Elvis Rupia: The promise that never came true
By Aaron Mubanga Jnr | May 7, 2020
The hype and promise that comes with a new player at any club are usually different from club to club and player to player.
Kenyan striker Elvis Rupia was a top goalscorer in the first half of the 2018 Kenyan Premier League with 15 goals for Nzoia Sugar at the time of his switch to Kitwe based side, Power Dynamos.
The then 22-year-old signed a two-year deal with Abayellow who were expecting a lot of goals from Rupia.
Most players like to be humble or act like it in a new country but not Rupia. The former Millers talisman dared his country mate, (King) Jesse Jackson Were saying he would outscore him.
“The fans should expect me to score goals. I am targeting to score 14 to 15 goals (this season),” Rupia was quoted by LusakaTimes.
I am not scared of him (Were). I know myself. I can score more (goals) than him
But at the time no one could blame him as he had hogged the spotlight in the KPL that season since kick-off in February with his prolific goal-scoring overtures.
However, this backfired on Rupia who failed to score even half of the goals he promised the Power Dynamos fans and failed to force his way into the team on a regular basis.
After one year in Zambia, Rupia made a return back to Kenya this time with Wazito.
He admitted that he found it hard playing in Zambia as the league was more physical than the KPL.
“I am glad to be back in the KPL and really looking forward to the league’s kick-off. My target is to score at least 15 goals in the first leg and improve on that on the second leg,” Rupia told Nation Sport.
“It was difficult to adapt at first due to the weather and other factors. The biggest difference is the league in Zambia is more physical and they play faster. I adapted after a while and played over 20 matches. It was a good experience for me,” he added.
Rupia is currently at Ingwe (AFC Leopards) on loan from Wazito where he has proved to be an immediate hit, scoring four goals in five league matches, most of them being match winners.
