Reuters Soccer Blog
World Soccer views and news
Tunisians need a little patience
One cannot fault Tunisian clubs for seeking perfection but you’d think a little more patience is needed if they are ever going to achieve their dream of continental dominance.
Take the case of Etoile Sahel. They have just fired their Swiss coach Michel Decastel for “indifferent results”.
Indifferent by their definition, is second place in the league and qualification for the final of the African Confederation Cup, the continent’s equivalent of the UEFA Cup. (more…)
Should France keep inviting African teams to Paris?
You can understand why the French rarely invite any of their former colonies over for so-called friendly internationals. On Tuesday night they again faced a barrage of abuse in their own backyard, with the vast majority of a sell-out crowd at Stade de France coming to support Tunisia against Les Bleus.
When Algeria played at the Stade de France in 2001, the game was eventually called off midway through the second half after Algerian supporters invaded the pitch. The match against Morocco last year earned notoriety after the jeering during the singing of La Marseillaise.
For the north Africans it remains a singular honour to be invited to play in France and Tunisia made little of securing a berth in the last phase of Africa’s World Cup qualifying last Saturday in the wake of all the excitement of the trip to Paris.
Of all their former colonies, France have only ever hosted Algeria, Cameroon, Morocco and Tunisia in the Stade de France. And it took decades before they sent an invitation. The Ivory Coast played a game in Montpellier but Senegal, who beat France in the opening game of the 2002 World Cup in South Korea, still await an invitation, even though they are one of the few countries in Africa where French influence still pervades. (more…)
It is normal for supporters to boo any of the sides playing in a soccer game. i have seen where supporters boo their own teams, especially when their team is not playing well or a player is not playing well in a game.It is not racism for French born supporters to support their countries of birth in a soccer game. Another angle to it – when will the French International team ever come to play friendlies in Africa? or are our pitches too local for the French players? Atleast most of the players are French – born Africans.
Forhet about the clubs, the national team will recieve a proper whopping by Harambee stars of Kenya!