Champions League Group Stage Draw
By: Houssem |
4 Comments
Today the gentlemen in Cairo proceeded to both african inter-club competition draws : the CAF Confederation Cup - with fellow tunisians and title holders Club Sfaxien - and the CAF Champions League, with only one North African team left in the race : Étoile du Sahel ! We are once again Tunisia’s only hope of getting this title and joining the likes of Manchester United and FC Barcelona in the Club World Cup.Here’s what Lady Fortune has blessed us with :
Group B
- Étoile du Sahel (TUN)
- TP Mazembé (RDC)
- Heartland (NIG)
- Monomotapa (ZIM)
Étoile du Sahel 2 - 0 Al Ahly Tripoli (2-0 on agg.) : Group stage, here we come !
By: Houssem | Add Comments
Nice weekend, wasn’t it ?
1. Étoile makes it to the group stage of the CAF Champions League with not much effort
2. Real 2-6 Barcelona, you had to enjoy that even if you don’t care for the spanish Liga
3. Espérance 2-3 US Monastir in the Cup semi-final, and our rivals can forget about their ridiculous quadruple idea
Category: Étoile du Sahel Team NewsÉtoile du Sahel 7 (!!!) - 0 CS Hammam-Lif
By: Houssem | 1 Comment
Well, that was a nice thrashing. A hat trick by Bukhari, and goals by Abdennour, Gharbi, Opara and Berradhia, which you can enjoy here. As amazing this victory was, it’s completely useless, since the antepenultimate matchday of the Tunisian LP1 saw Espérance and Club Africain win against La Marsa and Stade Tunisien, thus completely removing us from the title race.
Gernot Rohr must look pretty stupid now. Changing to a more attacking approach for once got us 7 goals against the same team that held off Espérance to a 2-2 draw and beat Club Africain 3-1. Meriah was left out (much to my liking), making way for the more ambitious Mosrati. Slim Jedaied was on a good day, and I’m sure there’s more to expect from this youngster if he is given a proper chance.
The lesson we can take is that Étoile always has been an attacking team. Playing with 3 defensive midfielders never was our way of doing things. It’s become clear now that Gernot Rohr didn’t quite realize how much potential this squad has once you make a good use of the talent. But his odd choices and far too prudent approach will be the main regret of this season. I hope we can get rid of him after the return leg against Al Ahly of Tripoli, and put somebody with a strong personality and a better knowledge of the tunisian and african football scenes in charge.
Whereas the title is out of reach for Étoile, the second spot - which would take us to the Africain Champions League - is still up for grabs. It would require a victory in Tunis and a Club Africain defeat to the now almost certainly relegated Jendouba Sports. In other words, it’s even more difficult than winning the league was 2 weeks ago. But this is football, and you never know what could happen. One thing is certain : We’re not letting Espérance have it !
Category: Match PreviewsWorst Week Ever …
By: Houssem | 4 Comments
… as we must settle for another season without any silverware. After losing any chance to threaten Espérance in the league, we got defeated by them in the cup quarter final. I actually didn’t think our game could get any uglier after the CSS game, but they managed to prove me wrong ! No midfield whatsoever, only long balls from Felhi to Ziadi, Meriah as pathetic as ever as a left winger - hey, if Rohr thinks Meriah was NEVER made to be a defender, he must be right ! To sum it up, the defeat against Espérance was pretty inevitable. That goal was going in no matter what, because our defenders left 3 men unmarked on a set piece. Just brilliant. Read the rest of this entry »
Category: Étoile du Sahel Team NewsEspérance vs. Étoile Cup 1/4 Final Preview
By: Houssem | 4 Comments
The Cup and Étoile, that’s not exactly a love story. The last time we lifted the Princess - as Tunisians affectionately call it - was in the 1995/96 season, when we won the double with our legendary 90’s team. Since then, we only had two final appearances - 2001 against Hammam-Lif and 2008 against Espérance. Every year that goes by makes me think that we are the Liverpool of the Tunisian cup.
Drawing Espérance away in the quarters is never funny, but having to play them in such difficult circumstances is even less funny. After reducing our title chances to next to nothing, our only hope remaining hope for a domestic title is the cup.
After the defeat to Club Sfaxien, it’s obvious that some changes need to occur in order to make the team stand on the right foot again. Rohr will have to make new choices, and here’s an idea of what these may be.
Category: Étoile du Sahel Team NewsCS Sfaxien 2 - 1 Étoile : We’re out of it
By: Houssem | Add Comments
If you ever wondered how a player could almost single-handedly crush his club’s title hopes, last Thursday’s game was probably a good illustration. The obvious culprit is of course Mejdi Ben Mohamed, aka Manga, who was picked to fill Ammar Jemal’s boots. His sloppy attempt at a clearance gave the Sfaxians a 2-0 lead in what turned out to be our worst performance of the season, and the peak of a generally poor defensive display. I don’t want to put too much blame on Manga, because the whole squad failed us that day, but I can’t help wondering how Rohr didn’t pick the promising Boulaâbi instead of a player on whose lack of quality we all agree.
Category: Match ReviewsASO Chlef 0 - 0 Étoile (1-2 on agg.) : Heroic !
By: Houssem | 4 Comments
Sheesh, that was a stressful one. We progress by the slightest of margins, but I’m not one to check a gift horse’s teeth. Rohr chose the more prudent approach and stacked the midfield with defensive players (Mabrouk, Everson, Nafkha, Tenniche).
Being on the pitch in front of those crazy crowds must have been intense enough, that’s why the players deserve a lot of credit for holding on against the pressure kept by Chlef, especially Massoud and Gharbi with their long range shots (where were these guys in the first leg?). But Mathlouthi and the woodwork stood between them and a goal that would have been enough to get us out of the competition. But we didn’t stay in our half for 90 minutes, that’s just not how Étoile rolls in african competitions. We saw some nice collective play at times, but didn’t really take advantage of the few counterattacks we managed to get. Meriah almost surprised Chlef’s keeper with a high ball from a free kick when the stadium was covered up in smoke. With a bit more luck, it would have gone in instead of bouncing on the cross-bar. What a goal that would have been ! Most of the credit goes to the defenders, no doubt about that.
These are the games that show you if your team is able to handle the pressure and the environment, to concentrate on achieving a given task, like not conceding at any cost. Our next opponent will be Al Ahly of Tripoli, Libya in less than two weeks, with the return leg in Sousse. Piece of cake ? I wouldn’t put any money against l’Étoile anyway !
Category: Étoile du Sahel Team NewsASO Chlef - Étoile du Sahel Preview
By: Houssem | 2 Comments
Yay, the internationals are over, we can all go on with our club supporter’s lives now. I am thrilled after Tunisia got the most of this first matchday in the Africa Qualifiers, and especially because our very own Ammar Jemal got his name on the score sheet with the goal that gave Tunisia the lead in the 5th minute against Kenya. Mathlouthi didn’t take part in this win, but it’s good to see him back and still part of Coelho’s plans.
Next Friday will be the first of a series of crucial fixtures to end the season. After winning 2-1 in Sousse against ASO Chlef, we now travel to Algeria for the tricky return leg. Having conceded an away goal, it is not easy to predict how Gernot Rohr will deal with this game. Will he try to manage the result and rely on set pieces and counter-attacks, or will he try to get an early lead that will let his boys play less nervously ?
One way or another, he can rely on a complete squad. Mehdi Ben Dhifallah will miss due to an injury, but Emeka is fit again and could play a role in this fixture.
In other news, Ammar Jemal’s 4 match ban has been maintained by the FTF after the first appeal. Étoile can now take the case to the CNAS (which they will probably do) or just leave it and face the fact that we’ll have to win this title without him.
Will Étoile qualify to the next round of the CAF Champions League
( polls)
Category: Étoile du Sahel Team NewsAmmar Jemal gets 4-match ban.
By: Houssem | 2 Comments
The decision on Ammar Jemal’s gesture towards the Jendouba crowd after our crucial 1-0 away win fell today. He will serve a 4-match ban in domestic competitions (Ligue 1 and Coupe de Tunisie), which makes him unavailable until the final clash of the league against Espérance. His services as a rock-solid defender and prolific goal scorer (or penalty specialst, it’s up to you, but he scored 9 goals for us this season) will be missed. Of course he’s decided to hand in an appeal request against this decision, and we can only hope they reduce his sentence to the minimum of two games. I’m not trying to be apologetic, but according to this interview he gave Jawhara FM, he was recklessly provoked and couldn’t control himself in the end. There are definitely things going on that don’t belong in a football stadium, and the FTF should put more effort into this instead of always putting the blame on the players.
Category: Étoile du Sahel Team NewsÉtoile 2 - 1 ASO Chlef
By: Houssem | 1 Comment
Pheeew ! I think we avoided the worst last Saturday by scoring two amazing free kicks against a very tenacious ASO Chlef side. I had underestimated them, and they showed a very physical game, stood perfectly well in defence and disrupted our already diminished attack - Ziadi will miss the first part of the competition because then-interim-manager Hervé Gauthier didn’t bother to include him and Manga on the 25-player list. Highlights after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »
Category: Étoile du Sahel Team News
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