Heartland FC of Owerri have a date with history October 31, when they wrestle TP Mazembe FC of Congo for the prestigious CAF champions league trophy

The 2009 CAF Champions league reaches its climax on October 31, with Nigeria’s Heartland FC of Owerri tackling TP Mazembe of Congo in the first match of the two-legged games at the Dan Anyiam Stadium, Owerri. The return leg of the game comes up in Kinshasa on November 8.

The Nigerians have a huge task ahead of them as they are hoping to win the title which was won on two previous occasions by Enyimba FC of Aba. Heartland are bidding   to become the second Nigerian side to win the prestigious CAF Champions League trophy after their compatriots, Enyimba FC of Aba,   won the title in 2003 and 2004.

Their October 31 clash against the Congolese in Owerri is expected to be tough for a number of reasons.TP Mazembe are not new comers to the championship, having won it twice in 1967 and 1968. It is more than 40 years since they won the title and they are desperate to win another one after such a long drought. Apart from this, there is a prize money of $1,000,000 for the winners, while the runners-up will get $750,000. The winners too will represent Africa in the FIFA World Club Competition.

The Nigerians who have not won this title before are equally not new to the championship having played in the final of the event previously when they were known as “Iwuanyanwu Nationale.”  They played the final in 1988 and lost to Etente Sportif of Algeria.

The two sides showed that they are equally matched following their clashes in the Group stage of the competition. Heartland had beaten the Congolese in the first round of their Group tie 2-0 in Owerri, but the Congolese paid back the Nigerians with the same  score margin in Lubumbashi.

To reach the final, Heartland overpowered Kano Pillars, their compatriots, on 5-0 aggregate while the Congolese beat Al-Hilal of Sudan on 5-4 aggregate to advance to this stage of the championship. Heartland had beaten other formidable sides like Etoile du Sahel of Tunisia, Cotonsports of Cameroon, and Royal Armed Forces of Morocco in the course of their reaching the final.

What are the chances of Heartland lifting the Cup? Football experts who spoke to Newswatch said the Nigerians have a good opportunity to rewrite the history of a competition that has been dominated for years by teams from the Magreb Region.

Ade Shomefun, group sport editor of Tribune, believes the odds favour the Owerri boys and urged the Nigerians to win the first leg by at least 3-0. “If the Nigerians can win with such a comfortable margin, the second leg will be difficult for TP Mazembe as they will play under pressure because the game will be played in the capital of the country instead of their abode where they can work towards manipulating the result.”

He urged the Nigerian side to maximise the first leg match with a good result so that the second leg tie would not give them much problem.

Sunleye-Solawumi Olaleye, group sport editor of ThisDay, said the 2009 Champions League's trophy is within the reach of Nigerians if they maintain the form that has seen them progress to this stage of the competition.

“Heartland have no business not winning this competition because they have shown a lot of progress in this competition, improving with every match. If they could beat a highly motivated team like Kano Pillars which eliminated Al-ahly, the defending champions, I do not think any team can stop them from winning this Cup.”

The competition which commenced in 1964 was first won by Oryx Douala of Cameroon which beat Stade Mallien of Mali 2-1 in the final. Since then, the competition, now in its 45th edition, has been dominated by clubs from Egypt. Al-ahly of Egypt remained the most successful side having won the championship six times, followed by Zamalek, their compatriots. Raja Casablanca of Morocco, Canon Yaounde of Cameroon and Hafia Conakry of Guinea with three title wins apiece; while Ashante Kotoko, Enyimba of Nigeria, JS Kabylie of Algeria and TP Mazembe follow with two titles each.