Thoughts on Roster for Guinea Friendly

The FTF released the list of players called up to face Guinea in Tunis on August 22nd:

Goalkeepers:
Hamdi Kasraoui (EST), Aymen Mathlouthi (ESS), Arbi Mejri (CSHL)

Defenders:
Wissem Abdi (Ezzamalek),Wissem Bekri (EST), Seif Ghezal (ESS), Karim Haggui (Leverkusen), Chadi Hammami (CSS), David Jemmali (Bordeaux), Mehdi Meriah (ESS), Alaeddine Yahia (Sedan)

Midfielders:
Houcine Ragued (FCMons), Mejdi Traoui (ESS), Jawhar Mnari (FCNuremberg), Karim Nafti (CSS), Adel Chedli (FCSion), Kamel Zaïem (EST), Chaker Zouaghi (Locomotiv Moscou)

Forwards:
Silva Dos Santos (FCToulouse), Chawki Ben Saâda (Bastia), Yassine Chikhaoui (FCZurich), Issam Jomâa (FCCaen) et Amine Chermiti (ESS)

I have to say that I am pleasantly surprised by Roger Lemerre’s choices. What strikes me about his team selection is the balance between players in foreign leagues (12) and those picked from the Tunisian domestic league (11). This is somewhat unheard of from a manager that has previously been criticized for showing little to no interest in homegrown Tunisian talent (not a wise choice if you take a look at what they’re capable of). An example of this is his decision to guarantee Hatem Ben Arfa of Lyon a spot on the team if he decided to come aboard for the world cup. The only problem with this is that Ben Arfa, as good a player as he is, is not Tunisian but a French citizen of Tunisian descent. We already have our share of french imports (Chawki Ben Saâda for example who played for the French U-17 side as well as David Jemmali who held out on us while he waited on a French call up that never came) but some Tunisian fans were upset that a place on our World Cup team was guaranteed to someone who hadn’t earned his stripes by refusing to help out during the arduous qualification process. Instead, they wanted to see some of our impressive youngsters get a shot. Needless to say, that wasn’t likely when you consider the fact that the FTF has been content to sprinkle our team with Brazilian players that were handed a passport merely for being members of our club teams and tanning on our beautiful beaches (I’m looking at you Jose Clayton and Silva Dos Santos). Throughout the years they have performed admirably and have both shown that they are serious about representing Tunisia; making themselves available at every turn (even through injury troubles). However, while I appreciate their loyalty I just can’t completely get used to the fact that theres players on the team that have no historical link to the homeland. Of course, it must be noted that this isn’t an issue that is unique to Tunisia by any means, theres a great deal of Brazilian players worldwide that are plying their trade in various national teams other than their own. Brazil has such a wealth of talent that they are seemingly content to share it with the rest of the world. Anyways, before I go on too long about this, what I am basically trying to say is that I’m happy with the squad selected to face Guinea because Lemerre has finally given an indication that he will allow Tunisians born and bred in the country to get a well deserved chance to help the Carthage Eagles in their quest to lift the African Cup in Ghana later this year. Its definitely a move in the right direction and I’m sure that theres a great deal of Tunisians joining me in saying: “Better late than never…”

I am also pleased to report that Yassine Chikhaoui, the youngster I recently profiled, is back in the team after mouthing off to Issam Jomâa in their last practice together. We couldn’t afford to exile him for too long, he’s too talented no to be on the team. Hopefully he’s come back with his head screwed on straight and that he’s ready to work hard to solidify his place in the squad. It will be interesting to see if he starts alongside the man he cursed out.

Anyways, theres plenty to talk about regarding the game and lots of storylines developing. I can’t wait to see our senior team back in action. Hopefully the outcome of this match isn’t the same as the last team we met Guinea. During the 2006 African Cup in Egypt, Tunisia had already guaranteed qualification by disposing of Zambia (4-1 Highlight ALERT!) and South Africa (2-0) and everything seemed to be going quite smoothly. Then along came Guinea in the supposedly meaningless third game and spanked us 3-0. Having already guaranteed qualification, Lemerre opted to keep practically all his starters on the bench and the disunity amongst those on the pitch was evident in both the quality of play and the result. Some sections of the Tunisian press argue that this was a dubious decision considering how well the first team was playing at the time. Safeguarding your talent is one thing but turning an entire group on its head and sacrificing first team cohesiveness is another. Tunisia went on to lose to Nigeria on penalties in the quarterfinal after squandering a great deal of chances to seal it in regular time. Some blame this defeat on the slip up against Guinea. I wouldn’t go that far but losing in any situation almost always has an effect.

Regardless, here’s to you Mr. Lemerre. You’ve selected a fine team. Now let’s see if you can keep your job.