Si, ganó. Y eso es lo más importante. Pero hay que decir que la equipe tunecina de Etoile du Sahel jugó muy bien y en muchos momientos mejor que Boca.  

Rodrigo Palacio fué el responsável por la jugada que originó el gol de Neri Cardozo pero no jugó bien. No tuve espacios en la defense tunecina y lo mismo se pasó com Palermo.  

 Neri celebra su gol  

Para Cardozo el equipo de Tunisia  luchó por todas las jugadas y jugó bien y por eso no fué fácil pero lo más importante fué la victoria en el final y él se quedo muy feliz por ter anotado el gol decisivo.  

La verdad es que Boca cometió unos de los errors que también lo cometió Pachuca: substmarán la equipe tunecina.  

 El experiente Ibarra ahora solo piensa en lá final. “Eso partido fué muy difícil y estoy muy feliz que ganamos y ahora vamos intentar manter la tradición de sucesso aqui en japón y ojalá ganaremos más un título mudial para Boca.”  

Para el equipo de Etoile du Sahel la impression es que después del nervosismo del primero partido el equipo puede mostrar contra Boca su talento (y también fraquezas).  

Es un equipo que tiene jovenes que possuem habilidad y que conduzem bien la pelota. La marcación es cerrada y dura pero tienen que trabajar major la pelota en la creación de las jugadas y, seguro que hay que finalizar mejor. Lo que importa en fúbol es hacer más goles que su oponente.   

Ahora tienen la increible oportunidad de tornarse el tercero mejor equipo del planeta. Y para eso hay que contra también com la ayuda divina corforme me dijo el mediocampista Moussa Narry. “Nosotros jugamos muy bien en este partido pero futbol es el juego de las oportunidads, las tuvimos pero no hicimos los goles Boca hizo y as vezes ese es lo deseo de Dios. Y ahora tambiém estará en las manos de Dios esa decision de llegarmos a  la victoria en el proximo partido. Nosotros vamos hacer todo para ganar para es siempre una decision divina.”  

Es una buena manera de pensar pero hay que marcar los goles porque creo que Dios no vas surgir en la cancha y poner la pelota adentro de las redes.    

Yo soy Mano Gil, escribindo directamente de Tokyo, com exclusividad para Ole Ole.

Dewa mata suguni ne!!!

Ahead of their Club World Cup quarterfinal against Boca Juniors, Etoile Sportive du Sahel will be relying heavily on the talents of their young forward Armine Chermiti. As one Tunisian journalist said before Etoile's opening encounter against CF Pachuca - "without Chermiti, Etoile are poor", and I tend to very much agree.

Chermiti is a very gifted young striker, who in these days of 17 year old Wayne Rooneys, and 16 year old Cesc Fabregases, is something of a late bloomer at 19.

Nonetheless, in his first full season with Etoile du Sahel, he has scored 12 goals, and broken into the Tunisian national team, scoring on his international debut. Currently at the FIFA Club World Cup in Tokyo, he impressed against CF Pachuca of Mexico when his team beat them over the weekend, and there are a whole army of European scouts rumoured to be here watching him.

He is still very, very raw, but his talents are clearly visible. He's pacy and electric, and has great touch, although he isn't an out-and-out striker in mould of an Eto'o or Ronaldo. He's got great awareness, and his movement was interesting, often drifting out to either wing when Etoile were playing possession football, but going straight through the middle on counter-attacks and long balls.

He's not the biggest or strongest player (he's about 5'9") and it would handicap him in some European leagues, because he's not quick enough to compensate for a lack of strength.

His main strength, apart from technique, is intelligence. Every ball he chested, flicked, headed or touched on was preceded by a quick heads-up look around, and it's a pity his team-mates didn't create more options for him. All Etoile's best chances were created by him, and his liveliness and innovation will be essential against a tough Boca defence that boasts the veteran Hugo Ibarra, and Liverpool reject Gabriel Palletta.

However, his attitude should stand him in good stead against Boca. Having watched him train and play, his enthusiasm is fantastic, and he's just a happy go-lucky kid with a big appetite for the game. Boca will have to have an absolute 'mare to lose this one, but if Chermiti can put in a good showing, it will go a long way towards securing a move to Europe and putting him on the bigger stage he needs to progress.

I'm not going to write my opinion about Pachuca's defeat to Etoile du Sahel. I'm going to reproduce the exact words of 4 of the players that I interviewed exclusively for Ole Ole.

Let's start with Pachuca's forward Christian Gimenez:

Mano Gil: Do you think that a goal in the very end of the game when Pachuca was playing better can be called simply bad luck?

Gimenez: I believe Pachuca tried to win the game. We faced a opponent that knows how to defend very well and we knew they had a very fast counter-attack and so they scored in the chance they had that's why we're now out of the competition.

Mano Gil: I read that since Pachuca arrived in Japan you guys have been thinking about the game against Boca, do you think that there was a moment that Pachuca simply forgot to think about Etoile du Sahel?  

Gimenez: No, of course not. Because since the beggining we came with the idea of playing a good tournament and tradition and experience always teach you to face each game as if it were the final and I believe we showed that on the field today. Our team was a lot better and we tried to win but right at the end they socred their goal and then it was too late to react.

Mano Gil: And what do you have to say now to all the fans that came all the way from Mexico to support the team?

Gimenez: We can only thank each one of them for their support. We all should go back to our hotel and hug every single fan we meet and tell them how much we appreciate their support and let them know that the team tried our best. Unfortunately we couldn't give them the satisfaction of winning this first game but we are really grateful for their unconditional support and passion for the team.

I also talked to the team captain the experient goalkeeper Miguel Calero:  

Mano Gil: How do you feel spiritually after such a disappointment?

Calero: I'm sad. We lost the game and that's was not what we planned for this tournament. I'm simply very sad.

Mano Gil: Did it cross your mind to lose to a team from Tunisia?

Calero: We alaways step on the pitch to win. We never think we are gonna loose but what happened is that we played well but in a fast play they had a deflected shot and scored their goal.

Mano Gil: Do you think that the large number of games that Pachuca played this year had an influence on the team's physical condition in the end of this game?

Calero: Well, not really. I think we were all focused in winning, in moving to the next round. Unfortunately Etoile (du Sahel) played too defensive some even with 11 players on their own field and it was complicated. I believe that towards the end we lacked some patience to find the right way to the goal.  

And of course I talked to the winning side. First let's see what the capeverdian Gilson Silva Alves had to say:

Mano Gil: Pachuca arrived already talking about how their game against Boca would be, did that motivated the players from your team?

Silva Alves: I think that is normal. We were ready for them. We had God’s support which is always very import so we had a lot of faith. The team was well positioned on the pitch. On the first half we let them play and on the second half we started playing more. We moved the ball in midfield with Moussa (Narry) and things worked.

Mano Gil: Did you guys studied Pachuca’s stragegies?

Silva Alves: Yes, we used everything we could. TV, videos, etc… we got here very well prepared knowing what we had to do to get as far as we can in the competition.

And most important of all I talked to Moussa Nary, the efficient midfielder from Ghana who was the executioner of Pachuca’s dream of gold.

Mano Gil: How important was it for Etoile to arrive here in Japan before all the other teams?

Narry: It was important. We arrived and we practiced very much. We came to do our maximum so we dedicated for that. We came to win this match. That’s why in the end we succeeded.

Mano Gil: And how is the team going to prepare to play against Boca? 

Narry: We are going to do the same thing. We are going to play hard and try to win again with the help of God.

Mano Gil: What do you know about Boca Juniors’ team?

Narry: Nothing. I don’t know anything and I don’t even want to know. I will get to know Boca when I get to pitch. I just think about my team, that we have to play the same way if we want to win. We need to have our minds in the final. 

Happiness is the image of Etoile Du Sahel fans!   

I’m Mano Gil, writing direct from Tokyo , exclusively for Ole Ole.

Sayonara!