TP Mazembe of DR Congo defeated Heartland of Nigeria 1-0 in Lubumbashi on Saturday to win the Champions League on away goals after losing first leg 2-1 last weekend.
But it was a close call before a sell-out 35,000 crowd in Lubumbashi with Mazembe collecting the record US$1.5m prize money.
Heartland took a 2-1 lead into the second leg of the final and held out for 74 minutes before Victor Ezuruike conceded an own goal to bring the trophy back to copper-rich southern Congo.
Mazembe won the fledgling African championship in 1967 and 1968 and this year they budgeted US$5m to try and lift a trophy that symbolises continental club supremacy.
Part of the money was spent on importing 59-year-old French coach Diego Garzitto and his pre-match prediction that the crowd packed into the Kenya Stadium would drive the Congolese 'Crows' to success came true.
Apart from the financial windfall, Mazembe qualify for the end-of-year Fifa Club World Cup in the UAE with Spanish giants Barcelona among possible opponents.
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