TP Mazembe of the Democratic Republic of Congo made history on Tuesday as they demolished Internacional Football Club of Brazil 2-0 to become the first African club side to reach the final of the FIFA Club World Cup.
No club side outside South America and Europe has ever gotten to the final of the competition since inception. The tournament has been dominated mostly by South American club sides; but the feat of Mazembe on Tuesday broke the jinx on African clubs and launched them into international stardom.
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Mulota Kubangu and Dioko Kaluyituka also made history as their superlative performance and wonderful goals in the 53rd and 85th minutes respectively permanently silenced their opposition.
Internacional started the first half as though they were to carry the day as they displayed their Samba style of play to the delight of the fans, sending a warning signal to their African opponents that they were the South American champions. Mazembe however refused to be intimidated; they held their own, maintained their cool and defended their post heroically. They finally gained confidence and fought back gallantly, playing as a united, compact team.
It was Rafael Sobis who first created an anxious moment as early as the first minute of the first half after destabilizing the defense of TP Mazembe; but the agile Muteba Kidiaba was quickly on hand to deny him the scoring opportunity.
A scintillating performance by Rafael, Alecsandro, Indio and Tinga continued to put the African side on their toes. The speed and accuracy of passes of the Brazilian side was a source of tension for their opponents. Tinga had a great opportunity to put the South Americans ahead, but nodded the ball wide from about seven yards from the post when the goal keeper was already helpless.
The African side had an above average performance in the first half as they did some counter attacks from time to time, putting goal keeper Renan to test. The first half ended on a barren draw. Mazembe went back to the dressing room to try and find a way of overcoming the Internacional onslaught.
They came back stronger and more purposeful; this time they were able to have a better ball control to the delight of their supportive fans. Their determination propelled them on: and in the 53rd minute, Amia Ekanga nodded down the ball for Mulota Kubangu. He intelligently displaced the Internacinal defense line and sent the ball into the back of the net with a terrific shot. The stadium erupted in jubilation; the African fans could not contain their excitement. The South American side watched in silence and utter disbelief.
In the 59th minute, Rafael Sobis unleashed a terrific left footer but Muteba Kidiaba again denied him the opportunity to equalize for his side. He also denied Giuliano another opportunity in the 70th minute.
The African side continued to produce a counter attack, fighting gallantly to ensure they never surrendered their one goal advantage. They worked assiduously, they played as one united team and just five minutes from full time, they had another breakthrough. This time around, it was Dioko Kaluyituka who worked from the left flank and sent a 20 yard shot that caught goal keeper Renan napping.
Coach Celso Roth was arguably devastated by this second goal; the possibility of Internacional scoring 3 goals in 5 minutes to win the match was remote. He had to settle for a third position match either against Internazinal Milano of Italy or Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma of South Korea.
TP Mazembe was truly great in the encounter; the players gave a good account of themselves and Africa in general. Africa Club side football has now come of age: there is now hope of winning the elusive FIFA Club World Cup trophy for the first time.
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