The Citizen (Dar es Salaam)
Majuto Omary
2 December 2011
Dar es Salaam — Rwanda midfielder Haruna Niyonzima has quashed claims that he has hard feelings with his Kilimanjaro Stars counterpart, Nurdin Bakari.
Tempers almost flared when Nurdin stamped his foot on Niyonzima when Rwanda and Tanzania Mainland locked horns in the opening match of the ongoing Cecafa Tusker Challenge Cup last Saturday.But the Rwandan midfield maestro has come forward saying he understands why his Young Africans teammate fouled him and that a slight burst-up ended on the pitch.
Niyonzima, who has endeared himself to Young Africans fans with his pace and bags of skill, was instrumental in the Amavubi’s 1-0 win over Kilimanjaro Stars.”We are in different teams now and everyone is fighting for his country. Yes it was a nasty foul, but it is part of this beautiful game and it all ended on the pitch,” he said.
Niyonzima added: “I respect the professionalism of Nurdin, so I believe that he did not foul me deliberately.”
“For some fans who took the incident badly, I would tell them to ignore it because we’re friends and when this competition ends, we will play together for Yanga,” said the midfielder.The former APR man whose team has qualified for the quarterfinal stage harboured hopes of marching on to the final and win the title, and the jackpot that goes with it.
“We are a stronger team this time around and it’s my belief that we’ll do some wonders here.”Our aim is to win both the title and money for we have the quality to do so,” he said.
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