Football: Five dramatic CAF Champions League finals

The CAF Champions League -- previously called the African Cup of Champions Clubs -- has produced many dramatic two-leg finals since its inception 61 years ago.

AFP Sport recalls five of them ahead of the first leg of the 2024-2025 final between Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa and Pyramids of Egypt in Pretoria on Saturday.

1976

Mouloudia Alger became the first African champions from Algeria by staging the greatest second-leg comeback in the history of the competition.

Trailing 3-0 after the first leg against title-holders Hafia of Guinea in Conakry, Mouloudia won the return match by the same score thanks to a 90th-minute goal from Omar Betrouni.

Aggregate equality meant the final went straight to penalties. The home team converted three consecutive spot kicks to win the shootout 3-1 as the visitors missed three of four attempts.

1995

ASEC Mimosas of Ivory Coast were so confident of overcoming Orlando Pirates of South Africa that the government declared the first working day after the second leg a public holiday.

But the newcomers to Africa from Soweto had other ideas and a breakaway goal from Jerry Sikhosana in the second half gave Pirates a 1-0 win in Abidjan and a 3-2 overall triumph.

The match in the Ivorian commercial capital was one sided with Pirates' Nigerian goalkeeper Williams Okpara and centre-backs Gavin Lane and Mark Fish repeatedly defying rampant ASEC.

2000

Hearts of Oak became the second club from Ghana after arch rivals Asante Kotoko to become African champions, beating Esperance of Tunisia home and away for a 5-2 aggregate victory.

Esperance were leading 1-0 in the second leg in Accra after 75 minutes when goalkeeper Chokri al Ouaer deliberately injured himself and claimed he had been hit by an object from the crowd.

The bloodied shot-stopper wanted the match to be abandoned, but the South African referee waved play on and Hearts scored three times in the final seven minutes for a 3-1 second-leg victory.

2007

Tunisian club Etoile Sahel pulled off the greatest shock in the history of the competition by defeating Al Ahly of Egypt 3-1 in Cairo after a goalless first encounter.

Then president Hosni Mubarak was among the capacity 70,000-plus crowd and no one outside Tunisia gave Etoile a chance against arguably the greatest Ahly team yet to compete in Africa.

A couple of added-time goals sealed success for Etoile and reduced Ahly icons like Essam el Hadary, Wael Gomaa, Mohamed Aboutrika, Mohamed Barakat and Emad Meteb to tears.

2010

Democratic Republic of Congo giants TP Mazembe inflicted on Esperance the heaviest defeat in one leg of a final by winning 5-0 in mining hub Lubumbashi.

Ngandu Kasongo and Zambian Given Singuluma each scored twice as the 'Ravens' ran riot against opponents traditionally renowned for defensive strength.

Shattered Esperance changed goalkeepers for the return match, but could manage only a 1-1 draw and Mazembe celebrated back-to-back titles after edging Heartland of Nigeria the previous year.