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Coelho’s Preliminary List of Players Released

August 7th, 2008 | By: Rami | 53 Comments »

I thought it would be another slow news day but Coelho thought otherwise! According to Mosaique FM, below is the list of 30 players that he will be calling up for our August 20th friendly against Angola. This preliminary group will be trimmed to 23 on August 14th. This news caught me off guard because I thought he was going to name his group at a later date but that’s not a complaint just a remark. The technical staff made sure to state that this list could very well be altered if changes are deemed necessary. I guess that’s why they call it a preliminary list.

Goalkeepers: Hamdi Kasraoui (EST), Aymen Balbouli (ESS), Arbi Mejri (EST), Jassem Khaloufi (CSS)

Defenders: Saber Ben Fraj (Le Mans), Anis Boussaidi (Red Bull Salzburg), Chady Hammami (CSS), Radhi Jaidi (Birmingham), Karim Haggui (Bayer Leverkusen), Seif Ghezal (Young Boys), Radhouane Felhi (ESS), Yamen Ben Zekri (Bastia), Aymen Abdennour (ESS), Yassine Mikari (Grasshoppers), Khalil Chammam (CSS), Hatem Bejaoui (ESS)

Midfielders: Jawhar Mnari (Nurnberg), Majdi Traoui (Red Bull Salzburg), Mehdi Nafti (Birmingham), Houssine Ragued (Mons), Ahmed Hammi (EST), Hamed Namouchi (FC Lorient), Wissem Ben Yahia (CA), Chaouki Ben Saada (OG Nice), Oussema Darragi (EST)

Forwards: Youssef Mouihbi (CA), Zouhaier Dhaouadi (CA), Amine Chermiti (Hertha Berlin), Silva Dos Santos (Sochaux), Mehdi Ben Dhifallah (ESS)

Omissions:

1. Anyone waiting on the return of Jaziri and Ben Achour will be sorely disappointed. As for myself, I saw this coming and think it’s logical because from what I’ve gathered neither of them is in top form and bringing them along would just be giving them false hopes.

2. No Jemaa. It’s not everyday you leave off the top scorer from the last qualifying campaign but this must have to do with his current situation with his club, FC Lens, which was relegated to Ligue 2. He doesn’t want to play in a lower league and supposedly the coaches don’t want him either. He’s being proposed to Grenoble where he would join countryman David Jemmali. The situation is unclear but Coelho must have decided Jemaa should square away his club issues first.

3. No Chikhaoui. He’s still recuperating from that injury and is also on the transfer market so it’s not the time to bring him along. He’ll have his place when he starts showing he’s fully fit. Get better soon Yassine, we need you!

4. No Tjani Belaid. The only real question mark for me. I like this player but maybe Coelho knows something about his current health that we don’t. Last I heard he had signed a contract with Slavia Prague and was going to be a key player to them. Not sure what happened here but maybe Coelho will explain on August 14th.

5. No Ben Khalfallah. Perhaps Coelho is just as pissed off he decided to stay at Angers as I am. It’s looking more and more like he should have accepted that call up before the African Cup.

6. No Nefzi. The record holder for longest amount of time elapsed without conceding a goal in a League game is overlooked. He’s recovering from a rib injury that he sustained in the first Djoliba match which might be why. It’s too bad for him but I’m not really upset about it. I think there’s better goalies than him available.

7. No Chaker Zouaghi. Obrigado Humberto.

8. No Karim Nafti. A little disappointed by this decision but I’ll give Coelho the benefit of the doubt I guess.

9. No Nafkha. Debatable decision also.

Who did I miss? So often with these lists we talk about who didn’t make it and don’t focus on the type of team the coach is trying to build. You can see with the list he’s going for technique and durability. Plus there’s practically no bench warmers anymore.

Notable inclusions:

1. Ahmed Hammi is back. Someone who can play multiple positions. A very important player for Esperance that should get his chance with the national team.

2. Abdennour and Bejaoui. I wasn’t expecting that but thats why I’m not a coach.

3. The CA trio made it and in my estimation they should make the final list. I’m clearly biased but I’m sure there’s a good amount of fans from other clubs that would agree. Mouihbi and Ben Yahia are shoo ins but Dhaouadi will have something to prove after being left off the list at the last minute by Lemerre. I expect him to banish those bad memories as he’s been performing very well in CA friendlies.

4. The return of Boussaidi. He had a falling out with Lemerre and was excluded since then. I’ll be interested to see what he can offer if he gets a chance.

5. Namouchi is fully recovered from his knee injury and he’s back in the list. Very excited to see him back in action for the Carthage Eagles (if he makes the final list of course).

6. Dos Santos might finally start smiling again. He’s back to his old club, Sochaux, and now he’s back in the last after a brief absence during the last qualifiers. In a recent interview he said he wasn’t as physically ready as he would like to be these days but that friendlies and training were helping. I’m sure he’ll be fine as even at 75 percent fitness he finds ways to score. Coelho probably wants someone he can speak some Portuguese with too!

7. Jassem Khalloufi and Arbi Mejri come in to shake things up on the goal line. Coelho shows he’s open minded and willing to test the young ones out. I doubt either would start a game for us as we need experience but its good for them to be called up and show what they can do in training. Building some familiarity with the NT setup never hurts and we might need them in the future.

8. Haven’t seen Houssine Ragued in so long, I almost forgot he existed. We’ll see if he makes the final list.

9. Our rock in defense, Karim Haggui, makes his return. He’s been sorely missed, thank goodness he’s back.

Thanks for the surprise Coelho and good luck trimming this group down! What do you guys think of it?

By the the way: Pay a visit to Houssem’s newly established Etoile du Sahel Blog. He’s already written two excellent articles and there will be more to come. If you’re interested in starting a team blog contact Daryl at daryl@theoffside.com.

Tags: Carthage Eagles, Federation Tunisienne de Football, Group H, Humberto Coelho, List for Angola friendly, Tunisia Football, Tunisian Soccer

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Comments

Displaying the most recent 25 comments from a total of 53 comments.

Read the rest of the comments

By Yassine | August 14th, 2008 at 1:06 pm

Is the match in Monastir or el Menzeh?
I really need to know

By marwen | August 14th, 2008 at 3:12 pm

the list looks ok

By marwen | August 14th, 2008 at 3:14 pm

sorry clicked enter and it submitted
the list looks ok
cohelo did a good job; i think felhi or gheazl will take jaidi spot
cohelo didnt pick any of the EST players

By Momo | August 14th, 2008 at 4:11 pm

I don’t know if you guys noticed or not, but it is clear that Coelho will be playing a 4-2-2-2 formation. He has 2 players in every position of this formation according to the list. Here is what I predict the starting 11 will look like:

——————-Balbouli——————

–Bousaidi——Hagui——Ghezal—–Chammam

————Nafti————-Ragued———

——-Namouchi——————B.Saada—–

————-Chermiti—–Santos————-

I picked the players I think will be able to start due to their competitiveness, fitness, quality, versatility and the ability to execute Coelho’s plans easily and cope with any various tactical and positional switches. I do think though that Coelho will play as many players as possible..we might be able to see everyone play..what you guys think? Can you predict your own starting eleven from the 23 players list?

By thamer | August 14th, 2008 at 4:16 pm

i agree with your line up momo except for a few players. replace bousaidi with ben frej. ragued with ben yahia and santos with mouihbi.

also, chermiti played the full 90 minutes with hertha today in a uefa cup match. he didnt score but from what i understand he didnt embarrass himself, so pretty well done for his first start.

Posted from United States

By Achraf | August 14th, 2008 at 6:23 pm

i like the 23 player list as well. The best move was to cut Karate kid Kasraoui. Man that made my day. Yassine the match is going to be played in Monastire. Momo I like your line up except for the defense. I think it will be better if Mikari started in Chammam’s spot. I would start ben freg but since it is only a friendly, I would like to see how Bousaidi plays. I would also like to see Mouihbi play since he did’nt get much time when Lemerre was here. Thanks for the great notes momo.

Posted from United States

By Momo | August 14th, 2008 at 6:55 pm

Thank you for your comments guys..for that line up it is really not my favorite line-up, but I am just trying to read Coleho’s mind..my favorite line-up would definitely have Mouihbi in it as well as Ben Frej. I think Coleho though, as he should be, is not very emotional coach. He picked the 23 fittest guys, and he’ll probably start the fittest 11. In other notes, it seems like Chaouki Ben Saada will not be able to play in the Angola game since he’ll be sidelined for at least 15 days after an ankle injury during a practice session with his team. Bad news for the Eagles..we’ll see if Coelho will call on someone else for his replacement, maybe this is Benkhalfallah’s first call-up? who knows?!

By Achraf | August 14th, 2008 at 7:52 pm

http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/news/newsid=848747.html#lemerre+wants+return+glory+days Lemerrewants glory days back in Morroco. That will not happen to morroco with him in charge. I can not wait until Tunisia plays Morroco. I just want to beat him so bad!!!!!!!!

Posted from United States

By Yassine | August 15th, 2008 at 4:16 am

No Achraf it’s gonna be in el Menzeh. They changed the venue I don’t know why.
http://www.ftf.org.tn/fr/articles.asp?artid=1421

By Achraf | August 15th, 2008 at 10:29 am

they did? why?

Posted from United States

By Rachid | August 15th, 2008 at 5:02 pm

It appears Habib Mejri looked at the Monastir stadium (Ben Jannet) and determined it was no good. To “save face” they decided to move the game to El Menzah; I guess doing in Rades would be following Lemerre’s footsteps! This standard Tunisia BS, if you ask me! Yes Achraf, I agree, Lemerre willl bring back Morocco’s glory days WHEN PIGS FLY!!!

By Tahar | August 15th, 2008 at 7:53 pm

Hey ill be back in the states within a week. This comment is off topic but i thought some of you may be interested in hearing.
I was at the hotel du lac in tunis which is now closed for re building or something and the the lights were off and all that and a few of my friends were talking when all of a sudden Jose clayton walks down. I guess they all didnt notice him or knew he was there from before, but i had to look twice. I mean it wasnt like seeing a superstar but I was happy to see a familiar tunisian football face. Anyways it appears hes living there for a while. He seemed kinda down. I believe he stopped playing like 4 months ago and I forgot for which team, but he def looks out of shape and he even told me he didnt stand a chance of going back to est, or etoile obviously. On the other hand he did comment to me about his hometown of recife, which I visited, and how there were much much less brazilians in tunisia now then there were a few years ago. I also caught a hint that he may have a new job in tunisia, as he is going to brazil to recruit volleyball players?? maybe hell bring some soccer stars along?
Anywyas just thought you guys may be interested. I always enjoy chatting with the tunisian players.

By Momo | August 16th, 2008 at 12:10 pm

I just watched Leverkusen play Dortmund in the Bundesliga opener. Karim Haggui did not play at all. He was on the bench for the entire match. Bayer just hired a new coach, and it seems like he’s not a big fan of Haggui. Bad news for him..he might end up going elsewhere if he doesn’t get enough play time this season. Leverkusen ended up loosing 3-2 in a great game by the way. Maybe this loss will spark a change in the starting eleven next match and we could possibly see him play. I thought the Leverkusen defense was very shaky today. If Haggui cannot match up to those defenders that played today, then maybe he should start thinking seriously about either going back to France or moving to Besiktas, the Istanbul team that made a 4 Million bid for him this summer but he refused to go to.

By Skander | August 16th, 2008 at 1:08 pm

The only club that’s for playing for in turkey is Fenerbahce and maybe galatasaray but Fenerbahce or forget turkey because Haggui is a defender with world class-qualities, I would say our best player right now

Posted from Sweden

By Bman | August 16th, 2008 at 9:51 pm

Been a while since i poste but i have been keeping up, hope all is well Rami. Found a great artical about how AC MILAN is opening a football academy in Tunisia. check it out
http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Sport/?id=1.0.2416265373

Posted from United States

By Momo | August 17th, 2008 at 12:03 am

With all due respect I don’t think Haggui is capable of clinching a spot at Fenerbahce, at least for now..I hope you’re right though about Haggui’s world-class qualities, because I still think he has a lot to learn. I don’t think he even reached the level Jaidi reached in England yet. If he’s that good how do you explain him staying on the bench against Dortmund and the manager starting a very shaky defense that conceded 3 goals? I think this means he’s worst than those that played today because I saw him warming up on the sidelines but he never came in. Why would a manger keep a world-class defender on the bench when his defense is showing anything but world-class performance??

By Bman | August 17th, 2008 at 6:56 am

Jaidi has some ultimate strengths like heading the ball and such but sometimes he makes some really horrible errors and gives up goals. Haggui i think can be trusted more when it comes down to it. Thats just my opinion. As for Haggui at Dortmund, he has a new coach now and sometimes coaches are stubborn, but im pretty sure if they keep giving up 3 goals every game then Haggui will get his chance.

Posted from United States

By Momo | August 17th, 2008 at 11:01 am

Haggui was the worst player in the World Cup 06, and Jaidi saved us from humiliation against Saudi Arabia, and he also scored the goal against Burundi last time that might save us from early qualification exit. I know he makes some mistakes, but he himself said he wanted to quit the national Team, but the coaches keep calling on him, so they shouldn’t blame him if he makes any mistakes. Haggui played much better the last African Cup, but the World Cup in my view is a better standard to judge players. In Africa Tunisian players look pretty good, so it’s not very special if he plays well during the African Cup. I think he’s gonna struggle this season though, I hope I am wrong. This coach doesn’t like him at all. He prefers Friedrich and another Brazilian guy I forgot his name, Haggui better starts looking for another team or kick it up another notch and fight for his spot at Leverkusen.

By Achraf | August 17th, 2008 at 9:09 pm

hopefully ghzal will become a big player like jaidi or haggui, he is already doing good in swiss league.

Posted from United States

By Rami | August 18th, 2008 at 8:28 am

hey everyone sorry I been so out of touch and not up to date on the recent events. I’m traveling and have been away from a computer for quite some time (annoying but also strangely liberating. I’m still reading ur coments with great interest and will get back to posting on Friday when I return from my computerless travels. I’ll cover the Angola match when I get back whether I get to see it or not (obviously I really want to). Anyways sorry for the no prior warning on the lack of posts. I’m on a mini vacation (haven’t taken one since I started my job a year ago) and I guess I’m detoxing a little. After this bit of rest I’ll come back energized and ready to provide u with the coverage u deserve. Thanks for your understanding! On another note congrats to our swimmer Oussema Mellouli who brought back the Olympic gold in the 1500 freestyle. A proud moment for our country that will never be forgotten!

Posted from United States

By Rami | August 18th, 2008 at 8:41 am

Welcome back to the comment section Bman! Hope all is well with you. And Momo great analysis of the final squad sir.

Posted from United States

By Skander | August 20th, 2008 at 4:56 am

Are they going to show the match at tv7?

Posted from Sweden

By Achraf | August 20th, 2008 at 7:57 am

I hope so skander. this is a huge game a everyone wants to watch it. I cant wait.

Posted from United States

By Achraf | August 20th, 2008 at 8:03 am

hey guys, here is the starting line up for tonights game against angola according to mosaique fm.
-Balbouli
-Bousaidi
-Mikari
-Ben Zekri
-Haggui
-Mnari
-Traoui
-Namouchi
-Santos
Chermiti
Mouihbi
Very happy that mouihbi will start the game, I hope he proves something to Roger Lemerre.

Posted from United States

By Skander | August 20th, 2008 at 10:35 am

Yeah and Namouchi too :D But i can’t see it, i’m going to play a game with my soccerteam :(