Tactical naivety blamed for Heartland’s loss

Okey Emordi, the last coach to win the African Champions League with a Nigerian club in 2004, believes it was tactical naivety, and not any jinx, that robbed Heartland FC of victory in the second leg final of the CAF Champions League defeat at the hands of TP Mazembe, five years after a Nigerian club last won it.

Commenting on the 0-1 loss of the Owerri side on Saturday, the Enyimba of Aba coach said, from what he saw on television, the match should have tactically been approached from an attacking point of view, since the Heartland team is playing from a position of strength, a 2-1 lead from the first leg in Owerri.

“I don’t know the situation there, or the instruction passed down to the players by the technical crew,” he said. “But they should have adopted an attacking approach, hold on to the ball, and the worst they should have come out with would have been a goal less draw, which would have been enough to win... Attack is the best form of defence”.

Five years after Enyimba win

Since Enyimba won the continental title last in 2004, Nigerian club sides have found the going difficult. In the 2005 and the 2006 editions, Enyimba crashed out at the group stages; 2007 representatives Ocean Boys and Nasarawa United did not even get to the group stages, after been eliminated at the qualifying rounds, and then Enyimba lost at the semi final stage of the 2008 edition.

With Heartland’s latest campaign ending in tears, there are fears that this might be a matter of luck. But Emordi dispel fears of a jinx, saying the clubs just have to do the right thing. The 2003 African Coach of the Year advised Heartland’s management team to keep the present crop of players and then recruit the right type of players to fortify weak areas in the team, since they will campaign in the same competition next year. “To learn from this year’s experience, and win it next time out, preparation must start now; management should keep players together for task ahead, good performance in the league will also serve morale right, and with good motivation nothing can stop the team from achieving their aim next year,” Emordi concluded.

Ready for the world

Meanwhile, TP Mazembe’s captain Tresor, Mputu Mabi, who led the Congolese side to victory and is one of the most highly-rated and best-paid players on the continent says he now ready for the world.

“I promised the team that I wouldn’t leave before winning a cup, and now I’ve managed to do this,” Mputu told journalists after the game.

Over the past two years, he has been linked with a large number of top European sides, but has chosen to stay with Mazembe until now. “Now that I have delivered the cup to the president of TP Mazembe, for sure I’m free to move now, because I’ve accomplished my mission,” he said.

Club president and sponsor Moise Katumbi, the governor of Katanga province, had made it clear that he would be happy for Mputu to leave if the team became African champions.

In 2007, Mputu was top scorer in both the Champions League and Confederation Cup, and this year the 23-year-old took the player of the tournament award as he led DR Congo to victory at the African Nations Championship.

His contribution was a key factor in Mazembe’s Champions League success, but he was quick to refuse the credit. “We’ve got a good coach (Frenchman Diego Garzitto) who’s helped us to change, and we’ve got a good club president who’s always helping the team,” he said. “Those are the two main things that have helped TP Mazembe to go to the top of African football.”