Will it be Waka, Waka, this time for Mazembe?

Having won hearts with their style of play and celebrations, but not games, in their debut appearance last year, African champions TP Mazembe can dare to dream now.

Will it be Waka, Waka, this time for Mazembe?

The men from Congo have a shot at the FIFA Club World Cup trophy but Brazilian heavyweights SC Internacional stand in their way. TP Mazembe face-off against former champions SC Internacional in the semifinal of the FIFA Club World Cup at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium on Tuesday and an upset victory there will earn them a chance to meet Champions League winners Inter Milan, who should breeze past Korean club Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma FC in the other semis.

TP Mazembe were impressive in the tournament last year but the results didn’t tell the whole story. They went down to Pohang Steelers 1-2 in the quarter-final before losing to Auckland City FC 2-3 in the play-off for the fifth place.

This time though, the CAF Champions League winners have crossed the first hurdle and are in the semifinals. They are the third African club to reach the semifinals of the FIFA Club World Cup after Egyptian side Al Ahly Sporting Club and Tunisia’s Etoile Sportive du Sahel. Al Ahly made it to the semis in 2006, while Sahel were in the last four in 2007.

TP Mazembe overcame a stiff Mexican test to win by a solitary goal against Club de Futbol Pachuca in the quarter-final. Mbenza Bedi scored the match-winner in a game dominated by Pachuca. That examination will surely have done a lot of good for Mazembe as they meet a much tougher team in the semis.

“Our aim is to develop and play better and to do a better job. We will come up with better play. Technically, we can do better than how we played against Pachuca,” Mazembe coach Lamine N’Diaye said.

N’Diaye pointed out that they won against Pachuca because of the bravery of his players and said: “We will exert all our efforts against Internacional. Our aim is to concentrate on controlling the game and hold onto possession. Ball possession is very important against a team like SC Internacional.”

He said that the bigger the stage, the better it will be for his team. “When you have a bigger stage, we look at that. We look for a higher level and more success. Internacional are a strong team and it will be a good test for us,” said N’Diaye.

But it is going to be tough against Internacional, who won the tournament in 2006. Also, the stronghold of South American teams when it comes to head-to-head encounters against African teams in the competition, is hard to overlook.

South American teams have won all three of their fixtures against African representatives. Brazilian club Corinthians had beaten Raja Casablanca 2-0 in the group phase in 2000, before SC Internacional beat Egypt’s Al Ahly 2-1 in the semifinal in 2006. Internacional had gone on to win the title. In 2007, Argentina’s Boca Juniors beat Etoile Sportive du Sahel in the last four.

Also, Brazilian clubs haven’t lost in the FIFA Club World Cup. In 12 matches, Brazilian clubs have logged nine wins and three draws.

SC Internacional coach Celso Roth, though said that it won’t be an easy game. “We had an opportunity to watch TP Mazembe’s game against Pachuca. TP Mazembe are a very good team. They are strong and they will be difficult opponents. We know about African football. It is competitive football and strong. It will be difficult in the semifinal on Tuesday. Their counter-attacks are very good. We know that we won’t find it easy. They have some quick players and we have to be careful about them,” said Roth.

“African football is aggressive. They have good quality players. Modern football is always competitive. They have the luxury of having already played a game in the competition. But we have a good team. Of course, we will be a bit nervous in the beginning of the game as it will be our first match of the competition. We need to control that and get past that quickly,” said Roth, who had coached Dubai-based club Al Ahli in the 90s.

Kick-off is at 8pm.

james@khaleejtimes.com