance and Uganda’s second after KCCA FC in 2018. They did that by eliminating five-time African champions and 2010 FIFA Club World Cup silver medallists TP Mazembe.
During those 52 competitive matches, Robertinho’s side scored a whooping 117 goals, a decent 2.25 goals return per match!
Rough patch
As it looks, Bianchi didn’t make a decent handoff to his countryman at the changeover box. Bianchi’s start has not been rosy. The coach will head into the weekend’s ‘do or die’ Champions League with his venoms glands dry.
In his four games in charge, the Venoms have lost to the mighty and struggled against the minnows; a 5-0 humiliation against three-time African Champions Raja Casablanca on the continent, had to depend on shootouts to overcome third-tier side Bujumbura United in the Uganda Cup.
Bianch and his troops also had to depend on a poor refereeing decision to cancel Jinja North United’s (Big League Club) and penalty kicks gamble to reach the round of 16. Immediately after that game, the club’s public relations officer Abdu Wasike could not hold much but lash out at Ivorian import Desire Tety on the team’s poor show.
“What’s this you’re playing?” Wasike rhetorically questioned Tety and the team, “This is a very poor performance and you need to improve!”
Mulindwa watches
Wasike is not alone. Immediately after referee Mashoud Ssali blew the whistle to end Vipers’ goalless draw with Wakiso Giants at home, the cameras quickly spotted Wakiso’s proprietor Musa Atagenda clenching his fist in the air in celebrations.
In the background was Vipers’ Lawrence Mulindwa who had been pinned to his chair while subdued in deep thoughts. Mulindwa only attends Vipers’ home games inside his comfortable director’s box but on this occasion, the billionaire didn't look comfortable with the results, at all.
Before Bianchi, Mulindwa had witnessed Vipers win six consecutive competitive matches scoring 16 but the team has now failed to score in consecutive fixtures inside one week. Oliviera’s report card in Mulindwa’s possession shows “eleven goals for” in the Wakiso Giants' column for the four matches prior to the barrenness.
Yunus Ssentamu and skipper Milton Karisa had scored 34 league goals (24 last season and ten before January) while Karim Ndugwa netted nine in 2022 with four assists before crossing over from BUL.
When they meet Simba on Saturday in one half of the doubleheader, Bianchi must pray that his tactics work right and strikers discover their boots otherwise a trip to Dar es Salaam and Horoya and Raja Casablanca visit could jeopardise his two-year contract at Vipers.
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