Vipers SC’s reputation of filtering with foreign recruits is well documented. The club’s transfer strategy has in the past seen them spread their wings beyond the local epoch roping in players who have produced varying performances.
Clovis Mbayi Moussa, Karim Niyizigimana, Noah Wafula, Innocent Wafula, Thomas Sefu Ndizeye and goalie Fabien Mutombora have all had aquittances with the Venoms.
While netminder Mutombora has featured admirably well since joining from Lydia Ludic of Burundi in 2018, the less talked about the rest of the cast, the better. Utter disaster!
Whlist when the side lured Ceaser Lobi Manzoki from AS Vita club as a free agent at the start of last season to add poise and guile in their attack, few envisaged what the Congolese forward had in stock.
The narrative at the time of his arrival was that Manzoki was walking in a well trodden path that has seen a number of foreign recruits promise much but deliver less at the Kitende based side.
But according to confidants who tipped the Vipers SC hirachcy about the availability of the player, the Club were bringing in a highly rated and sought after player.
Top clubs in the Magreb region were jostling for his services but it was Vipers who stole the match and signed the player on a two year deal.
He joined with a big reputation that went unnoticed at the time.
He spent three years at AS Vita where he featured in 58 matches and went on to score 38 goals. His time at AS Vita’s big domestic archrivals TP Mazembe saw him score 12 goals in 21 games from 2016-2017.
Blessed with aerial prowess, speed and prolific infront of goal supplemented by his verstility, the Congolese is a full package, a thorn in the flesh of many opposing defenders.
Yunus Ssentamu has rightly consumed all the spotlight because of his goal scoring exploits but it will take a brave or foolhardy person to underestimate Manzoki’s contribution.
Manzoki has forced his way into the first choice starting Xl, and now a vital piece of the Venoms puzzle. He notched seven league goals in his debut UPL season helping Vipers SC finish a respectable fourth.
However, his impact has been much felt in Uganda Cup. A well taken brace against Police FC in the Semi-finals took his tally to five goals and a nother double in the finals against BUL FC on Sunday was a reminder of how goal happy the forward can be.
He emerged the Uganda Cup top scorer with seven goals out of eight games – that’s a hallmark of a typical goal scorer.
New gaffer Oliviera Robertinho is believed to liked Manzoki and takes him high regard as a vital cog of the team.
It’s reported that Vipers SC are working tirelessly to extend the player’s running contract.
