Kagere determined to repay Kogalo with goals

“You have to do the impossible to make it possible.” This is the philosophy by which Gor Mahia striker Meddie Kagere, the Kenyan Premier League’s current joint top scorer lives by.

The 28-year-old Rwandan netted two goals last Sunday, bringing his season tally to eight, as K’Ogalo crushed Nakuru All Stars 5-0. His second strike in that rout was an audacious display of trickery with the ball that will long remain etched in the memories of those who had the privilege to watch.

Kagere anticipated Nakuru All Stars’ Shayne Indimuli’s back pass, quickly shifted up the gears to overhaul the ball, then in one fluid, outrageous move, he double flicked the ball as he went through a 360 degree turn to leave the goalkeeper stranded on the spot. From there on he had a clear run on goal and even an under-eight player would not have missed from that situation. Beautiful was written all round that strike.

“That was one of the best goals I have scored in my career and I am still very excited,” he told kpl.co.ke his eyes lighting up mirth.

“You know in everything you do, you must always remember what your goals in life are and you have to work very hard to achieve them. The only reason I am in Kenya is because I came to play football, and specifically to score goals for Gor Mahia. That is why I aim to score as many goals as possible in every game,” he said.

Kagere speaks glowingly of the K’Ogalo fans, and says that they remind him so much of Europe where he had a six months stint with Albanian club FK Tirana.

“I love fans because they remind you of your job. They want to be made happy, to be entertained and more importantly, they need to be rewarded with a win so when I came to Gor and saw how passionate their fans are, I said to myself that I have to show them what I am capable of and I am glad they appreciate me so far.

“In Europe it was worse. The fans could come into the stadium in very large numbers even during training sessions and they would sing and cheer throughout so I am not intimidated by the K’Ogalo fans,” he said.

Speaking to him, one gets the impression of a well-mannered individual with great determination and big dreams, and he confirmed this by saying that his ultimate aim is to find his way back to Europe.

“Gor wanted me long ago; even before I went to Tunisia in 2012, but at that time I had received a US$150,000 (about KSh14 million) offer which I could not turn down. When they reached out to me again last year, I agreed to sign a one-year contract even though my agent wanted me to settle for six months because I felt like I owed them for their patience.”

And what does he think of the standards of football in the Kenyan league?

“The KPL is very competitive. It is more competitive than Rwanda, even than Uganda, but my aim is to return to Europe. In Europe you play very high level football and the memories ring in my mind every day. But at the end of the season I shall explore my options including a possible renewal of my contract with Gor depending on how things turn out in the course of the year,” he said.

Asked whether the imminent return of Ugandan top rated striker Dan Sserunkuma is causing him sleepless nights, Kagere replied: “I have not met him yet but I know that he is a good player and that he was the best when at Gor. I, however, cannot let that get into my head because I am also a national team player like he is, and I think I am capable of earning my starting role.

“Look, Ali Abondo and Michael Olunga are also very good players, but that has never made me doubt my capabilities. Even if there were 10 strikers in the squad, I would work hardest to ensure I remain in the starting lineup,” he said.

The Ugandan-born player thinks of himself as a “real Rwandan”, and he says that the fact that he has spent his whole life in Rwanda makes him identify more with the country even though his parents and siblings reside in Entebbe, Uganda.

“I have spent almost my entire life in in Rwanda. I mean, I speak fluent Kinyarwanda and French, but I have trouble getting the Baganda accent right. Oh, and I have also made 29 appearances for the Rwandan national team so I guess that makes me a real Rwandan,” he said with a smile that light up his face like an east African sunrise, bright and abrupt.

The widely travelled Kagere has played for eight clubs at senior level including Police FC, Rayon Sports, SC Kiyovu in his native Rwanda, Club Esperance of Tunisia, Albania’s FK Tirana and now Kenyan giants Gor.

He lives with his wife and two children in Nairobi and even though he does not mind Kenyan cuisine he confessed to kpl.co.ke that he imports Rwandan ugali every month to deal with his cravings for home food.

“Here in Kenya my favourite dish is chicken and rice, but sometimes I really miss food from Rwanda. I like the Kenyan ugali but it is not the same as the one we make in Rwanda so I usually send for cassava flour from Kigali so that my wife can make some real “ubugali”,” he said with another smile on his face.

Likeable chap by any standards but it is unlikely that opposing defenders will think so when they confront the proven goal poacher on the field of play because you feel there is more scoring still to come from him.