Five things you didn’t know about Etoile

Etoile du Sahel is one of two clubs, with Juventus, to have won every continental trophy of their confederation, and the only club to have won all African competitions. They won their only Champions League in 2007, beating Al Ahly 3-1 on aggregate in the final. Their lone Confed Cup came the year before, beating FAR Rabat of Morocco in the final. Etoile won the old Cup Winners Cup in 1997 and 2003, the old Caf Cup — for league runners-up — in 1995 and 1999, and Caf Super Cup (between the winners of the Champions League and Confed Cup) in 1998 and 2008. They were Confed runners-up in 2008.

The club was formed on May 11 1925. They won their first league title 25 years later, in 1950, six years before Tunisia’s independence from France in 1956. They went on to win eight more league titles. The club are best known for their football and basketball teams, but also have volleyball, handball, judo and wrestling.

The name in English means Sport or Athletic star of the Sahel. The Sahel is the region in which the city of Sousse – where Etoile are based – is found.

Etoile have had a preference for French coaches. Since 2000 they have employed eight Frenchman including ex-Tunisia coach Bertrand Marchand (June 2007 to June 2008) and Roger Lemerre (December 2013 to June 2014), the assistant to Aime Jacquet when France won the 1998 World Cup as hosts, who then guided Les Bleus to winning Euro 2000 as head coach.

Notable former players include Ghanaian striker Louis Agyemang, who played for Kaizer Chiefs in the mid2000s; goalkeeper Austin Ejide, who won 31 caps for Nigeria in the 2000s; Senegal defender Lamine Diatta; Tunisia central midfielder Riadh Bouazizi and Bayer Leverkusen defender Karim Haggui.