CAF Champions League Final Preview: Heartland-TP Mazembe

TP Mazembe of DR Congo will rank as slight favourites to win this year's CAF Champions League, but on Sunday, Nigeria's Heartland hope they can move a step closer to becoming African champions in front of their fans with a comfortable victory in the first leg of the final of the continent's richest club tournament.

Mazembe were winners of the inaugural of the African Champions Cup in 1968 and successfully defended their crown the following year. They have also been among the most consistent teams in the new format of the competition in recent times.

Heartland, on the other hand, were beaten finalists in this competition in 1988, and this is the first time they have qualified for the final since the tournament was redesigned in 1997 as the Champions League.

While Heartland were easy 5-0 aggregate winners over fellow Nigerians, Kano Pillars, in their semi-final, Mazembe could only edge into the final 5-4 on aggregate ahead of Sudan’s Al Hilal.

Mazembe won the first leg semi-final 5-2 in Omdurman only for the Sudanese giants to stun them in the second leg with two Edward Sadomba goals.

The final is something of a rematch because the teams first clashed in Group B of the competition. The Congolese won the first game 2-0 but their Nigerian rivals avenged this loss with a similar win in Owerri.

“It will be right to say that Mazembe have so far been the best team we have clashed with in this competition, besides Royal Armed Forces of Morocco,” Heartland team manager Emeka Iwuagwu admitted.

“We lost in Lubumbashi because most of our players were short on fitness or injured, while four of them were away on trials overseas. But everybody could see that we were far and away the better team in Owerri and could have won by more than the two goals we scored.”

In the early rounds of the competition, lack of cash had threatened to derail Heartland's ambitions. However, the Imo State Government have since ensured adequate funds and support for the club, with plans in place to ensure the players are not owed a penny by the time they take on the Congolese this weekend.

However, huge doubts surround the eligibility of star forward John Owoeri for Sunday's match. Officials told Goal.com that they have not been notified that Owoeri remains suspended, despite serving out a two-match ban in the semi-finals against Kano Pillars.

It would be a huge setback if Owoeri was not to be in action on Sunday as he single handedly wrecked Mazembe at the Dan Anyiam Stadium in Owerri in September. The dashing forward scored a goal and created another.

But in Uche Agba, the Naze Millionaires have another match-winner. The 23-year-old forward has also come into his element at an important stage of the competition, notching three goals against Pillars to bring his total number of goals in the Champions League to five.

Midfielder Ikechukwu Ibenegbu has continued to earn rave reviews for his vision and industry in the middle of the park, and many pundits believe it will not be long before ‘Mosquito’ is considered good enough for the Super Eagles.

The Nigerian club's defence, marshalled by the commanding skipper Ikechukwu ThankGod, has also held its own against top teams like Etoile du Sahel of Tunisia and Royal Armed Forces from Morocco.

And they will again have to be at their best against a team boasting an attack that includes Tresor Mabi Mputu, Alain Dioko Kaliyutuka and Zambia international striker Given Singuluma.

The highly-rated Mputu was top scorer in the 2007 Champions League with nine goals, while Kaliyutuka has thus far netted eight goals for the Crows, including a hat-trick against Monomotapa of Zimbabwe.

Mazembe have scored a total of 22 goals in 12 matches in this campaign, meaning they are a side who know their way to the net.

This year's CAF Champions League winner will pocket a prize of $1.5 million. In addition, they will represent Africa at the FIFA Club World Cup in the United Arab Emirates in December.

Samm Audu, Goal.com