TP Mazembe Football Club of the Congo Democratic Republic on Sunday beat USM Alger 2-0 to clinch the 2014/15 CAF Champions League title in front of a packed crowd in Lubumbashi on a 4-1 goal-aggregate.
Two second-half goals from Mbwana Samatta and Roger Assale, was all that the Congo Democratic Republic club needed to snatch the coveted crown from their Algerian opponent.
The odds were greatly stacked against Algerian side which lost the first leg 1-2 at home. And they faced a formidable Mazembe team that had remained unbeaten on home soil in the Champions League since 2009 – with just three defeats in 77 continental games.
The North Africans were bolstered by the Congolese side being without Rainford Kalaba, who opened the scoring in Algiers, but they had it all to do to see the title remain in Algeria – following ES Setif’s triumph last year.
Following the feat, TP Mazembe will now represent Africa in the 2015 FIFA Club World Championship in Japan. The club would aim to repeat the heroics of 2010, when they became the first African side in history to reach the Club World Cup final.
Mazembe is likely to square up against either Auckland City or the Japanese national champions in the quarter-finals this December.
By Olisemeka Obeche