Congolese press review after the consecration of Mazembe - Orange CAF Champions League 2009

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Congolese press review after the consecration of Mazembe

11-10-2009

Congolese press review after the consecration of Mazembe

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The consecration of T.P. Mazembe was celebrated for two days in Lubumbashi by football lovers with the majority dressed in jerseys bearing the colours of the Carbonates. The black and white colour flooded the place as if there was feast on Saturday in the streets of the diamond capital and in the Kenya stadium, dressed in its best to welcome the actors of the return leg final together with the Congolese President, Joseph Kabila.

The latter was happy following the victory of Mazembe, the second consecration of Congolese football this year following the conquest of the African Championship title by the national team on March 7 in Abidjan.

The next day, following the feasting, the press took stock of the match but most of the press organs unanimously saluted the team’s return to the top something that had been waited for so long.

For La Republique, for example, “Tout Puissant Mazembe’s victory against Heartland Saturday in Lubumbashi marked the return and recalls the prestigious sojourn of this team which, up to this day, holds the candle of Congolese football”.

In its Monday publication, Le Potentiel does not make any particular commentary on the importance of this victory, but contends itself with an analysis of the encounter, stating that the consecration comes after “a long crossing of the desert”.

L’Observateur, on the other hand, focused its editorial of the day on the event. “This victory is the result of the work of a giant weakened by the principal sponsor of the black and white team of the Katanga capital, which made his team sit on solid and credible structures. This indicates that without a rational organisation, one cannot attain heights”, it wrote.

From this success, it went on, we can learn three lessons; “the first is that one can earn his bread from his sweat; the days of miracles are over”.

“The second is about the supremacy of excellence”. And the newspaper explains that “the success of Mazembe is thanks to its recruitment of the best players in the country and three foreign players; a Zambian and two Cameroonians”.

“President Moses Katumbi, it adds, understood that one can only win with the best”. The third lesson is about the money invested. Mazembe invested colossal amounts to recruit talented players and a coach of great quality, offering them attractive bonuses. Without the energy for war, success is hardly possible”. The editorial of L’Observateur goes beyond the sporting framework, trying to show that the ingredients of football success are symbolic of the unity of the national community.

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