SITTING DOWN WITH
MOSES MPIRIIRWE
April 3rd, 2020
We had a very fun talk with the ever happy and enthusiastic Moses Mpiriirwe, a Ugandan national who is one of the club’s most lethal strikers. He first came for a test session at the Hurricanes in 2015 when he was actually just visiting his girlfriend in Hamburg for the first time. After Luke Webster - our club president - invited him for a training session, he knew that when he returned as a married man in November of 2016, he had found his new home team. And the rest you can say, is history. Here are some of the questions we asked him and his responses.
Powerful Moses on the ball. © Rüdiger Abend
What were the first impressions when you joined?
“The quick and friendly reply from Luke already gave me a very good impression about the club. I got a lot of welcome and support during my first training! I was so impressed by the hospitality at this club! The diversity among the players was and is still such an amazing aspect and the training was more professional than that of a second league club in my country”
What is your greatest footballing achievement?
“I'd say it was in 2011 when my small underdog Team Distillers FC in Uganda reached the finals of the annual Independence Cup Gala and we played a team in a much higher league. After conceding a 2nd goal in the 80th minute and not netting one of our many chances in the last 10, we unfortunately lost 2-1. Still it was a very beautiful experience and definitely my biggest footballing achievement!”
Moses receiving an Award at the "End of Season Party".
© Nikesh B.
And what about your greatest achievements for the Hurricanes?
“So far was getting promoted from the Kreisklasse to the Kreisliga in the 2017/18 season! It was a very competitive and exciting campaign where everyone worked extremely hard and it all paid off in the end! During this season I also managed to be the club's top scorer in the league. This is however not the biggest achievement, but rather the joint effort that we put together that resulted in promotion. I’m glad I was able to be apart of that bit of history with this club”
Enjoying a Kickabout with his mates back in Uganda.
What do you miss from Uganda in general and why Hamburg?
“Like any other African, I definitely miss the weather! There's always an abundance of warmth and sunshine because Uganda lies along the Equator. I also miss the Ugandan way of living: the extreme friendliness, liveliness and the easiness. In German I would say: 'Die Lockerheit oder Unkompliziertheit.'
Why Hamburg? Like Sigala’s song goes "I came here for love”. After three years of such an amazing love story with my girlfriend Lea (who is now my wife) in Uganda, I wanted to get to see her world and meet her relatives & friends in 2014. I ended moving here permanently towards the end of 2016."
What do you recommend eating and drinking when visiting Uganda?
“Ohh this is a hard one! Uganda is the Pearl of Africa! We have the most fertile soil in the whole continent!
There's so much food and I love food in general, but there are two dishes I highly recommend and possibly my favourite:
The first one consists of boiled green bananas (Matooke) with fried beans (Ebijanjaro) plus greens on the side (Nakati) and little posho (Akawunga). This is be perfect for lunch and if I could, I would eat it for every meal every single day!
Another delicious dish is a combination of egg omelette and veggies rolled in a chapati, called the `Rolex`. But don't worry!! It is not as expensive as the watch! (he laughs). With only 30 Cents you can grab yourself a piece, and trust me, it’s worth every cent.
For drinking my favourite recommendation is the Nile Special: a 5.6% blonde beer with a little bit of lacing on the surface and a rim of foam... (he savours) Nothing tastes better than this, I'd even say it’s better than any German beer!
My favourite soft drink is Stoney Ginger Beer or Stoney Tangawizi as it is called in Swahili-speaking Africa.”
Visiting his beautiful Entebbe with his wife and daughter.
If you could send a message to your Ugandan fans what would it be?
“Well first of all I miss all my Close Friends and of course my Ugandan Fans! To all of you,
Please create more and more relationships through sports and football. The beautiful game has the power to change our communities for good and to connect people around us, creating a healthy social environment for us and future generations. The Hurricanes do it in their very own way, integrating people from all around the world into the Hamburger and German society.
And very important: keep following the Hamburg Hurricanes directly from our website and social media sites. We appreciate that so much, we are on our way to becoming a huge club that your children might watch someday playing top flight football, we've seen this before with TSG Hoffenheim and RB Leipzig and there coolest thing is, that this club has already some Ugandan history!
I am representing you as best as I can.”
"It's very ugandan to eat Jackfruit at the street side."
It was a joy talking to Moses, making us always laugh with his personality and cheer. With 31 goals in 45 league appearances, the Ugandan striker is definitely part of the Hurricanes history books. We’ll definitely be trying some Rolexes with a Stoney or Nile Special when we visit Uganda.
Thank you and all the best for the rest of your future with us!
