The Big Dance

The Independent (Kampala)

Magnus Mazimpaka

23 June 2011

interview

Two years ago, Rwanda established two football academies. Today, the schools have produced a solid team of young and talented Rwandans who exhibited their skills by thrusting themselves into the Fifa Under-17 World Cup competition in Mexico. On June 19, the team lost their first match to England 2-0. Magnus Mazimpaka spoke to coach Richard Tardy about the teams’ chances of making history.

Can you rate your team’s capacity to win the cup?

I am the coach and I must be realistic. Talking about winning the world cup is a big dream, but we must be reasonable. When we held the first press conference in Kigali, I made my intentions clear: I want to win one game in the World Cup and try to reach the second round of the Fifa U17 World Cup. For me this is very important and we can do it but winning the world cup, I can’t even dream about it.

Why do you feel will not win the World Cup?

I have so many reasons why I think we can’t win the World Cup. First, this is our first time in the competition, so we don’t have any experience. Secondly, Rwanda is not a big football country, and for instance in our group we will play England, Uruguay and Canada, teams that have players that have played big competitions in U15 and U16. They play better youth competitions in their country every week thus they have more experience than us.

On our team, we have more than 50 percent of players who haven’t played in any competition. However, with players like Andrew Buteera and Charles Mwesigye Tibingana (Proline Academy), Faustin Usengimana (Rayon Sport defender), Farouk Ruhinda (Express FC), Alfred Mugabo (Arsenal U16 midfielder), among others… are a huge boost for the team. I have told my players to play with their heart and to sacrifice for their country. We played against England and we are meeting Uruguay, but if the team doesn’t reach the semi finals, they should blame themselves because they are good. For Rwanda, reaching the next round would be a big result.

What does it mean for Rwanda to be part of this tournament?

The Fifa World Cup is the best event of football in the world. It is good for the youth of Rwanda and for Rwandan football and also for the country. To be here today is to prove that in Rwanda we have elevated our football.

Can you describe the emotional or psychological status of your team?

What we did in the Africa U17 championship was very important because we played like a family and I hope that we can do this again here in Mexico. But now it’s four or five months after the African Championship and to some players the same spirit has changed because they have had too many people around them following their success, so it is our job to maintain their spirit…We must not forget that it was an achievement to be here and I am sure many people are eager to see what we can do.

What kind of challenges lie ahead and can they be overcome?

One of the challenges that we need to fight is proving that Rwanda fought for its place to be among the 24 countries in the world participating in this tournament. We won, it didn’t come by luck. Second, we are here to give a good picture of both Rwanda and African football.

Do you have all the support that you need, from government, federation, fans etc?

The support was there even before the team started preparations for the Africa U17 Championship when we went on to reach the finals of the championship losing 1-2 to Uruguay. The government has been behind the team, organizing training camps in France, Germany and USA before coming to Mexico. Everyone from the government, the soccer federation and fans has played their role.

Who is your biggest threat?

Our biggest threat was England because we faced them in the opening match. The other is Uruguay because of their history. They have produced better players at this age group. Our problem is that many times my players forget the rules of the game on the field, but if they keep them in mind, we will surprise many. But this is all about lack of experience, because had we played 30-35 international matches before coming here then we would not be having such problems. We are considered as underdogs and this can work in our favour.

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