Thirty attempts, thirty failures.

That was the record of teams from outside of Europe or South America in trying to reach the FIFA Club World Cup™ final going into the UAE 2010 semi-finals.

Virtually nobody expected TP Mazembe to rewrite history. The Congolese outfit had already had their fun – and provided it for the neutrals – with a stunning upset of Mexican heavyweights Pachuca in the second round, during which goalkeeper Robert Kidiaba had engrossed onlookers with his donkey-dance celebration.

That, surely, was the last time the competition would see Kidiaba’s moves. Mazembe were, after all, now facing Internacional, whose fans had travelled to Abu Dhabi en masse expecting a repeat of Japan 2006, when they vanquished Ronaldinho and Barcelona to lift the trophy.

Wrong. In a seismic upset, Patou Kabangu and Alain Kaluyituka scored brilliant goals, both of which preceded the patented celebration of Kidiaba, who also kept a clean sheet.

At the final whistle Andres D’Alessandro, Giuliano, Oscar and Leandro Damiao were in disbelief as the Mazembe squad jumped about embracing each other. Except one, that is: Kidiaba was donkey dancing to his adoring public.

“Nobody knew us,” he said. “They didn’t give us a chance of beating the Mexicans, yet alone these Brazilian giants. They know us now. This is a historic day for our club and our nation.”