Where do I start? I think we need to make a decision on which name we are going to use. Is it Jjara Brain or Jjara Brian? Because according to FUFA, it’s Jjara Brain, and according to KCCA Football Club, it’s Jjara Brian.
But since we are talking KCCA, probably we go with Jjara Brian.
By the time KCCA get into action against URA in the Stanbic Uganda Cup quarter-finals, if he manages to make the team, it will most likely be his last game. But there’s every likelihood he could have already played his last game for KCCA because he’s headed to Europe for a professional stint.
From what I last heard, most of the paperwork is done, the visa too, and just a few details remain before he flies out to try out his skills elsewhere.
But what are KCCA going to be missing?
Because when we talk about players like Jjara Brian, many times the people who put in the work, the industry, the energy, the physicality, chasing every cause, rarely do they attach the bit about the “brain” to it. It’s usually the guys who use a bit more skill, a bit more thought about the pass and where to place the ball.
Those are the ones people usually associate with the brain.
But modern football has changed. Even the players with energy now have to think. They have to read the game. They have to make decisions. So even then, you could say that KCCA will miss his brain.
I think one of the reasons why KCCA have had a resurgence in the fight for the Uganda Premier League and also in the Stanbic Uganda Cup is because of this man, Brian Jjara. His energy, his fight is unmatched, and the fact that he’s leaving is something KCCA are going to miss big time.
I’ve always felt when you look at their squad, it’s more about the tactics than the playing staff. Because when you look at how they set up, especially in midfield, it just didn’t suit and work for the team.
For me, KCCA always looked better, more solid, when Brian Jjara played alongside Joel Sserunjogi, then you play one of the number 10s ahead of them. Whether it’s Ashraf Mugume or Saidi Mayanja, and of late it’s been more of Saidi Mayanja, but even Rogers Mugisha can play in there.
Because when they tried playing Joel alongside Mugume and Mayanja, it was difficult to tell who was playing where. Joel would sit, yes, but it was hard to tell what the others were doing. Were they both number 10s? Was one supposed to support Joel?
It was confusing. And every time you watched it, it felt like those were instructions from the coaches rather than the players. It was all over the place. KCCA’s midfield was overrun, breached easily, and teams would get to their defence because there wasn’t an extra body.
Joel would often find himself alone in midfield when Mugume and Mayanja had pushed forward.
When they tweaked it and played Jjara alongside Joel, and then pushed Mayanja ahead, that’s when things changed. You could still bring in Mugume, or even Rogers Mugisha, or others, but the key thing was that balance.
The difference was the solidity in the middle. Teams no longer dominated them in midfield. And most importantly, Brian Jjara playing alongside Joel meant there was an extra body.
But not just any body.
A body willing to chase every cause. Every time KCCA lost the ball, he was the first to press, the first to chase, the first to try and win it back. That’s something they are definitely going to miss.
And what he hasn’t been given enough credit for is that he just doesn’t panic when he wins the ball.
That combination is not easy to replace.
Now, KCCA do have options. They can try Mugume deeper. He has played there before, with energy, though he hasn’t quite looked like the Ashraf Mugume we saw at Police Football Club.
If he’s going to play alongside Joel, then he has to play like a midfielder. Not like a forward. Not like a number 10 who rarely tracks back. Because when he does track back, sometimes he’s late and the damage is already done.
Then there’s Axel Mezui, the new player they signed from Gabon. I’ve seen glimpses of him, especially in the Stanbic Uganda Cup against Onduparaka.
Yes, it was against weaker opposition, and yes, it was just a few minutes, but you can see there’s a player there.
From what I hear, he needs to show a bit more fight in him.
For me, he could be the answer. But the instructions have to be clear, just like what Jjara has been doing. Play two in midfield. Let them work together.
One of the coaches also feels Sharifu Ssengendo could be another option.
But the big question is whether any of them can give you what Jjara gives you when you need it.
Because it’s one thing to have options. It’s another to have someone who guarantees you energy, intensity, and consistency every game.
And that’s where the problem will be.
There’s going to be a gap. A big one.
Until those players step up and fill it.
They don’t even have to be better. They just have to come close.
But for now, it’s clear. KCCA will miss Jjara Brian.
We can only wish him the best wherever he’s going in Europe. It’s a big step, and he’s earned it.
KCCA will miss him.
FUFA won’t though. They’ll still have their “Brain” whenever international duty calls.
