Tunisian Teams in African Club Competitions

We had four teams competing in continental competitions this weekend. Etoile du Sahel and Club Africain in CAF Champions League and Club Sportif Sfaxien and Esperance de Tunis in CAF Confederation Cup. Here’s a look at how they fared.

How the Mighty Have Fallen

Out of all the results from this weekend. The most shocking would have to be Esperance losing 3-1 to eighth placed second division side Rached El Bernoussi of Morocco. I watched some of the game and simply didn’t believe my eyes. Even with Zaiem, Bienvenue, Mzali and others missing, it’s fair to say that Esperance was expected to come back from el Maghreb with a much better result than this. Their defense has never looked so slow and disorganized. They did snatch a valuable away goal and could still go through if they win 2-0 in Tunis. It’s within reach but they’ll first have to recover from psychological trauma and embarrassment of the first leg. Not the best homecoming for Aboucherouane…It’s a funny old game.

Wasteful Sfax Wins

In their game against Jeunesse Bejaya, CSS came up against an Algerian side that was intent on letting in the least amount of goals possible. It was one way traffic for the Southern Capital the entire game but they could not translate the dominance into goals. A win is a win but it’s a little worrying because Algerian sides are notoriously strong when playing at home. Sfax are the title holders and are still expected to go through but they’ve made it harder on themselves by only managing a 1-0 victory at home.

Club Africain Stumbles in Togo

Another unexpected result but this time I didn’t get to watch. The game was only available on radio Tunis and from what I heard Club Africain dominated the first half thoroughly but could not break through the Togolese defense despite good efforts from Yahia and company. Apparently, Mouihbi was denied a blatant penalty by the Nigerian referee. In the second half, the humidity and heat took their toll on our us and the better adapted ASKO de Kara players scored two goals off of defensive errors from the usually solid backline. This makes the return leg incredibly tricky as letting in a single goal would mean that we would need four to go through. Rabbi yostor.

Etoile Makes a Statement: No Chermiti, No Problem!

I left the best for last because this was truly an entertaining game that exceeded even the most optimistic of expectations. Etoile du Sahel started off their title defense with a resounding 5-0 thumping of AS Douanes of Senegal. Sure they were facing a team that hadn’t played a competitive game in months but this still wasn’t billed as a cakewalk that it was. Douanes actually threatened a little at some moments in the match and showed that their strength is the counter attack. Balbouli was called upon a few times in goal and displayed the astounding form we’ve come to expect from him. After Etoile settled into the game, they could not be denied. This team is proving game after game that they are the crown jewel of Tunisian (and even African) football at the moment.

Even without Moussa Narry and Chermiti (red carded in African Supercup), the Sahlis were ruthless in front of goal and stylish throughout. I was most impressed with Berradhia (who looks to be a right back for the future) and Ben Dhifallah who got his first goal in African competitions on a trademark header and then doubled his pleasure later on in the game. The score got so healthy that Marchand took the liberty of subbing in former U17 World Cup standout Mossaab Sassi who had a dream start to his professional career by scoring in injury time. That kid is a lefty beast who I look forward to following for the coming years. Simply put, Etoile means business.

In Other News

Issam Jemaa scored a thunderbolt for CAEN this weekend in their 4-1 win over Monaco. He will replace the injured Chikhaoui in the national team for Wednesdays game versus Cote d’Ivoire.

Saif Ghezal is quickly gaining capo status at Young Boys in Switzerland. He scored on his debut to introduce himself to the fans and followed it up with a double to twice bring his team back in their 4-2 win over FC Thoune. I have a feeling some Swiss youngsters are gonna start rocking jerseys with his name on the back. Keep it up Saif!

Yassine Chikhaoui’s first season in Europe will end in heartache as he’s sidelined for 3 months with inflammation in the “tendon rotulien” (that’s the French version of the injury). Apparently he’s been suffering from knee pain for the last 2 to 3 years but something happened at the African Cup which made it worse. At least the problem has been properly diagnosed and Chikhaoui can rest up and start his reeducation. It’s unfortunate because this comes at a time when he was starting to taste the limelight. I’m sure he’ll bounce back. Careers are full of ups and downs, hopefully this is just a bump in the road of what will be a great career. Rabbi Yeshfik ya Chi5a!