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May 26th, 2008 | By: Rami | 9 Comments »

Michel en Tunisie Etoile Signs Decastel: After a disappointing end to the domestic season, the writing was on the wall for Bertrand Marchand. It’s now the second year in a row that he loses the title at the finish line. After hearing a litany of abuse from the fans, he decided to call it quits and suggested to Moez Driss that he contact the deposed CSS coach, Michel Decastel, as a possible replacement. An obvious choice perhaps but Etoile management must have been thinking along those lines anyway because it took no time to become reality. Decastel’s Confederation Cup title with CSS and his hand in forming some of the players that are the backbone of the Cote d’Ivoire side at ASEC Mimosas are some of the notable achievements on his CV. The pressure is on though as Etoile is his toughest test yet.

Souheil Berradhia unavailable for Carthage Eagles: Berradhia has been the only player on ESS that has satisfied the fans of the club during the last matches of the season. He’s the single starter that wasn’t getting booed at the the training ground in the last few weeks. That’s a pretty good indication of his output on the field (and a good indication that ESS fans can tell who’s actually showing up to play). Sadly for NT fans though, Berradhia was injured in the last match of the season versus Esperance and requires a weeks rest. He has been replaced in the list by Chadi Hammami from CSS. Does anyone else think its strange to replace a right back with a left back? Let’s just hope Saber Ben Fraj stays healthy… No word on whether Berradhia will be called on after the Burkina Faso game. All I know is I want him healthy asap.

Amine Chermiti makes it rain in cup win: Good news for the national team as Chermiti is finally back to his goalscoring ways. Sure it was in a cup game against a modest COT team but at hat trick is a hat trick and it’s never a bad thing for your striker to see the ball in the back of the net. It’s very important for all of us that he regains his form. Some rumors are circulating that the inevitable Hertha Berlin move won’t be happening this summer like everyone was predicting. Looks like Moez Driss wants him to stay another year in the Sahel… I dont know if Chermiti will be too thrilled about that. The treatment he’s been getting in Tunis from opposing defenders has been shameful and I bet he’d like a change of scenery. Who could blame him?

Abdelhak Ben Chikha close to signing 1 year extension with CA: After celebrating the title the first question on Club Africain fans was whether their coach, who is in extremely high demand in the Arab Gulf, will stay on in his current position. Continuity is the key to success and the CA president was wise to start negotiations well before the season came to a close. That vote of confidence may be paying off as infosfoot reports both sides are close to an agreement. More on this when the deal is done.

CSS out of Tunisia Cup: Sfax’s season just went from bad to worse as they fell to Stade Tunisien in El Menzah stadium on the score of 1-0. They need to bounce back quickly if they hope to successfully defend their Confederation Cup title. Especially considering there’s three other Tunisian teams who will be vying to dethrone them. The rest of the cup results were as follows:

ESS-COT (5-1)
EST-Hammam Lif (5-2): Darragi continued his fine run of form with an assist and a goal. Not a bad way to join up with the national team!

Tags: Abdelhak Ben Chikha, Amine Chermiti, Bertrand Marchand, Group H, Michel Decastel, Souheil Berradhia

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Comments

By Rachid | May 26th, 2008 at 7:03 pm

What I like the most about the Etoile management is their quick action. They take no time to make the necessary changes. Despite Marchand’s qualifications, I think changing him, and with Decastel in particular, is a great move. It will motivate players to compete and keep them on their toes to excel. Decastel is also an expert on Tunisian football and African football in general and will have no learning curve. Another thing I find important is that Moez Driss appears to be insisting on key players (especially the African ones) on staying for at least another season. I hope Chermiti gets to stay. He can use another season to improve his skills and win l’Etoile other titles. My expectation is that l’Etoile will come back strong, which will keep the game exciting in Tunisia! Competition is going to be fierce among Etoile, Esperance, and Club Africain.

By Moni | May 26th, 2008 at 7:05 pm

Rami, Thank U you for your worke during the season, keeping this blog alive, you should start a sportmagazine , good reports.

Posted from Netherlands

By Moni | May 26th, 2008 at 7:07 pm

But is there any news about the new Equipe National coach ?

Posted from Netherlands

By bechir | May 26th, 2008 at 7:07 pm

thank you rami for all the updates.

By Rami | May 27th, 2008 at 3:38 pm

Moni and Bechir, thanks for the thanks Truly appreciated.

Rachid, ur comment basically summarizes why you should be the Etoile blogger on the offside.com! hehe, i like the choice of Decastel too. If only our FTF could be as proactive! i’m confused about the Chermiti situation to be honest. Driss keeps saying he’s not going anywhere but Mosaique is reporting he just came back from Germany where he passed a medical and signed a pre contract. Not sure what’s going on there. There’s gotta be one foreigner to leave though if they want to get the nigerian guy, Godwin right?

Moni, in terms of Equipe National coach, last I heard was Coelho and Troussier (weeks ago):

http://www.lapresse.tn/index.php?opt=15&categ=5&news=72105

But today in Assabah they’re talking about Faouzi Benzarti on the verge of signing. I’m following this closely (as I imagine everyone is) so if anything new comes out, I’ll write about it.

Posted from United States

By Skander | May 27th, 2008 at 9:53 pm

I can’t remember where, but I read something about Brazilian Lazaroni (Brazil NT coach in 1990) being a candidate. Leave it to the FTF to choose one of the worst coaches Brazil ever had to lead the Tunisian NT…

Posted from Japan

By thamer | May 27th, 2008 at 10:12 pm

just thought i’d share

http://www.dailymotion.com/search/esperance%2Bde%2Btunis/video/x5k9oi_compile-youssef-mouihbi-chdoula87_sport

this guy is a beast. its about time he got called up.

Posted from United States

By Yassine | May 28th, 2008 at 7:41 am

I think that Chermiti should insist on going to Hertha, and I think that’s what will happen. M. Driss is just trying to keep everyone focused on the Cup and CAF, it’s the same thing he did with Mejdi Traoui; the player and the president has denied the move to Salzburg to keep the serenity in the group before the end of the championship, but Salzburg’s official site confirmed the move that same day.
The internet is a powerful tool:
http://www.bild.de/BILD/sport/fussball/bundesliga/vereine/hertha/2008/05/27/chermiti/hertha-hat-den-millionen-bomber,geo=4652074.html
http://87.106.1.66/rbsb/images/01BoussaidiTraoui.jpg
http://www.kicker.de/news/fussball/bundesliga/startseite/artikel/203046/
Great post as always, Rami.

By Rami | May 28th, 2008 at 9:34 am

Skander, let’s just hope that Lazaroni rumor is just a rumor.

Nice find Thamer, I saw that and held off on posting it because I thought it would be going overboard with attention towards CA. He’s definitely overdue for a call up. Now it’s time for him to prove his worth to Lemerre and make it impossible to ignore him any further. Also Thamer, you’ll be interested to know that there’s a Darragi to PSG rumor circulating on Tunisie foot right now. Not sure if it’s credible but it’s still interesting…

Good work Yassine. I saw the bild article on Tunisie foot but hadn’t come across the other two. It’s weird with Traoui because now on info foot it says he was in France recently to talk to Strasbourg from Ligue 2!

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