Etoile du Sahel wins African Champions League
2007-11-12
Tunisian powerhouse Etoile du Sahel bested Egyptian rivals Al-Ahly on November 9th, winning the African Champions League in Cairo and dashing the Egyptians' hopes for a third consecutive title.
 [Getty Images] Egyptian fans throw objects at Tunisia's Etoile Sahel players after the Tunisian team won the African Champions League |
Tunisia's Etoile du Sahel defeated Egyptian rivals Al-Ahly 3-1 in Cairo Friday (November 9th), winning the African Champions League for the first time in club history. The win was especially sweet for the visitors, who lost the Champions League final to Al-Ahly 3-0 in the same stadium in 2005. Few had expected such a resounding victory for the Tunisians, following a goalless draw at home in the first match two weeks ago. ESS is a previous winner of the African Cup Winners' Cup (1997, 2003), the Super Cup (1998) and the Confederation Cup (2006).
Al-Ahly was attempting to set at least two records – a third consecutive Champions League triumph and a sixth overall victory – but it was not to be. ESS took the lead in the last minute of the first half with a goal by midfielder Afouene Gharbi, but Al-Ahly defender Emad El-Nahhas equalised after 50 minutes of play. The Egyptians worked hard for victory, laying siege to the Tunisians' goal.
The Egyptians kept this pressure on until the 60th minute, when Moroccan referee Abderrahim al-Arjoun showed El-Nahhas a red card, virtually deciding the outcome of the match. The 50,000 spectators in the Cairo stadium watched in despair as the Tunisians took over control of the match. ESS could have won the tournament on away goals even if the match had ended in a draw, but forward Mohamed Amine Chermiti had something else in mind; he scored a second goal for the Tunisians in the second minute of injury time. Defeat turned into disaster for the Egyptian team when midfielder Moussa Narry scored a third goal for ESS in the fifth minute of overtime.
Disgusted fans pelted the field with various objects after the match, targeting Al-Ahly manager Manuel Jose and Tunisian players. The African Football Confederation will investigate the incident and is likely to impose heavy sanctions on the home side.
This could become the best year yet for Tunisian club soccer, as there is a good chance two teams from the country will compete in the African Super Cup – the final between the winners of the Champions League and the Confederation Cup. In the Confederation Cup, CS Sfaxien finished the first match of the final at home against Al Merreikh of Sudan with a 4-2 win and should be able to win the tournament unless they lose by a wider margin in the return match.
The winner of the Super Cup will represent Africa in the World Club Championship in Japan in December.
In other news, Algerian Champions ES Sétif qualified for the quarterfinals of the Arab Champions League with a 3-1 victory over Saudi club Al-Wahda. The first match in Mecca resulted in a 1-1 draw. Another Algerian team in the tournament, USM Algiers, moves on to the quarterfinals without play following the expulsion of Kuwaiti rivals Al-Arabi from the tournament.
Morocco's Wydad Athletic Club has also reached the group phase of the Arab Champions League. The team defeated Oman's Al-Oruba at home 4-1 after winning the first match 3-2.
Tariq Sektioui scored an impressive goal for Portuguese champions Porto for their important 2-1 victory over Olympique Marseille in the Champions League on Tuesday. In the 27th minute, the Moroccan striker received the ball in the middle of the field and dribbled past three French players plus goalie Steve Mandanda to gently tap the ball into the net. Mamadou Niang equalised for Marseille but Porto won with a goal by Lisandro Lopez in the 78th minute to take the top spot in the group with eight points. Marseille is second with seven points, followed by Liverpool with four and Turkish club Besiktas with three.
Young French-Tunisian Hatem Ben Arfa scored two of Lyon's goals in the team's 4-2 victory over Stuttgart in the European Champions League. The French champions are third in their group with six points behind Glasgow's Rangers with seven and Barcelona with 10 points. To advance to the next phase of the Champions League, Lyon will have to defeat the Rangers in Glasgow in the last match of the group phase on December 12th. If the team fails, it will continue in the UEFA Cup.
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gadji mohamed Posted 2007-11-13
Your website is extraordinary and super. I must congratulate you for the great work you have done. Bravo a million times over!
ahmed abdul rahman Posted 2007-11-15
Dear All, It is interesting that in your coverage of the African champions League final game (above) that you did not even allude to the fact that Moroccan referee Andelrehim Al Arjun was clearly biased throughout the game, missing 2 clear cut penalties for Al Ahli and on 2 occasions not giving Tunisian players deserved yellow cards and ignoring incidents. One can always argue about penalties and people will always see what they WANT to see, so nothing can ever be proved by discussing those... my personal favorite was another play where Tunisian striker Al charmiti (who had already been booked in the fitst half) played the ball with his hand, Arjoun immediately blew his whistle and started running towards him whilst reaching for his top pocket (presumably to take out a yellow card to show to Al Charmiti). Suddenly, by the time he reached the Tunisian striker, he had obviously realized that a second yellow would mean he must send him off... what followed next was something I have never seen in 40 years of watching soccer all around the world... he suddenly slowed down, canged his mind and simply turtned away from Charmiti without giving him any card of any color ! Iteresting refereeing to say the least . Made all the more ironic becaue 3 minutes after that incident Al Charmiti was responsible for having an Ahli player sent off. 9 minutes afer that incident he scored Ettoile's second goal which effectively ended the tie! Talk about a referee "impacting" the outcome of the game !! Not sure why Al Arjun did that or behaved that way but he is being investigated by CAF due to above decisions and due to alleged photographs taken of him 2 weeks ago sitting with Ettoille's Deputy Chairman. Sad day for African soocer, but maybe you could have even mentioned this.
عمر من المغرب Posted 2007-11-15
This site is very nice and great in which we find all details without any addition or diminution. But I hope that it will be enhanced with videos of skilled Maghreb players whether in local or international leagues. An example to this is the goal of Tarik Sektioui in the European Champions League. Thank you everyone.
sara Posted 2007-11-16
I think that these are young men, that's all, thanks.
saidi Posted 2007-11-17
Good work! Keep it up!
essebbar Posted 2007-11-19
I am happy to discover this discussion corner. I will be a permanent reader here, and I would definitely like to participate in the discussion. Bravo!
العدل Posted 2007-11-23
Salam alaikoum, to Ahmed Abderahmane, I want in this reply to inform you that the image you have presented of the prominent Moroccan referee with the vice-president of Etoile, Dr Jalal, is fabricated, and you can guess who has an interest in this falsification. I hope that Egyptian photographers will learn from this good lesson and stop bearing false slogans of Arab nationalism and show acts and not just words. Signed by a Moroccan-Tunisian.
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