Bertrand Marchand Strongly Linked to Tunisia Job!

La Presse is reporting that Bertrand Marchand will be announced as the successor to Roger Lemerre on Monday at press conference organized by the FTF. The news coincides with an article on MTNfootball.com that quotes the Frenchman as saying: “I received many offers from French clubs and African teams to coach them but I want the Tunisia job.”

I’ll wait for the official announcement to celebrate but there’s no denying that this is wonderful news for the Carthage Eagles setup and the Tunisian people who deserve a coach that knows them and respects their ambition. More importantly, I firmly believe he has the strategic guile to win big games for us.

Marchand has the distinct advantage of being familiar with the Tunisian club, player, and personnel landscape. Due to his experience (coached both Club Africain and Etoile du Sahel) and success in Tunisia (Won the Domestic League and Champions League last year), he will need very little acclimation time. Hitting the ground running will be essential since he’ll join with the 2010 World Cup/African Cup Qualification process well underway.

In addition, there will be a welcome change in attitude at the helm of the national team as Marchand is undoubtedly more candid with Tunisian reporters than Lemerre ever could be. Our playing style will probably change with a more positive goal seeking attitude installed under the prospective manager. The great thing about him though is that he’s willing to tweak the lineup and tactics depending on the adversary and doesn’t have a frustratingly rigid one size fits all approach a la Lemerre (I’m thinking about that Pachuca game here at the Club World Cup).

I endorsed this decision before and I still do. Nabil Maaloul, who probably knows a thing or two after a few years as assistant coach, agrees: “He is the best man for the job. He knows all our players and won trophies with our clubs. In addition, he is keen to get the job which is the most important.” The FTF insisted that the coach be foreign, so what better choice than the 2007 French coach of the year? Please let this be true, the man is the perfect fit!

In Other News

Zoubayer Beya’s jubilee match was a great success with a plethora of Arab and African stars attending and taking part in a match to commemorate the career of one of our greatest players.

If you want to see the match in its entirety you can catch the first half here and the second half here. What a pleasure it was to watch this. A big thank you to Zouba for putting on a show and also for all his contributions to Tunisian football!