AfricaPress-Tanzania: SIMBA SC unbroken away comeback record in CAF Champions League has notched 41 years and the Confederation of African Football (CAF ) , celebrated the feat on its official social media network yesterday.
Simba, according to CAF online, are holders of the biggest comeback record. The feat is again powered by the fact that the comeback record was attained away in Lusaka, Zambia.
On its instagram page yesterday, CAF online reported that the greatest away comeback in a CAF club competition came 4 1 years ago, when Tanzanians Simba beat Zambians Mufulira Wanderers 5-0 away after losing 4 -0 at home.
It is recalled that Simba were almost depleted after losing at home with most members, fans and even some team officials throwing in a towel but the technical bench under the late, Joel Nkaya Bendera and players made a vow that they will turn down the tables away.
Simba comeback was registered in front of the then Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda.
The Msimbazi Street giants’ goals were netted by Thuwein Ally, who scored a hat trick and George ‘Best’ Kulagwa, who scored a brace.
After knocking out Mufulira Wanderers, Simba were knocked out of the tournament by Nigerian side Racca Rovers on 2-0 aggregate defeat.
They lost 2-0 away and battled to a goalless draw at home in a match which youthful Simba defender Hussein Tindwa collapsed on the pitch and died when he was being rushed to Muhimbili Hospital.
Reacting to the latest post on CAF pages, Simba Head of Communication Department, Haji Manara said the comeback will probably remain biggest in the World and not just in Africa.
“When you go through several records set in UEFA Champions League, there is no similar record. Most teams managed to turn around the score of such a big margin but not away… most teams have registered victories at their backyard,” retorted the outspoken Manara.
Last year, Guinean club Horoya AC staged one of the recent greatest African club comebacks to defeat Libyan visitors Al Nasr 6-2 in Conakry and book a CAF Champions’ League group stage on 6-5 aggregate win.
They were trailing by three goals after the first leg of the roundof- 30 tie In history of UEFA Champions League by overturning deficit away was registered by Manchester United in the round of 16 in the 2018/19.
United lost 0-2 to Paris Saint- Germain (PSG) at Old Trafford, Manchester but United went ahead to win 1-3 at the Parc des Princes in Barcelona completed the biggest comeback in the history of the Champions League by overturning a four-goal first-leg deficit to stun Paris St Germain and reach the quarterfinals.
The Catalan giants were humbled 4-0 at the Parc des Princes, but defied overwhelming odds to triumph 6-1 in the return encounter at the Nou Camp and secure a highly improbable 6-5 aggregate victory.
While no other team has ever hit back from four goals down in the competition’s knockout stages.
A 3-0 deficit from the first leg of a UEFA Champions League knockout tie should by all rights mean ‘game over’, but there have been a few teams who have turned lost causes into unforgettable wins in Europe’s top club competition but all of them made this possible at their own backyards.
The Anfield crowd have seen some great European nights, but few can rival this sensational performance in 2018 /19 semi-finals.
Barcelona had one foot in the final after Lionel Messi’s first-leg double – his second effort a fine free-kick to bring up his 600th Barça goal. He was about to be upstaged.
The Reds fielded a depleted line-up in the return, with Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino missing, but Divock Origi’s early strike gave them hope.
The Belgian later rounded off a pulsating triumph after a Georginio Wijnaldum brace. In 2017/18 quarter-finals Barcelona beat Roma 4-1 in the first leg but Roma registered a 3-0 at home.
Edin Džeko struggled to communicate the magnitude of Roma’s feat after his sixth-minute finish sparked an extraordinary revival of fortunes, saying: “You cannot imagine, I mean it was incredible, crazy I don’t know how to describe it. We did it when definitely nobody believed in us.”
