From the Suburbs of Tanzania to the Striker Driving European Clubs Crazy – The Transition of Ally Samatta

One of the brightest of a generation of Tanzanian players, Ally Mbwana Samatta is a household name in East Africa.

Emerging at a time Tanzanian football was declared graveyard bound owing to long years of attempts without success at cracking at the international level, neighbouring nations Uganda, Kenya, Mozambique, Zambia and DR Congo have all had their breakthrough moments in the sport at respective intervals.

However, in December 1992, a star was born who would change the dynamics. Like the conditions most African greats of the game had to begin with, the diminutively built attacker had no footballing boots, a thing very telling of his humble background.

Fast-forward to 2008, a transition later altering the narrative began to take effect. The first route teed off at African Lyon Football Club – a capital side then sprouting to find its feet at the upper echelon of the Tanzanian game.

From get-set go, Mbwana possessed a unique ability that set him apart and the Karume Memorial Stadium ground became a springboard to a quick rise of a budding youngster who would charm his way to hearts and morph into the nation’s poster-boy.

Growing up in an area where the English Premier League is almost religiously followed, Mbwana modelled his game around Arsenal legend Thierry Henry.

Speed and trickery were attributes he loved about the France World Cup-winning hero.

Simba, a Swahili parlance for Lion, a side spanning back in 1936, was the first premier football club to spot him out and, in doing so, they earned the wrath of bitter title rivals Young Africans by piping them to the signing of Mbwana.

This set the ground running for the shy kid. In no time, he hooked himself to fans who acknowledged his many performances in his debut season with standing ovation treatments each moment he was subbed off. That league term, he netted thirteen times in twenty-five cameos.

Scouts rarely peeped or scoured Tanzania for talents but when words filtered out about a lad turning heads in Dar re Salaam, neighbouring nation DR Congo’s Linafoot giants TP Mazembe were the first to act.

The Ravens of Lubumbashi dispatched off their must trusted scout to have a look around of what the noise was about the striker dubbed the Thierry Henry of Tanzania.

When the scout’s assessment report of Ally hit the desk of a politician, businessman Moise Katumbi Chapwe cum president of Mazembe, speculation over the Tanzanian’s future ended.

The 17 times DR Congo domestic champions parted with €70,000 to sway Simba SC who without, hesitation, sanctioned the deal. The forward’s career really took off at the Stade de Mazembe.

In five campaigns, he plundered in sixty goals in one hundred and three appearances between 2011-2016 scooping the domestic gong four times.

The highlight of Samatta’s career came in 2015 in which he guided the DR Congo heavyweights to the African Champions League, grabbing the tournament’s golden boot on seven goals. He would go on to partake in the World Club competition and got named the best home-based player in Africa in the ensuing term ahead of Algeria’s Baghdad Bounedjah now in Qatar.

Exploits in Europe

Belgian premier league club KRC Genk had by now tracked the Tanzanian enough to want to prise him away amid interest from other sides. The saga dragged on with Mazembe digging their heels over budging on their €800,000 asking price. Genk had baulked at the sum first but had to cough up the fee over President Moise Katumbi’s refusal to lower his valuation of the goal-getter tagged Africa’s best home-based player.

This trajectory made headlines as Ally became the first Tanzanian player signed abroad. Predictably, he endeared himself to fans and proved staunch Genk critics wrongs who’d tipped him an expensive mistake.

Around this time, he had gotten catapulted as the undisputed captain of the Taifa Stars. This year June, he spurred Tanzania to the Africa Cup of Nations for a debut show following a thirty-nine-year absence though they ended up getting booted out in the group stages. In the run-up to the Cairo events, the 26-year-old clutched Genk the Belgian First Division A crown wrapping the show as the leading scorer.

Outside of Belgium, his performances have not gone unnoticed with a legion of clubs on his trail.

Monaco, Everton, Southampton, Marseille, Sevilla and Valencia have all been linked with his move including Moscow whom, he revealed, he has no intentions of playing for.

Of the lot, Galatasaray have been the sole club to have made real attempt to make formal their interest by holding talks with Genk but chairman Peter Cronnen’s €12m price tag discouraged the Turkish Super Lig’s team.

Meanwhile, his stock continues to rise after scoring five goals in four games –the last being a lone match-winning goal against Anderlecht last Friday.

Questioned about his future, the Taifa Stars’ skipper gave a coy answer.

“I don’t want to talk about the future. You see me here now, I am in Genk now and I am concentrating on helping Genk,” he told Belgian publication Voetbalkrant yesterday evening.