OPINION: Can Hearts Fulfil Life-Long Dream?

Everything that man receives or from which he derives benefit, pleasure and success must be paid for in some manner. In other words, success is sold on the open market. Any one may have it provided that he or she is prepared to pay the price for it.

As the date for the first leg of the CAF Championship league draws close, the question on the minds of many people is whether the Phobians have prepared adequately to counter the threat of the Tunisians.

Can Hearts finally fulfil their ambition of winning the continental championship that has eluded them for decades? Can they translate their domestic dominance into continental glory?

Some football pundits have expressed doubts as to the possibility of the Phobians winning the cup. Some say, though the Phobians have the spirit and temperament to rise up to the occasion they may not command enough bite to win the ultimate. Secondly, no Arab country will allow such a good opportunity to slip away.. Esperance may therefore wrap up the game in the first round in Tunisia on December 3, and make the return encounter less tasking. Hearts and their die-hard supporters are equally optimistic of winning the cup this time round, having come close on two occasions. Expectations and enthusiasm on the part of the Phobian club have already risen to dizzying heights. "We are ready for Esperance, we will battle them on the pitch. We'll never surrender until we win the cup," says Harry Zakkour, Hearts' Chief Executive.

Assuming Hearts did their homework well, they would have realised that Esperance will not be mere pushovers. They would also have known that they need to keep a close eye on Ronaldo Da Silva and Pereira Adalton both from Brazil. Julius Agahowa of Nigeria, Ali Zittouni, a good marker, Taofik Hammani, Hassan Ghapssia and Faycal Ben Ahmed are other good players to watch. Esperance now under coach Youssef Zouaoni have won six trophies in three seasons. This is the club Hearts must subdue if they are to win the cup. How well one has prepared for destiny is how one meets destiny.

In 1997, Hearts lost 0-1 in the first leg to Hafia of Guinea at the Elwak Stadium in Accra. They subsequently lost the finals 2-3 in Conakry. Again in 1979 Hearts then in top form beat Union Douala of Cameroun one nil in the first leg in Accra and lost by a similar margin in the return leg. Douala then beat them 5-3 on penalties. This checkered history of Hearts should therefore lead them to exorcise the ghost of losing in the finals as the count down to the finals begins.