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Weekend Wackness in African Competitions

April 29th, 2008 | By: Rami | 10 Comments »

Yes, yes, it took me a while to get to this. A full 48 hours were necessary for me to get over a result that shocked the hell out of me upon gazing at my computer screen. I was scrolling down the page of Mosaique FM and I see:

CSS vs. Liguere St. Louis of Senegal finished 2-3: Ok that’s not so bad, the two away goals make this doable in Sfax. The team from the Southern capital better shore up its defense though…

Etoile vs. Dynamos of Zimbabwe finished 0-1: Hmm, same result as the last time Etoile played in that country (a long time ago). Not too worried about this, the champions will show why they hold the crown in Sousse. I’m just happy they didn’t get caught up in the political mess that is Harare at the moment. Later I found out, Etoile missed quite a few chances and Amine Chermiti was one of the chief culprits. No big deal…

Esperance vs. US Masseda of Togo finished 0-1: Considering Khaled Badra got a red really early in this match, this is actually not such a bad result.

and then….

and then…

Club Africain vs. Enyimba of Nigeria finished (I rub my eyes) 1-5!!!! Wait what? What!? Is that right? Must be a typo. No way! No fucking way. Noooooooooooooooo, my team. My baby. Why? Is our dream really over so soon? Is this a nightmare?

After some fact checking to make sure I wasn’t imagining that brutal scoreline, rationality takes over and I start looking for an explanation: What happened? How did this happen? I know we didn’t get crushed like this without putting up a fight. Our boys are better than that, our coach is better than that. We couldn’t have played that badly. This isn’t the Enyimba that was crowned champion two years in a row, I know that much.

The reports of Tunisian correspondents start trickling in and the consensus is this: The game started like any other but CA started in the worst way possible by conceding a goal in the 1st minute. Gharzoul was sent off for his second yellow in what journalists are calling a gift from the referee who hails from Benin. CA soldiers on, Osagie scores on home turf but in our colors. Good time for the Nigerian to show up. Leaving with a 2-1 loss wouldn’t have been bad at all and they say we played well enough to do just that. Then at the 76th, another questionable penalty! Ok 3-1, still not THAT bad. I mean I know we could beat this team 2-0 in front of our own fans.

The 86th minute is when things took a turn for the ridiculous. Mouihbi was laying on the ground clutching his injured arm when a steward came and was trying to rush him off the field. It’s quite possible Mouihbi was time wasting but like it or not, thats a part of modern soccer. The steward proceeded to grab the strikers leg and “lifted it three metres into the air” (that’s how Youssef described it himself to Mosaique).

In an attempt to get away from this mans clutches, our player ended up looking like he had kicked this guy or something. So there you go, automatic red. Now we’re playing 9 against 11. Oh and did I mention Adel Nefzi went out with an injury in the middle of the game. 9 players + shakey goalie: 2 goals in extra time. And this wasn’t your regular extra time. 5 minutes were added which is quite a bit and the feuille de match might say they were scored their fourth and fifth goal in the 92nd and 95th minute but the CA staff insist it was more like the 96th and 98th. That might be splitting hairs but there’s a big sense of injustice emanating from everyone in the CA family.

As if that wasn’t enough, the fans invaded the pitch and wouldn’t let our players vacate. Meanwhile, the ref is reported to have ran into the home teams dressing room (probably fearing the wrath of the Club Africain technical staff)! Bizarre. After the game Ben Chikha had this to say: “On the whole we actually played a respectable game. We didn’t start well but the way the game went saw us weaken in numbers and in enthusiasm. After two gifted penalties, 2 red cards, and 7 or 8 yellows I think that the players couldn’t find themselves. This shouldn’t come as a surprise us though, Africa was this way 30 years ago, fast forward 30 and it’s still the same. We thought that there would be fair play but unfortunately the opposite was true.”

Ok so you know you’re not supposed to blame a ref. The game is bigger than that. Sometimes you have to take what’s yours even when the ref is against you but something is fishy here. So much so that the CAF switched the refereeing trio for the return leg in Tunis from a Ghanaian one to an Egyptian one. Coincidence? I’m usually not so cynical but this is kinda nuts.

I have yet to see the highlights so this is all hearsay. One thing is for sure. We didn’t deserve to win. Did we deserve to lose 5-1 though? I seriously doubt it. Holler at me if you disagree, I’m down to take another 5-1 verbally!

When highlights become available I’ll hook it up.

Tags: Club Africain, Club Sportif Sfaxien, Esperance Sportive de Tunis, Etoile du Sahel, Group H, Tunisia Football

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Comments

By Fahd | April 30th, 2008 at 10:15 am

Ya Rami, it was a disaster for Alifriki unfortunately. It is a real shame that they were caught up in this dirty game. This shows that the club is lacking experience in the african jungle in comparison to Elnejm Sfax and Tarajji.

I mean to be clear here, Alifriki lost the game due to stupid mistakes and lost their concentration when it was crucial to be alert. The last 10 Minutes they let Enymba do what they want and as you know this you should never allow.

Alifriki has a very good team but not the experience to play in Africa. Therefore lifrika should not complain but win 4-0 in elmenzah which is to my oppinion not an impossible task. I hope with all my heart that both elnejm and ilifriki meet in the final inshallh of 2008.

I have a dream…..

By Rachid | April 30th, 2008 at 10:44 am

Rami, I agree with Fahd’s analysis. Lack of experience was the main reason for such a big loss. The coach unfortunately did not prepare his players well enough. They should have defended like hell to keep their losses to a minimum. The 4th and 5th goals clearly showed the CA boys completely giving up. I hate to say it, but scoring 4 in Tunis is not going to be an easy task. Unfortunately, I still hear Ben Chika stating that it’s quite doable. He, himslef is inexperienced. I’m not worried about ESS, EST, or CSS; they will get the job done.

Posted from United States

By Yassine | April 30th, 2008 at 11:54 am

Highlights: http://www.mediafire.com/?zzyaoyxe14k
I hope that CA will get the 4 goals in el Menzah, I currently can’t see another team (except Al Ahly and of course ESS) that can win this CL.
Don’t forget the derby tomorrow!

By Rami | April 30th, 2008 at 12:49 pm

Yassine, you’re the man. Thanks for the highlights bro.

Fahd, Rachid: You are both correct. We should have defended instead of playing our usual attacking style and lack of experience certainly played a role in this lopsided defeat. It’s been a while since we’ve played in these big competititons and more prudence was certainly necessary. However, it’s one thing when a ref does you no favors but it’s quite another when he practically takes over the game.

As long as There’s still a full 90 minutes to play we’re in with a chance… albeit a very slight one. Not having Mouihbi could hurt us a lot. That guy really creates so much and has that finishing touch on top of it. Hopefully Rhifi and the other attackers step up. Ben Yahia will have to have a big game too. Rabbi m3ana inshallah!

By Fahd | May 1st, 2008 at 1:27 am

Rami,

Today’s game against Tarajji will be the mental preparation for their Game against the Nigerians. If they win the derby it means they have heart if not I do not expect a lot next week. I also heard that the Club supporters expressed their angre during one of the training sessions!!! It means that the players and staff are under immense pressure.
Elmouhim inshallah Marbouha lilifriki. Inshallah Elnejm tirba7 zeda. It is much nicer if we could keep the suspense untill the last day it makes winning the championship More interesting for both teams!!!

Rami my compliments for your Blog!!! I hope that all the Tunisians supporters can communicate without insulting eachother in the future no matter which team they support.

Illalika

By Rami | May 1st, 2008 at 2:30 pm

3ayshou ya Fahd. What’s I’ve enjoyed most about this experience is that we can all talk about the issues without decending into regionalist arguments that get us nowhere. If Etoile wins the trophy this year, I’ll be the first to congratulate you. We both won today so things remains interesting.

By Fahd | May 1st, 2008 at 3:46 pm

Ya Rami

Mabrouk lintisar :))) May the best team deserve the title. Inshallah Enymba will experience the Real African commando’s!!!

Ofcourse I have to say Elnejm hamdoullah rabhit which makes me happy as well.
SAkrou bibankom …… Swa7lia Sadmien (*_^)

By Rachid | May 1st, 2008 at 10:07 pm

Guys, I did watch the game, but I must say something did not seem quite right! Esperance dominated the first half with Kamel Zeaim in top shape. L’Etoile scores towards the end of the first half in Marsa, and all of a sudden, Club Africain dominates the second half and ends up winning!!! I’m not saying this because I’m an Etoile fan, but it was too obvious to be ignored!!! Something is really fishy here! What the hell was going on?

By Fahd | May 2nd, 2008 at 12:19 am

Ya Rachid,

Fishy or not Elnejm needs to win the championship by itself. I assume that the last game against lemkechga is desicive!! It will be very exciting untill the last match. You can imagine that the ifriki players were informed on the score in Elmarsa so I think they got boosted by this. Tarajji did not care wether they lost or won. They are obviously focussing on the CAF cup and next years championship as SFAX.

Next year there will be a much tougher competition than this year which is great. Elnejm needs to stay sharp and nothing comes easy!!! I am a fan of winning your matches no mater the siuation, and again I think if you play in an african competition there you are dealing with a lot of fish and I assume more than in Tunisia. Ya 7aouet 3al eltoile!!!! :)))))

By Rami | May 2nd, 2008 at 1:11 am

Rachid, there’s a lot of ways you can look at it. It’s not impossible (crazier things have happened) but I honestly doubt Esperance threw the game. I mean they were trying to win it in the first half right? So where’s the indication that they would let Club win? I think our players saw that Etoile scored and realized they had no choice but to win this game. You guys have the title in one hand, the only way you’ll lose your grip is if you slip (pardon the stupid rhyme, haha)! We’re gonna keep the heat on guys Your last game is surely the trickiest one of the bunch, we’re not there yet though. Etoile just needs to hold serve and they’re more than capable of this. I’ll post about this (and other things) soon inshallah. Been on a business trip and now it’s time for bed!