Cranes coach job applicant holding conversations with Ugandan top coaches

Paolo Negro has been linked with the Uganda Cranes job | Photo Credit: Courtesy

FOOTBALL Cranes coach job applicant holding conversations with Ugandan top coaches

Shafic Kiyaga • 15:41 - 05.10.2023

One of the applicants for the Uganda Cranes coaching job has held deep discussions about Ugandan football with several top Ugandan coaches on a fact searching mission.

Pulse Sports Uganda understands that Italian coach Paolo Negro has been in contact with several top Ugandan coaches to try and get familiar with the job and Ugandan football.

The Pulse eSports independence Cup is set to take place on 9th October 2023

Negro, has proactively expressed interest in the currently vacant Uganda Cranes coaching position.

The Former Italian international has also disclosed to an Italian publication that the Federation of Uganda Football Associations (FUFA) approached him with hopes that he can rejuvenate football in the country.

"I'm evaluating a significant proposal. They asked me to relaunch football in the area. A call that gave me great satisfaction,” Negro told Italian TV Siena.

And it looks like while FUFA keep their cards to the chest regards who the next Cranes coach will be, the 51-year-old has been working under the radar.

It is not yet clear how revealing the discussions have been, but Pulse Sports Uganda understands that they are not soliciting for favours or backing.

The main reason has been intimated to be around trying to gain more knowledge about Ugandan football and the nature of Ugandan players.

The coach believes that if he is handed the job, then he needs to have prior knowledge of where the local game has been and some of the struggles of the Ugandan players.

Pulse Sports understands that he has held individual conversations with a couple of former coaches who have handled several national teams recently, to give him deeper context into Ugandan football.

Negro is among the 245 applicants for the position, which became available after Uganda and their Serbian coach mutually agreed to part ways in September.

FUFA is trying to relaunch the Uganda Cranes to reach their previous glory, and has undertaken a slow and disappointing rebuild of the national team.

Failure to qualify for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), for a second successive time after reaching the heights of the last 16 at the 2019 tournament in Egypt.

Negro initiated his coaching career in 2010 with Cerveteri, the team where he concluded his playing career.

Subsequent engagements saw him coaching Zagarolo, overseeing the Primavera of Latina, and succeeding Mark Iuliano as the First Team's head coach.

In the summer of 2020, Negro took charge of Frosinone's Under-18s and, in the subsequent season, heeded a call from Alberto Gilardino to join his staff at Siena.

Negro briefly replaced Gilardino at Siena before continuing his endeavours in their youth sector.

Paolo Negro had an illustrious career as a football player, predominantly associated with Lazio, where he played for 12 years from 1993 to 2005.

With Lazio, Negro achieved considerable success, winning a Scudetto, a European Super Cup, and three Italian Cups. Additionally, he earned the title of European Champion with Italy Under-21 in 1994.