دوري أبطال إفريقيا 2009

Heartland Boss Demands Fair Officiating

Owoeri, in particular, was a thorn in the flesh of Mazembe in their Group B reverse fixture Photo: MTNfootball.com

October 20, 2009
Nigeria’s Heartland are confident that with fair officiating they will be crowned African champions ahead of TP Mazembe of DR Congo on November 15.
This year’s CAF Champions League will be a rematch after both teams had cancelled out each other in the group phase of the competition. Mazembe won 2-0 at home only for Heartland to avenge this defeat by also winning 2-0 in Owerri.
“I only hope that all the top CAF officials will attend both legs of the final to ensure a level playing field in terms of officiating and then I can assure Nigerians that the CAF Champions League trophy will come back home,” said Heartland chairman, Ignatius Okeahialam, whose team host the first leg final on November 1.
“I am not surprised we are in the final because it was always our target to win the Champions League. The players realised this right from our first match and the result of this commitment is there for all to see now.”
“We expect to give the Congolese side all the respect they deserve. They are a tough side but not unbeatable. We have all it takes to win this trophy for Nigeria a third time,” said coach Kelechi Emeteole.
Heartland are next-door neighbours to Enyimba, the only Nigerian team to have won the Champions League, in 2003 and 2004.
Skipper ThankGod Ike, who has been ever-present for Heartland in this competition said: “We will not leave anything to chance to bring this trophy back to Nigeria. TP Mazembe will be very tough, but we are more than determined to win the cup, just Enyimba did a few years ago.”
Emeka Nwanna, two-goal hero in the semi-final against fellow Nigerian club, Kano Pillars, as well as former youth international John Owoeri featured for Enyimba in the Champions League before switching allegiance to the ‘Naze Millionaires’.
Owoeri, in particular, was a thorn in the flesh of Mazembe in their Group B reverse fixture at the Dan Anyiam Stadium in Owerri last month, scoring a goal and creating the other as a 10-man Heartland defeated the Congolese champions.
He missed the semi-final against Kano Pillars as a result of suspension, but is now eligible for the final.
The winner of this year’s competition will pocket a million US dollars as well as represent Africa at the FIFA Club World Cup in the United Arab Emirates in December.

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SA Refs Appointed To Champions League Final


October 23, 2009
South African official Jerome Damon and Algerian Mohamed Benouza have been appointed to handle the two legs of the upcoming African Champions League final.
Damon, assisted by compatriot Enoch Molefe and the Cameroonian linesman Evariste Mekouande, will handle the first leg of the final between Heartland FC and TP Mazembe Englebert in Owerri, Nigeria on October 31. The game kicks off at 15h00GMT.
Benouza takes charge of the second leg in Lubumbashi on November 7 and will have Nasser Abdelnabi (Egypt) and Mohamed Benaissa (Algeria) on the line. The second leg kicks off at 12h45 GMT.

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Heartland Rely On Remarkable Home Form Advantage

Heartland will be hoping their remarkable home form can give them the advantage as they head into the first leg of the African Champions League final against DR Congo side TP Mazembe in Owerri on Sunday.
The Nigerians produced a stunning 5-0 aggregate win, which included a 4-0 home success, over compatriots Kano Pillars in the semifinals, sounding a warning to Mazembe that Owerri continues to be a fortress for the side.
In contrast, the Congolese produced one if the results of the tournament in beating Sudanese side Al Hilal 5-2 on the road in their semi, and could even afford a 2-0 defeat at home to advance to the title decider.
The teams met in the group stages of the competition this year and both secured 2-0 home wins, suggesting there is not much to choose between the two sides and once again underlining the importance of home-ground advantage.
Mazembe have spent the week preceding the final in Zimbabwe where they have played friendly games against local sides, and will only travel to Nigeria on Friday to avoid a prolonged stay in a hostile environment.
Both teams have potential match-winners and it would certainly be fair to say that the best two sides in this year's competition have made it through to the final.
For Heartland, forward John Owoeri remains the star man in attack, though he was missing from the semifinals through suspension, while Mzamebe have the tournament's leading goalscorer in Alain Dioko Kaliyutuka, who is joined in a thrilling forward line that also includes Tresor Mabi Mputu and Zambian striker Given Singuluma.
In a strange move that has yet to receive an explanation, CAF replaced the South African trio of match officials in referee Jerome Damon and his assistants, Enock Molefe and Abdul Ebrahim, with Egyptian officials in the form of Abdel Fatah Essam (referee), and Hassan Sherif and Mohamed Waleed.
Mazembe claimed Africa's top crown in 1968 and 1969, but have not tasted success in the competition in the 40 years since then. The closest Heartland have come was a 1988 final appearance that ended in defeat.

Pupil meets master as Heartland face Mazembe in final
10-28-2009



The Dan Ayiam Stadium in Owerri, located in the Southeastern part of Nigeria will be the centre of attraction as Heartland FC hosts T.P. Mazembe of DR Congo on Sunday in the first leg final of this year’s Orange CAF Champions League.

The encounter has been dubbed a “David and Goliath affair’ judging by the credentials of the two sides as far as continental club football is concerned.

On the continental stage, Heartland FC comes nowhere near T.P. Mazembe, twice winners of the prestigious club competition in 1967 and 1968; but reaching this far on their maiden attempt confirms their readiness to dine with the elites of African football.

The clash is a repeat of the group phase encounter involving the two sides, but this time round it is the first step towards giving birth to the continent’s best club.

At the same venue barely a month ago, Heartland FC registered a 2-0 victory over “Les Corbeaux and a replica of such performance will place them on course to reaching the ultimate.

Heartland, nicknamed “Naze Millionaires” has proved formidable since edging past last year’s losing finalists Coton Sport Garoua of Cameroon enroute to the mini-league stage.

Interestingly, Coton Sport also reached the last two of the premier club competition after reaching the group phase on their debut, but the Owerri-based club is aiming to go the extra mile by laying their hands on the “Holy Grail” of African club football.

The Naze Millionaires approach their third meeting with the Congolese champions this season on a low note after a 1 – 4 thrashing by fellows Kano Pillars in a Nigerian Premier League clash two weeks ago.

However Head Coach Kelechi Emetole insists his side has recovered from the shocking loss to Pillars, whom they edged 5-0 on aggregate at the semi-finals, and are poised to deflate their visitors with an output that will make the second leg appear a mere formality.

Except for forward Stanley Okoro, who is on national duty with the Nigerian Golden Eaglets at the ongoing FIFA U-17 World Cup; Emetole has the full compliment of his side as they seek to neutralize the attacking machinery of Mazembe led by their inspirational captain Tresor Mabi Mputu and Kaluyituka Dioko, who have scored a total of 14 goals so far.

“I have my eyes on the cup. Having come this far, it will be very befitting to win the cup for our teeming fans and of course, Nigeria. That is the only thing on my mind right now.

“We know Mazembe. We played them twice during the group stage. We defeated them in Owerri and narrowly lost to them away. We know the final will not be easy but will work on those areas that cost us in that away leg,” noted Emetole, an ex-Nigeria International recently crowned the best coach on the local scene.

Making their first appearance in the final of a major continental competition since 1980, Mazembe are in no mood to let this golden opportunity of breaking that jinx slip by on a silver platter.

The Congolese champions storm the Southeastern Nigerian city in high spirit after a one-week intensive training in Zimbabwe. Whilst in the Southern African country, Mazembe tested their readiness with clashes against Dynamos and Monomotapa FC; a feat which their Italian-French trainer Diego Garzitto rates influential to their quest.

“We didn’t come here (Zimbabwe) for tourism but we are here to work. We are very happy to have a real chance to work here because Lubumbashi would have served a problem in terms of the players remaining focused on the game.

“Monomotapa beat Heartland here so it will be a good training exercise,” said Garzitto, hoping to climax his impressive stay with the two-time African champions with the ultimate prize in African club football.

The second leg is scheduled for Lubumbashi on November 7.

At stake is a 1,500,000 US Dollars prize-money and a ticket to represent Africa at the FIFA Club World Cup slated for the United Arab Emirates in December whilst the runner-up pockets One Million US Dollars.

Fixture
11-01-2009 16:00 Heartland FC (Nigeria) vs. TP Mazembe (DR Congo)