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Tunisian Cup Semifinals Mini Preview

June 26th, 2008 | By: Rami | 21 Comments »

La Coupe Seems like these Semi’s have been a while coming eh? Blame that on the Tunisian League calendar. It’s quite a mess… Let’s waste no time and get right on into it.

Stade Tunisien vs. Etoile Sportive du Sahel (Friday at 5:30 PM Tunis Time)

These guys are familiar foes who don’t need much of an introduction. Robertinho nearly took ST to fourth place this year. They were overtaken by US Monastir on the last day but their season was positive nevertheless. The Brazilian seems to have a knack for getting his players to overachieve while playing to their strengths. His accomplishments this year got him a lucrative Saudi contract but you can be sure he’d love to leave with some silverware…

Stade Tunisien happens to be the only team that managed to beat Etoile in the league this year. Too bad they’re coming up against an ESS squad that is more determined than ever after they failed in defending their title and were knocked out of the Champions League. They want to set the record straight and the players will be doubly motivated since Michel Decastel took over the team and won’t allow them to spare any effort.

The Bardo boys better hope that Etoile’s players who just came back from international duty are exhausted. An upset isn’t out of the question but if I were a betting man I’d put my money on the guys from Sousse to win tomorrow. Their fans are expecting a reaction and I think they’ll get it.

Esperance Sportive de Tunis vs. EGS Gafsa (Saturday in Kairouan, match time yet to be determined)

~~It’s been a depressing time for Gafsa players who were relegated this year~~. (Gabes was relegated, sorry I got confused) The only one who might not care at the moment is Hammouda Maameri who signed for CA recently. He’s still with the group and will be tied to Gafsa until their time in Cup action ends. That could be as early as Saturday since the team from the South will attempt to make it to the final without some of their best players. Talk about a laundry list of injuries and suspensions: Lotfi Belhaj (suspended), Tarak Salem, Patrick Kazadi, Ramzi Ben Younes. Meanwhile Amir Omrani is with the Junior National team preparing for Sunday’s match against Mali.

Can’t say this is the ideal way to go into a game against an Esperance side aiming to conserve their cup title. The only player they might be missing is Aboucherouane who just returned with a little injury from international duty with Morocco. The team from the capital has been in Ain Draham preparing for a while and you have to believe that they are the favorites coming in. However, Gafsa player have been promised a nice sum of cash if they make it to the final. Nothing like a little green to get the juices going!

Everyone is expecting a ESS vs EST final but in Cup action anything can happen. That’s why they play the games after all…

In Other News

The ~~defensive~~ midfielder Khaled Melliti signed a three year contract with CA today. That might have you doing a double take considering that’s a player going from ESS to CA. The big rivals don’t usually do business together but both teams must see benefits to it or else it wouldn’t be happening. Melliti is looking to get more playing time and regain his confidence after being sidelined by a brutal knee injury.

Former FTF President Hammouda Ben Ammar (a guy who actually knows something about soccer) invited Roger Lemerre and the current bureau members (Tahar Sioud, Mahmoud Hammami, Ridha Kraiem, Hamed Kammoun, Mondher Chaouachi, Mahmoud Bacha and Kamel Ben Amor) to a restaurant for a meal to pay homage to the departing coach. Apparently Lemerre was so touched at the proceedings that he had tears streaming down his face as he proclaimed himself to feel Tunisian and said that he would never forget the beautiful time he spent in our country. Awww, don’t worry Lemerre, Morocco is nice too!

Post Update: I updated the Coelho Press Conference post with a video of the proceedings. Theres footage of Coelho speaking and then a whole bunch of Tunisian journalists and managers offering their opinion about why a Tunisian coach wasn’t. I think it’s time to get over it people… We have a coach now, let’s try to help him out as best we can!

Tags: Coupe de Tunisie, EGS Gafsa, Esperance, Etoile Sportive du Sahel, Group H, Hammouda Ben Ammar, Khaled Melliti, Roger Lemerre, Stade Tunisien

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Comments

By Moni | June 26th, 2008 at 10:01 pm

Yo RAMI, About Khaled Melliti , I thought the guy is a Offensive Midfielder, Because I remember the Toulon Festival , when Tunisia played England and maybe southkorea and portugal, He was operating as a #10,
Also I never forget his long-range goals in the African Competitions (with Etoile Champions league ore Confederation) from 40 meter (almost 45 Yard ?) !!!!!!!
And he showed this lang range shooting not 1 ore 2 times , but regular.

was Roger Lemerre really crying ? Why didn’t Robertinho get a chance at EST ore an other big club in tunisia ? I like him , he is very good coach ! He also coached Fluminese FC

Posted from Netherlands

By Rami | June 26th, 2008 at 10:23 pm

Hey Moni, thanks for pointing that out. I think Lemerre has had a serious effect on my brain, I’m fixated on defensive midfielders I struck it out so you can still see my mistake and know it is a mistake hehe. He’s a good player that guy, it’s just the injury really affected him psychologically. I hope he can come back. Especially now that he’s with CA!

I don’t know if Roger was really crying but thats what infosfoot says. Its not outside the realm of possibility. I mean he did spend 6 years with us. I’m not sure why Robertinho didn’t get offers from big Tunisian clubs. He might have and we don’t know about it but most of the coaching positions were filled. I think he just went for the big Gulf dollars. Those are hard to turn down. I’m still surprised Ben Chikha stayed with us to be honest. He was getting crazy offers.

By julien | June 27th, 2008 at 8:29 am

Can you share a little about the league calendar, Rami?

Posted from United States

By Rami | June 27th, 2008 at 9:01 am

Certainly Julien. We stopped the league for a couple weeks midseason so that Etoile du Sahel could prepare properly for the Club World Cup. They went to Korea weeks in advance and prepared for the tournament that would take place in Japan. I think it was a good initiative because they were our first representatives at that kind of tournament and their results were very positive (beating Pachuca of Mexico 1-0 in first game, losing to Boca Juniors 1-0 but actually giving them a real game, and dominating Urawa but still somehow finishing the game 2-2 and losing on penalties). A fourth place finish at the tournament wasn’t bad at all and it easily could have been a third place finish. A lot of players got some great exposure too, especially Amine Chermiti. Only problem is that it affected Etoile (and others) later because people were having to play two games a week, one Wendnesday and one Sunday. Players were very fatigued and the quality of play suffered.

So now you have a situation where our league has been done for about three weeks and the cup is still at the semifinal stage. So the players still in it haven’t gotten much rest or vacation time (especially the ones called up for national team duty). Ideally, you want the Cup finishing before the season I think.

This coming year they might stop the season for the entire month of Ramadan. That’s never been done before and I don’t know if it’s a good or bad idea. It means everyone will be playing two games a week again.

Posted from United States

By julien | June 27th, 2008 at 9:32 am

Thanks Rami. Do you think that will happen again for the next Club World Cup?

Posted from United States

By Rami | June 27th, 2008 at 9:36 am

Unfortunately we don’t have to worry because all our teams got knocked out of the African Champions league! First time in our history we have no one in the group stages We got a bunch of teams in the CAF Confed Cup though (African equivalent of UEFA Cup). So there’s good chances of us getting some kind of continental silverware.

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By julien | June 27th, 2008 at 10:38 am

Why is Jemmali still a free agent? Did you know Bordeaux let him go?

Posted from United States

By Rami | June 27th, 2008 at 12:43 pm

Yea I heard about that. I’m not sure, I haven’t heard any news about him in quite a while… I’m catching some of the Etoile-ST game right now and it’s quite a match! 2-2 so far in extra time.

Posted from United States

By Momo | June 27th, 2008 at 1:45 pm

Julien, I think Esperance or some Tunisian club should try to get Jemmali. I think he can help them a lot with his experience, and he might agree to an offer. I remember Boumnijel played for Club Africain when he turned 36 or something like that, and then what a career he had. They should go for David Jemmali too. He still has a lot to offer.

By marwen | June 27th, 2008 at 1:57 pm

what happened to hatem trabilse did he quit playing football?

By Abdullah | June 27th, 2008 at 2:23 pm

I heard he didn’t want to play for the national team anymore,,,,,THE TRAITOR!!!!

Posted from Netherlands

By Rami | June 27th, 2008 at 3:04 pm

Trabelsi has issues with his knee so teams don’t want to spend lots of money on him. Marseille wanted him and he said no because they wouldn’t pay him like he was being paid in England (that’s normal since the English teams overpay players all the time). Le Mans wanted him too but ended up with Ben Frej (a better deal both financially and also considering his younger age). I have no clue where he is. And Abdullah I disagree, he’s not a traitor because he gave us many years of great performances. It’s his time to go anyway we have great players at right back like Ben Frej and Berradhia who are younger and need to get their chance. I do think it’s ridiculous he’s not playing anywhere though. He should accept less money and get a few more season in, it’s sad for a legend like him to stop playing like this without a trace.

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By Momo | June 27th, 2008 at 3:50 pm

Hey Rami, did you get a chance to watch Stade Tunisien play Etoile Sahel today? I caught up with the end of the match, and what a game it was! I haven’t seen games like that for a while in Tunisia man! Did you see the goals? Incredible. I hope Coleho was watching, because there are a few Stade Tunisien players who deserve a call-up to the National Team at least for the upcoming friendly. Imagine if they had Amir Akrout with them..Selliti and Akrout combo up front can arguably be the best attacking duo in the entire league. It is sad Robertinho will be leaving, because he really did a great job for the Baklawa. I hope tomorrow’s match will be a good one too..although it is unfortunate to hear Gafsa is missing a number of key players, the likes of Lotfi Belhaj and Tarak Salem. I heard Esperance will be missing the talented Aboucherouane too.

By Rami | June 27th, 2008 at 4:04 pm

Hey Momo, I saw the match and will try to write about it asap. I might wait until after tomorrows game and do a two in one type deal. Coelho was not at the match today (he’s back in portugal) but he will be at the final. I think he’ll still get to see tape of the match though. At least he should.

Robertinho did a good job with Baklawa but he made some mistakes today that cost his team dearly. He took out one of their best players Jedidi who was having the match of his life and put in Mhadhebi who is only just coming back. Result, Mhadhebi misses a penalty just like the one he missed against Argentina in the Confederation Cup. Also, they didn’t put in their Goalie Zidane who is a penalty stopper and it hurt them a lot in the end.

It was a great game though, even though Baklawa was hard done by the referee who called an inexistant offsides on their first goal and disallowed it. I thought they deserved to go through after coming back from a goal down twice. They really impressed me. Having Etoile in the final is by no means a bad thing though. The goals were crazy!

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By Abdullah | June 27th, 2008 at 4:26 pm

Rami, if Trabelsi can play for a team in the premier league i think he should be able to play in the national team,…. at least that is what i would do, i would even consider playing at a less known team just to be able to represent my country.

And the fact that he didnt accept the offer from marseille(wich is a pretty good club) makes me suspect he doesnt only play for the game but more for the $$big bucks$$.

Could it be that he wasnt satisfied with the ammount of money they where paying him, or is it really his knee.

Anyway i think we need players like him and jaidi for their experience, they keep a young team balanced.

For example take the dutch national team, the always have a bit of experience in either their devensive positions or offensive potitions, i mean even the goalkeeper (Edwin van der Sar) is playing with them from 1993 until now, and up front they have had Ruud van Nistelrooy for about 10 years now.

Posted from Netherlands

By Rami | June 27th, 2008 at 4:32 pm

Abdullah I’m with you on the money thing. He’s definitely after lots of money and it pisses me off also. I know that he supports a lot of people in Sfax but you’d think by now he’d have enough to keep them and himself happy. Marseille is a great club and he could have played there after the departure of Habib Beye. He can play on his knee but I was saying that the teams didn’t want to give him the kind of contracts he wanted because of the knee. Thats one thing they cited after every medical.

As far as the national team goes I respect his decision to stop playing for it. We don’t want players in the team who don’t want to be there. There’s absolutely no point in that. Plus as I said before we have players who have taken his place and done just fine. Jaidi and Mnari bring experience and even though he’s young, Haggui does also. I don’t have a problem with a young team. I really like our group of players in the national team, we’ve just needed a coach who can set up a system that plays to their strengths. I think we might have one now but only time will tell.

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By Momo | June 27th, 2008 at 5:53 pm

Abdullah, man you are being too harsh on Trabelsi. I think it is actually a courageous decision he took when he stopped playing for the Eagles. He could have continued playing, but we all know that today’s Trabelsi is not the same Trabelsi of 4 years ago, well maybe some of us still need to be reminded of that once in a while. Like Rami said, I am happy with Ben Fraj playing there, and besides a right back is not a very pivotal position in football, some teams do away with it by playing only 3 center backs. So required experience in that department is definitely out of context. In fact Trabelsi did not bring any experience in his days when he played. All he brought was speed and tireless runs, and guess what now he’s out of gas and he has a bad knee. Please don’t Zidanise Trabelsi just because he was our number 1 star in Europe. He was the most famous of all players, but I don’t think he was the most crucial. This is a mistake some people make. Look at France, they got rid of the whole 98 squad except Zidane during the World Cup, and you know why? not because he was famous, but because Zidane playing or not meant France winning or not. I don’t think that’s the case with Trabelsi, unfortunately many people over count on him too much..maybe that’s why he was pushed to quit.

By Rachid | June 27th, 2008 at 8:59 pm

L’Etoile dominated, deserved to win, and did. Mhaddebi tried, but Mathlouthi made a brilliant save. ST had 3 ex-Etoile players trying to prove a point. They tried, but eventually l’Etoile went through. This win means a lot to l’Etoile; in fact, I would go as far as calling it a turning point. Clearly, DeCastel is a positive sign for l’Etoile, and I’m very happy for him. He seems to have a big heart, and it’s nice to see that got rewarded. Robertinho is a cowboy of a coach. That works in the short term, but often lacks consistency. I sure hope Gafsa wins tomorrow and face a crushing defeat against l’Etoile in the final. Paybacks are hell, and I sure wish to see them experience that. I’m surprised they settled on playing in Kairouan; why not Beja or Rades; that way they get to make some really $$ from Esperance fans (”ibtizaz”), as they did with CA fans! Also, their club president can order his number one goal keeper not to play, because of suspicions that he may “sell” the match to Esperance. Or, do these irregularities happen in championship games only!!!

By Momo | June 27th, 2008 at 9:22 pm

Rachid, man clearly you are an avid Etoile supporter, but how can we believe what you say when we know you are bias? I did not watch the entire game, but I thought Stade Tunisien played well too, at least for the part I watched. They gave us an entertaining match despite all the problems we know the Baklawa are going through. These are the kind of teams we need more of in the league so we can see higher quality competition. I don’t expect this will be a changing point for Etoile, because they’re still struggling, remind you the game ended with a 2-2 draw. They can still easily go down in the Final if they keep conceding goals like that. On a different note, for Etoile’s benefit next season, I think Amine Chermiti should get out of Sousse as soon as possible. He’s causing too many problems that might cost Etoile a little too much for him to stay. It’s disappointing to see a talent like him behaving like that. He needs to keep his feet on the ground.

By Rami | June 27th, 2008 at 9:46 pm

Match Recap and goals are up! I think Stade Tunisien deserves serious congrats for their efforts today. Even my Etoiliste friends were impressed with them. I’m not saying Etoile doesn’t deserve to go through but you have to admit Stade did their thing today and could easily have taken it.

By Rachid | June 28th, 2008 at 11:22 am

Momo, I agree 100% with your assessment. Sorry, that I got a little carried away. I was not ready for another disappointment, and luckily l’Etoile won. They are clearly struggling with Ghzel, Ben Frej, etc gone. It did not help that the cup games have been so delayed!

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