Posted in News on Nov 27, 2002.
This articles was published in Amakhosi magazine.
Goals, goals and more goals are what Kaizer Chiefs need to lift the league championship. Hence more emphasis has been place on the arsenal as the new season gets in motion.
Karamba Musasa made quiet an impression in the Vodacom Challenge and the Amakhosi scouts never left his sight ever since.
Today the Democratic Republic of Congo striker is a Glamour Boy but his English still need a lot of polishing. Along with other Amakhosi strikers, he will be expected to bang in goals that will finally drive the league title to the Chiefs Village.
Unlike other strikers, Musasa will be closely scrutinised for the fact that he is wearing a "proudly foreign" tag. The Amakhosi faithful will not expect him to take off that tag in favour of Tim Modise’s "proudly South African" tag as long as he keep directing the balls into the net.
Musasa was the chief instigator when FC Lupopo bundled Orlando Pirates out of the Vodacom Challenge in Mafikeng. He repeated the same feat to help Lupopo lift the kudu horn silver trophy in Durban.
A dead ball specialist, Musasa has been described as a good striker who is not afraid to take on defenders. "Not only that," said coach Muhsin Ertugral. "He can play with his back to the opponent and he is also good when facing defenders.
"When I saw the boy in the Vodacom Challenge I was very impressed and management was also excited and we took it from there. I believe he is the kind of a striker we have always been looking for."
It was a tough battle to finally bring Musasa to the land of milk and honey as other top local sides were after his signature. In the end it was Amakhosi who reigned supreme. The coach had an influence in bringing the boy to Naturena.
"Well as you know I have been in DRC for 18 month and have developed a relationship with a number of people there and yes, this helped us a lot in negotiations."
Musasa has been training with Amakhosi for a while and his first unofficial game was in a friendly match against Manning Rangers in Durban. The team lost the match 1-3 with defender Patrick Mabedi scoring the consolation. But the coach was not bothered as it was not the result that mattered most at that stage.
“We played him alongside David Radebe as you know we are working on combinations and I must say I was very impressed. The boy does not understand the language but his instincts are very sharp. He plays more instinctively like Jabu Pule," said Ertugral.
If anything can be drawn from the partnership between Musasa and Radebe in Durban, it would be safe to assume that the two would be charged with the task of cracking down the opposition in many battles to come.
"Musasa is a very young player full of determination and you can see at training that he means business. He movement around the penalty box is quiet something," said Ertugral.
