Mazembe ´hide´ ahead of African final

November 7, 2009

Democratic Republic of Congo club Tout Puissant Mazembe have gone into hiding ahead of the African Champions League final in Lubumbashi Saturday.

And there was no sign of Nigerian opponents Heartland either in the southern Congolese mining city ahead of the second leg that will decide who scoops a record 1.5-million-dollar first prize.

Heartland hold a 2-1 advantage from the first encounter last weekend, but Mazembe are expected to overcome the deficit and raise a trophy they last held 41 years ago.

Mazembe prepared for the first leg in Zimbabwe and returned to Harare after losing in Nigeria to continue training under French coach Diego Garzitto far from the media glare.

“We did not come to Zimbabwe for tourism,” stressed Garzitto, a 59-year-old of Italian descent whose CV includes spells as national coach of Togo and Ethiopia.

“I am delighted we could prepare in Harare because it would have been difficult for my players to focus on the final in Lubumbashi with so much media hype surrounding the game,” he told Zimbabwean reporters.

Garzitto believes the sell-out 35,000 crowd at Kenya Stadium could play a crucial role as the Congolese ‘Crows’ seek a third title after conquering Africa in 1967 and 1968 when the club was called TP Englebert.

“With our wonderful supporters backing us we should be able to win at home,” said the coach who was hired this year as part of a five-million-dollar plan to win the premier African club competition.

Mazembe returned home late Thursday and were taken to a secret location with journalists banned from talking to players like prolific-scoring midfielder and captain Mabi Mputu.

Heartland are not expected in Lubumbashi until late Friday, a move possibly prompted by a fear of the ‘dirty tricks’ so prevalent in African football despite numberous attempts by authorities to eradicate it.

Tricks used by some hosts to demoralise visitors include cutting hot water, playing loud music and serving inferior food in hotels and drivers getting ‘lost’ en route to training facilities.

Nigerian coach Kelechi ‘Caterpillar’ Emetole is hoping for dry weather in the Congolese copper minning capital as he blames a wet, slippery Owerri pitch for a lacklustre first-leg showing.

“We have been in this situation (narrow lead) before and wriggled out. Yes, our backs are to the wall, but that is when you see the best of Heartland,” he told the Nigerian media.

Mazembe have won five games and lost one at home this year in the Champions League while Heartland have won two matches, drawn three and lost two on the road.

JOHANNESBURG (AFP)

Tags: Africa, african champions league, african football, champions league final, club competition, congolese, Democratic Republic, democratic republic of congo, Diego Garzitto, dollar plan, englebert, Ethiopia, first encounter, Harare, italian descent, johannesburg, loud music, lubumbashi, mabi, mazembe, media hype, mining city, national coach, nigeria, republic of congo, secret location, southern Congolese, Togo, Zimbabwe

Leading Tunisian club fire German coach

May 15, 2009

JOHANNESBURG (AFP) – African Champions League group-phase qualifiers Etoile Sahel of Tunisia have fired German coach Gernot Rohr, the club website said.

His dismissal came after Etoile from the Mediterranean resort of Sousse lost 4-1 at bitter domestic rivals Esperance this week in the final round of the national championship.

“He failed to adapt to the realities of Tunisian football and was unable to understand the cultural mentality and that is why we ended our collaboration,” the website explained.

“The squad was not prepared to maintain the high standards of the club in the final match of the season. Some players attended only two or three training sessions in the 10 days before the match and that is unacceptable.”

Esperance won the title and Etoile finished third behind Club Africain, ruling them out of the 2010 African Champions League unless they win the competition this year.

Etoile have been drawn with Heartland of Nigeria, Monomotapa of Zimbabwe and Tout Puissant Mazembe of the Democratic Republic of Congo in Group B of the Champions