TP Mazembe exploits bring curtains down on big year for African football

Ending up on the wrong end of a 3-0 scoreline may have dimmed the "Leo njo leo (Today is D-day)" slogan that millions of Congolese had queued up in case TP Mazembe beat Inter Milan in the Fifa Club World Cup final, but it has not taken away from the team's achievement.

TP Mazembe supporters had been alive to the possibility of a mismatch, but they turned out in numbers to watch their team, hoping for divine intervention. It was not to be, but the Lubumbashi-based team run to the December 18 final in Abu Dhabi made history as Africa's first team to reach a senior final.

Cameroonian Samuel Et'oo was one of those who dented Africa's hopes, but many--apart from Mazembe fans-- agreed the Italians hade been superior.

"We cannot understand why all the four yellow cards were for TP Mazembe and none for Inter Milan, Muteba Mwaluke, a Congolese football player protested to the Africa Review on Saturday as fans accused Japanese referee Shimiro Nashukiwa of being partial.

The young footballer recalled how the same referee had expelled a TP Mazembe player during the match opposing the team against the Mexican team, the first day.

Indeed some supporters are alleged to have looted some shops of Chinese living in Katanga--the bedrock of TP Mazembe support--mistaking them for Chinese.

Even the team's chair Moses Katumbi Chapwe was distinctly unimpressed by the referee. "Nevertheless, the refereeing was not good because all the errors were African", he said.

Looking ahead

But Chapwe, also the governor of Katanga Province is already looking ahead and says his team can repeat the feat next year, a line of thought shared by the players.

"It was a big chance for all of us to represent the country and the continent at a so high level. We are really proud and very happy for that. We hope that next time we will be the best”, Alain Kaluyituka Dioko, winner of the silver ball award, told Top Congo FM, a DRC private radio station.

Coach Lamine N’Diaye was distraught, seemingly taking TP Mazembe’s defeat as a personal failure.

"The boys got some clear opportunities to score but did not succeed," he said, saying the team had not been competitive.

TP Mazembe players are expected back home in Kinshasa on December 19 2010. They are likely to be welcomed as African heroes for their performances.

They join the Black Stars of Ghana, Africa's pride after reaching the semi-final of the 2010 World Cup final, a tournament that made history after being held in South Africa, the first on African soil.

It has certainly been a remarkable year for African football.