Karim Haggui Only Tunisian Remaining in UEFA Cup

Tough luck for our boys in the UEFA Cup yesterday. Perhaps the worst (and most frustrating) result was Nurnberg’s 2-2 draw with Benfica that knocked Jawhar Mnari and his teamates out of the competition. After an outstanding game in which he assisted on the opening goal and was a calming force in midfield, Mnari was substituted at around the 89th minute and his team proceeded to collapse by conceding two goals thereafter. Not sure if the coach slept after that one…

Likewise for Yassine Chikhaoui who despite having a solid outing after the disappointing home leg couldn’t make the difference in a match that ended scoreless. It was still reassuring to see him very much present throughout this one and at the heart of anything that Zurich did which was dangerous (especially after the negative media attention he’s been getting in Germany). He even contributed defensively with some timely tackles. Now he has to focus all his attention of finishing off the season just as well as he started it. All he has to fight for is the Swiss title before he leaves in the summer… Tijani Belaid made a cameo appearance for Slavia Prague against Tottenham but he came on very late (86th minute or so) and didn’t see much of the ball. It’s still good to see him returning to the pitch after all the drama he was going through in Tunisia. Meanwhile, I was pretty impressed with his teammates who didn’t lie down for the Spurs in any way. They fought hard at White Hart Lane and hats of for not going quietly.

The only player whose team progressed was Karim Haggui’s Bayer Leverkusen. They thumped their opponents 5-1 and Karim even managed to get on the score sheet while showing some good predatory instincts. After seeing him limp off against Cameroon its good to know that it wasn’t serious and he’s found his regular first team place for his club. Too bad he had a hand in Galatasaray’s goal (literally). Nevertheless,The guy is having his best year yet in Europe with many convincing performances in the center of the Leverkusen defense. Best of luck in the rest of the competition Karim!

Nurnberg-Benfica Highlights

Bayer Leverkusen-Galatasaray Highlights

In Other News

There’s a rumor on some forums that Tahar Sioud is in Abu Dhabi meeting with Jorvan Vieira, the former coach of the Iraqi team that won the hearts of the world during its amazing run to the Asian Cup Trophy. I talked about this possibility a while ago so we’ll have to follow where this goes.

Meanwhile, Amine Chermiti can add another trophy to his growing collection as he just won the Tunisian Ballon D’Or. He’ll have a chance to show why he received this prize in tomorrows African Super Cup against CSS. Knowing his flair for the dramatic, he’ll probably do just that. At least I won’t be betting against him… BBC isn’t either it seems.