adminburst into the final of a continental club competition when he leads his Sudanese outfit Al Hilal in the Champions League semi-final tomorrow night.
Sadomba will spearhead the Al Hilal attack when the Sudanese giants host Tunisia’s perennial campaigners Esperance in a Champions League semi-final first leg tie at Al Hilal Stadium in Omduman.
The showdown kicks off at 7pm (Zimbabwean time).
It will be the fourth consecutive time that Sadomba will be featuring in the semi-finals of a Caf inter-club competition having made his first attempt with Harare giants Dynamos in the 2008 Champions League. Sadomba, who scored six goals in that campaign, saw his Dynamos side fall to Cotonsport Garoua of Cameroon in the semi-finals.
The 27-year-old striker was also on the losing end in the Champions League semi-finals with Al Hilal in his debut season in Sudan before also bowing out at the same stage with the same side in a Confederation Cup last year.
Tomorrow, Sadomba will take to the battlefield with Al Hilal in his fourth time of asking and the Zimbabwe international, speaking from Khartoum, was in bullish mood and believes “this could be it”.
Sadomba is however, under no illusions about the tough task they face against Esperance who have played in three Champions League finals in 1999, 2000 and 2010 but still found themselves being the bridesmaids.
The Zimbabwean, who headlines Al Hilal’s foreign-quintet and has struck seven goals in the competition, revealed that the Sudanese glamour club was now ready to put behind them the mistakes that have seen them constantly fail to go beyond the semi-finals and had been working hard in the build-up to tomorrow’s clash.
Big Nigerian defender Yussuf Mohamed, Barry Demba of Mali, midfielder Ibrahim Toure of Cote d’Ivoire and striker Otobong Ene are the other foreigners on the Al Hilal books.
Sadomba said although they had done well to regularly reach the last four of the continental competitions, they had to prove that they have the capacity and character to go all the way.
“It has been good for the club reaching the semi-finals but we need to get to the final now and possibly win the cup. It will not be easy, it needs hard work but we believe we have been working very hard this year and that we are ready,” Sadomba said.
He said he was eager to inspire his team to a comfortable first leg win that would help make life easier for them when they travel to Tunis for the reverse fixture.
“Starting at home has its advantages and disadvantages in that if you score and avoid conceding a goal, you will build a solid foundation but if you concede goals at home you will be under immense pressure since away goals count.
“Esperance are a very good side but I think we have to concentrate and avoid the kind of mistakes we made when we lost 2-1 at home to Enyimba after conceding two goals in the last five minutes due to lapses in concentration. I hope I will be able to score again but what is important is for the team to win comfortably and we will put everything before God.
“The management has prepared everything for us and our hard-working coach, who is hungry for success all the time, has done his part and I think with the experience that we have in the squad we should do well ,” Sadomba said.
Crucially, for Sadomba, he is not alone in his dream of reaching the final as his Serbian coach Milutin “Mitcho” Sredojevic shares the same hopes and remained optimistic on the eve of the big battle.
Al Hilal, who turn 81 years this year, are hoping to do better than their showing of 1992 when they lost in the final.
And former Orlando Pirates coach Mitcho who has turned them into a hugely competitive outfit reckoned that his charges are ready for the Esperance attack.
Mitcho also heaped praise on his talisman whom he described as a talented and hardworking player who deserved to be rewarded with continental glory for all his industry.
“It’s Edward’s fourth consecutive semi-final in a Caf competition and to me it’s an believable achievement for a player and I believe the people of Zimbabwe must appreciate that.
“For Hilal supporters this is a story of bringing the chocolates to the kids . . . they like chocolates and you have to bring them some more.
“They are happy with to be in the semi-finals but they still want more and we are determined to go one step ahead and bring them the cup. No one can take the dream and the hope away from us,” Mitcho said.
The Serbian mentor also noted that there was immense pressure in Sudan on his team in the build up to tomorrow’s match.
“There is unbelievable pressure on the players ahead of this game, I have not seen it in my life, the whole country has high expectations but management and the coaches are doing their best to take the pressure from the players said Mitcho.
The Al Hilal coach also revealed respect for Esperance who he described as a compact team that has huge French and Italian influence in their game as well as some Spanish flair.
“They have young players who have come from academies and they combine French influence, Italian influence and Spanish flair in their game and they are capable of playing one type of football away from home and a different type at home but we have the weapons to counter that,” Mitcho said.
There will be no rest for Sadomba, however, as he will fly out of Khartoum soon after tomorrow’s game to link up with the Warriors for their final African Cup of Nations qualifier against Cape Verde in Praia next weekend.
Moroccan club side Wydad get the semis-finals underway with a home tie against 2003 and 2004 champions Enyimba of Nigeria in Casablanca today.
Since the creation of the Champions League in 1997, the four semi-finalists have never met each other at this stage of the competition but they represent four influential pools of the game on the inter-club competitions.
Online Reporter