CAF Champions League
Oldest Club In Tunisia Looking At Reclaiming Continental Glory –
- Esperance Sportive de Tunis celebrating 105 years of existence
- Four continental titles to their name and looking to add their fifth
- Miguel Cardoso to possibly end continental trophy drought
It has been almost five years since Tunisian giants, Esperance Sportive de Tunis tasted continental success when they lifted the CAF Champions League trophy.
What was their fifth CAF Champions League title, has since been their last and for their high standards, this is something the Tunisians will be looking at overturning this season, starting with the two-legged Quarter-Finals clash with former champions Asec Mimosas of Cote d’Ivoire.
With more than a 100-year history, the oldest club in Tunisia famous for its red and yellow is certainly one to look out for in this season’s edition of the CAF Champions League as they kick start their knockout stage on Friday 29 March with the return leg in Abidjan scheduled for 05 April.
Brief History
Esperance Sportive de Tunis was formed in 1919 and is regarded as the oldest football club in Tunisia, with 105 years to their rich history. They play their home matches at the Stade Hammadi Agrebi in Brades which boasts 60 000 capacity seating.
Local titles
Esperance Tunis is considered the most decorated club in Tunisia, having won the local league title 32 times, the Tunisian Cup 15 times, and the Tunisian Super Cup 6 times.
Continental journey
The Tunisians have four CAF Champions League titles as well as one CAF Super Cup which dates back to 1995.
Coach: Miguel Cardoso
Esperance appointed Portuguese coach, Miguel Cardoso in January. The 51-year-old brings a wealth of experience to the club, having worked in several clubs as an assistant coach. These include Braga SC, Sporting Lisbon, Deportivo La Coruña and Shakhtar Donetsk.
Key player: Mohamed Amin Tougai
The Algerian defender, Mohamed Amine Tougai, is considered the pillar of strength in the Tunisian defense since joining the club back in 2019. Strong and good in arial duels, Tougai will be instrumental in helping his team keep clean sheets in these crucial stages of the competition.
-CAF
Nigeria’s sole survivor into the second round of the CAF Champions League, Enugu Rangers have crashed out of the competition. They lost 3-1 to Angola’s Sagrada Esperança this Sunday in Luanda.
The aggregate scoreline is 3-2 as Rangers last weekend won their home game 1-0. Sagrada Esperança opened the game with offensive and got their first goal barely six minutes into the game when Alexandre Fernando found the back of the net.
The hosts doubled their lead in the 33rd minute through Mussa. But four minutes later, Enugu Rangers reduced the tally to 2-1 to carry an away goal advantage into half time.
Jamie Pimpao got the much needed goal for Angola in the 67th minute to seal the hopes of Rangers.
Sagrada Esperança will now go into next month’s draw for the draw of the group stage.
CAF Champions League 2nd Preliminary Round action resumed on Saturday, 14 September following the resumption of the Africa’s premium club competition on Friday.
It was mostly the travelling teams that secured victories away from home on Saturday, who put themselves in fairly comfortable situations ahead of the return leg next week.
Orlando Pirates had a mental obstacle to overcome in Gaborone against Jwaneng Galaxy, having to face the same side that eliminated them in the same phase of the competition last season.
The former champions secured a 2-0 victory in Gaborone to put themselves in a comfortable position ahead of the return leg next weekend.
Five-time champions, TP Mazembe were away to Red Arrows in Zambia where they also put two past their hosts ahead of the return leg in Lubumbashi.
Mamelodi Sundowns, who played their away match in the comfort of their home stadium against Swaziland’s Mbabane Swallows made use of home ground advantage with a comfortable 4-0 win over their neighbours.
Tanzanian champions, Young Africans secured a hard-fought 1-0 win over CBE SA of Rwanda as Tanzanian giants continue to chase a continental title.
It was a rather tough outing for Moroccan outfit, AS FAR when they travelled to Sudan to face Al Merrikh. A highly entertaining encounter concluded with a 2-2 draw, ahead of the return leg in Morocco.
Egyptian side, Pyramids FC also played out to a draw when they were held 1-1 by APR FC in Rwanda.
Burkina Faso side, Association Sportive des Douanes out up an impressive showing when they edged Algeria’s CR Belouizdad by 1-0.
The first leg of the 2nd Preliminary Round concludes on Sunday, with five interesting encounters lined up, including reigning champions Al Ahly kick starting their title defense away from home.
TotalEnergies CAF Champions League Results & Fixtures:
Friday, 13 September
Enugu Rangers 1 – 0 Sagrada Esperanca
Monastir 0 – 1 MC Alger
Saturday, 14 September
CBE SA 0 – 1 Young Africans
Red Arrows 0 – 2 TP Mazembe
Al-Merrikh 2 – 2 AS FAR
Jwaneng Galaxy FC 0 – 2 Orlando Pirates FC
Maniema Union 2 – 1 Petro de Luanda
Djoliba 1 – 0 ASKO
Douanes 1 – 0 CR Belouizdad
Sunday, 15 September
12h00 GMT | Gor Mahia vs Al Ahly
15h00 GMT | Samartex vs Raja CA
16h00 GMT | San Pedro vs Al-Hilal
16h00 GMT | Dekedaha vs ES Tunis
19h00 GMT | Stade d’Abidjan vs Milo FC
The return leg fixtures of the 2nd Preliminary stage will be played between 20 – 22 September.
-CAF
Enugu Rangers’ patchy form in the CAF Champions League continues as they struggled to beat visiting Angola’s Sagrada Esperance 1-0 in the first leg match played at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo.
It was in similar fashion that they played against Union Sportive de Zilimadjou of Comoros Islands who they beat 2-1 over two legs in Uyo.
Rangers’ lone goal was scored by Kazeem Ogunleye in the 80th minute.
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