Comments on: Big Clubs Eyeing Chermiti

By: Danielle

Danielle — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 15:52:58 +0000

Yes, it is cool to make these links indeed! My husband and I are always looking for “things Tunisian”. Luckily, there is a large North African/Arab neighborhood in Queens, NY so we spend a lot of time there. There is something similiar in DC, right? Makes it easier to be far from home! I was in Tunisia for the first time this past April and loved it…what a beautiful and welcoming people and country!

Looking forward to your next post! Have a wonderful New Year!

By: Rami

Rami — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 15:33:24 +0000

Unfortunately the answer to your last question is yes. He received a red card in our final qualifier against Sudan so he will miss the first two games of the tournament. It sucks for him (and us) because if you look at the group Lemerre called up there aren’t that many attackers and none match Chermiti’s speed or tenacity. Hopefully Santos can do the trick in the first two matches and then we’ll get to see plenty of Chermiti in what will hopefully be a run for the title. I’ll be posting more later today about our attacking options as I’ve read that Ali Zitouni just got injured and Lemerre is meeting with his staff to discuss who will replace him in the list for Ghana.

I live and work in Washington DC although I go to New York periodically as I have family and friends there. It’s cool to make these links through this blog, it’s my hope to build a community feel through it while creating an atmosphere of healthy debate and common support for our Carthage Eagles.

By: Danielle

Danielle — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 15:16:34 +0000

Glad to hear it! Yes, everyone from Tunisia seems to know each other or someone in common! I think my husband knows every Tunisian within a 50 mile radius!! Are you in the New York area?
Anyway….we are looking forward to Ghana 2008…and you recap of it! Do I remember correctly that you blogged that Chermiti would be benched for the first two games because of a red card?

By: Rami

Rami — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 14:29:35 +0000

Danielle, it is truly my pleasure that I can bring some news to you and your husband from home! My love for Tunisian soccer and messages like yours are what keep me blogging. Thats what unique about Tunisia, it’s such a small country that there are these links between players, families, and fans everywhere! Thank you so much for your kind words, they mean a lot to me. Chermiti is a rising star and I wish him and your family all the best in 2008 and beyond

By: Danielle

Danielle — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 13:52:40 +0000

Hey Rami,

Thanks for all of your updates! My husband is from Tunis and loves to hear about how the team is doing….especially Chermiti since it is his cousin!! Very exciting since we don’t get much Tunis news in New York!

Thanks! Danielle

By: Rami

Rami — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 17:04:34 +0000

Hey Thamer, thanks for the support man I’m totally with you on the idea of getting more of our talent overseas. With the recent exposure Etoile players got in Japan you can bet that a bunch of scouts will be visiting Tunisia more often to uncover new talent in our Ligue 1. I read on Tunisie foot that Akrout is drawing interest from Auxerre and Hamburg. The guy is on fire right now and apparently he was so distraught over not being picked in the list of 27 for Ghana that he was in a car crash later that day after hearing the bad news. Thankfully he’s doing just fine. Mouihbi is nasty too and I think the interest will come with time. Speaking of Club Africain, I just read that Lemerre got booed at this weekends game by the Club fans who were showing their displeasure at Mouihbi and Ouertani not being picked. What I don’t understand is why he didn’t make the list bigger. I mean look at Ghana and Senegal, they’ve called up so many players! I think the writing is on the wall with Lemerre. Even if we make a good run I can’t see him staying in Tunis. We’ll be talking about replacements soon enough so I’ll leave that for another post…From the statistics I’ve seen on online votes, about 65 percent of the public disagrees with a lot of what he’s doing. Sure that’s not everyone but I think its not far off the mark and it could even be more perhaps. Thanks for the heads up on the U19 tournament, I’ll look for some info and try to keep us up to date, time permitting. I forgot to say the other day actually, 3idkom Mabrouk everyone!

By: thamer

thamer — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 18:05:59 +0000

personally, i’d like to see him at a place like ajax, where its less physical and he can shine using his technique. i agree with you though, that hes not ready for europe quite yet. if he can have another champions league run like he did this year, then not only will he be better, but even more european giants will come knocking. that aside though, i’d really like to see more lesser known players from our league go to europe. we have plenty of talent on the national team that could easily play for good french or mid table german clubs (zaiem, nafkha, ben frej, ghezel, nafti,) but there are non internationals in ligue 1 that really should be given a chance on the national team(amir akrout, khaled korbi, yossef mouihbi, sameh derbali, both ben amors on css, wissem yahia) the likelihood that they are seen by europe is much greater if they are in the national team playing friendlies against those european teams(if the ftf manages to get us one, that is.) and these kids have serious talent too. Hopefully when lemerre’s contract expires, we’ll have a coach who knows who to unearth these gems we have in our league (credit to him for finding chikhaoui though)

also, there is a north african tournament starting on christmas for the u-19(i think) teams of morocco, tunisia, algeria and libya, so in case you weren’t aware, the resutls may be something you’ll want to talk about in your upcoming posts. btw, good work with these posts rami, keep it up.