Hassan Mubiru (born 16 December 1978) in Lukuli, Makindye division, Kampala district) is an Ugandan football striker who played for Express FC.
After leaving school in 1994, Mubiru decided to concentrate on football and his career was established at Lukuli United, a first division side in his home village.
Coach Paul Hasule who had described Mubiru as a rough diamond that needed polishing transformed the forward into a deadly striker difficult to mark by even the best defenders on the land.
Unfortunately, Villa lost the final game to Tanzanian giants Yanga Africans 4-3 on penalties after a barren draw in the 90 minutes in which Mubiru hit a post with a ferocious shot.
In 1999, Hassan Mubiru and Andrew Mukasa formed a deadly striking partnership following the falling of Charles Kayemba to third choice in the pecking order.
SC Villa eventually defended the league title but lost to Mbale Heroes in the semi-finals of the Uganda Cup something that ended Mubiru's dream for a consecutive double.
At the end of the season, Express Chairman then Kirumira Godfrey courted Mubiru and eventually lured him to Wankulukuku in a transfer that shocked many Villa fans.
It is believed that "money bags" Kirumira had to cough over Shs 10 million for the services of the forward making him the most expensive player in the league at the time.
At Wankulukuku, Mubiru joined a line up of stars that included James Odoch, Buwembo Ibrahim, Obwiny Phillip, Lwebuga Peter and custodian Kawalya Sam among others.
The centre forward was viewed as the man signed to move Express FC to greater heights and dethrone rivals SC Villa as the Kings of the game on the land.
He resumed his duties as club captain and was very instrumental in helping the side survive relegation that year with Coach Sam Ssimbwa at the helm.
While at Victors FC in 2010, Mubiru again won another Uganda Cup medal after helping the side triumph over Simba SC in the finals 5-4 in penalty shoot out.
The striker became a poster boy and an instant celebrity as fans nicknamed him Zidane in comparison to French star who had led his country to World Cup victory when he scored twice against Brazil in the finals.
In his post match interview, the former Bayern Munich defence kingpin inquired where the striker was plying his trade and was surprised to hear Mubiru was playing in the local league and advised him join paid ranks in Europe.
In 2007, he made a beauty of a pass to break a resilient Nigerian defence to set up Geofrey Massa before he was fouled in the area for a penalty that Ibrahim Ssekagya converted to give the Cranes a 2-1 win.