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Espérance Sportive de Tunis (EST, French pronunciation: [ɛspeʁɑ̃s spɔʁtiv də tynis]; Arabic: الترجي الرياضي التونسي, romanized: Attarajī ar-Riyāḍi Attūnisī), known as ES Tunis, and nicknamed “Mkashkha”, The Elder of Tunisian Clubs, The Blood and Gold Club and The Beast of Africa is a Tunisian professional sports club. It was founded on 15 January 1919 in the Bab Souika neighborhood in Tunis. Its best known football section has been active in the first Tunisian Professional League 1 since 1936, during which it played 63 seasons, except for the 1970–71 season.
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| Full name | Espérance Sportive de Tunis | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Smiling One The Red and Yellow The Blood and Gold The Beast of Africa The Elder of Tunisan Clubs | |||
| Short name | Espérance ST | |||
| Founded | 15 January 1919 | |||
| Ground | Stade Hammadi Agrebi | |||
| Capacity | 60,000 | |||
| Chairman | Hamdi Meddeb | |||
| Head coach | Laurențiu Reghecampf | |||
| League | Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 | |||
| 2023–24 | Ligue 1, 1st of 14 (champions) | |||
| Website | e-s-tunis.com | |||
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It is the most successful Tunisian club nationally and internationally in all competitions, with 33 Tunisian Professional League 1 titles (record), the last of which was the 2023–24 season, 15 Tunisian Cup titles (record), the last of which was the 2015–16 season, and 5 Tunisian Super Cup titles (record), the most recent of which is the 2020–21 edition, the Hedi Shaker Cup in 1968 and the Hamda El Aouani tournament in 1978. At the African level, Esperance won the CAF Champions League title four times in 1994, 2011, 2018, 2018–19, the CAF Cup in 1997, the CAF Super Cup in 1995 and the African Cup Winners' Cup in 1998. At the Arab level, Esperance is the most Arab club to have won the Arab Club Champions Cup title three times (a record) in the 1993, 2008–09, 2017 editions and the Arab Super Cup in 1996. Globally, Esperance won the Afro-Asian Club Championship in 1995. It participated three times in the FIFA Club World Cup in 2011, 2018, and 2019, and was satisfied with fifth place as the best participation.
Esperance Sportive de Tunis ranked seventh in the ranking of the best African clubs of the twentieth century compiled by FIFA. The Confederation of African Football also chose it as the fifth best African club in the twentieth century, and it topped the ranking of African clubs several times, most recently in 2018. It also won the Best African Club Award in 2011 and the FIFA Fair Play Award in 2019. There is a certain rivalry with Club Africain, which it plays against in the Tunis derby every season of the Tunisian Professional League 1 and sometimes the Tunisian Cup, and another competition in the Tunisian Clásico with Étoile Sportive du Sahel and CS Sfaxien. Former Esperance player Tarak Dhiab is considered a legend and icon of the club, as he is the most participating player with 427 matches and the all-time top scorer, scoring 127 goals. Tunisian businessman Hamdi Meddeb has been president of the club since 2007, and it has been coached by Portuguese coach Miguel Cardoso since January 2024. Espérance de Tunis will host its competitors on the field of the Hammadi Agrebi Stadium, located in the city of Radès, in the southern suburb of the city Tunis. After his name, several clubs in the region were named after Esperance, such as Espérance Sportive de Zarzis, Esperance Wadi Al-Nis of Palestine, Esperance Club of Saudi Arabia and Esperance Mostaganem of algeria.
Espérance de Tunis has a wide fan base in Tunisia, not only in the capital but throughout the country. After winning the CAF Champions League title twice in a row, the club's popularity has also appeared in Africa, and fans abroad frame some of its beloved cells such as France, Germany, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. In the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup, more than 15,000 supporters were transported to the United Arab Emirates to support the team.
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Founding and early years
The club was founded at the Café de L'Espérance (Arabic: مقهى الترجي) in the Bab Souika neighborhood of Tunis, by Mohamed Zouaoui (of Kabyle heritage)[1] and Hédi Kallel.[2] They appealed to Louis Montassier, a member of the French colonial administration, to obtain authorization, as according to the regulations of the time, all such clubs and societies had to be legally chaired by a French national. EST was officially registered on 15 January 1919, its first colours being green and white.[3][4]
Their first colours were green and white. In 1920, the club recruited a young high school student, Khaled Alsudairi, who provided a set of jersey with vertical red and yellow bands, which became the club's new colors.[5] Zouiten became a member of the club's management committee in 1923 before becoming president in 1931. .,
Under Zouiten's tenure, which lasts more than three decades, Espérance was nearly on the verge of abandonment until promotion to the honorary division of the League of Tunisia in 1936. Espérance also managed to reach the final of the Tunisian Cup, but were beaten by Stade Gaulois. Three years after its failure against the Stade Gaulois, Espérance won the Tunisian Cup (1939) against the Etoile Sportive du Sahel (3–1), its first ever triumph and title. It was in 1955 that Espérance qualified to represent the Tunisian League in the North African championship. In the knockout match, two of the five teams were drawn at random to compete against each other and the winner immediately qualifies for the semi-finals. Wydad of the Moroccan League and the Espérance Sportive de Tunis faced each other; the meeting took place in Tunis on 15 May 1955, the Tunisian club losing on the score of 2 goals to 1. Between the start of the Second World War and independence (1956), the squad quality improved.
Post independence
The titles (champion in 1958 and 1960 and winner of the cup in 1957) but also the style of play explain the popular enthusiasm. Attacking football was abandoned in 1963 following the passage of Ben Azzedine as coach. The latter opts for Italian-style defensive principles.
In 1971, violent riots occurred in Stade El Menzah by Espérance supporters following the (historic goal of Ahlam Ghawari in the first minute of the game). The authorities then sanctioned Espérance and withdrew the right to play in the first division. The football section of the Espérance was dissolved while the team was one day away from being crowned as champions.
Slim Chiboub era and national dominance (1989–2004)
Slim Chiboub took charge of the club in 1989. Quickly, he kept one of his promises with a double in 1990–1991. In 1993, he won international and local titles. Espérance also won its first regional cup, the Arab Club Champions Cup, becoming the first Tunisian team to do so in 1993. The following year, the club won its first CAF Champions League at the expense of defending champion Zamalek. In 1995, EST won the CAF Super Cup as well as the Afro-Asian Cup, becoming the first Tunisian club to win all possible continental titles. Espérance Sportive de Tunis won ten Tunisian league titles, including seven successive titles between 1998 and 2004 and set a new national record.[6]
Hamdi Meddeb era and sustained success (2007–present)
Between 2005 and 2007, Aziz Zouhir led the club, which won the double (championship and cup) in 2006. In 2007, Hamdi Meddeb took charge of the club. He focused on boosting Espérance financially and recruiting African and Tunisian talents.
The 2010–2011 season Espérance completed a historical treble by winning the League, National Cup and the African Champions League, under coach Nabil Maâloul.[7] Following this success, a new committee chaired by Hamdi Meddeb was elected on 25 September 2011 for a three-year term. However, Maâloul resigned after a sixth place in the FIFA Club World Cup. However, the team lost the 2012 CAF Champions League final to Al Ahly, and the team star Youssef Msakni was sold to Qatari club Lekhwiya for 23 million Tunisian dinars.[8]
On 6 August 2017, the club won their fourth Arab title and third Arab club championship by beating the Jordanian side Al Faisaly (3–2) after extra time.[9] After winning its 28 league title on 8 April, Espérance won its third CAF Champions League against Al Ahly despite a defeat (3–1) on the home soil of the eight-time African champions in the first leg. In the second match, the Tunisians won with a score of 3–0, in front of a crowd of 60,000 people, with goals from Saad Bguir and Anice Badri. With the help of the young coach Moïne Chaâbani the club clinched the third Champions League in its history, a few months before its centenary on 15 January 2019.[10] The club ended the 2018–2019 season as African champions for the fourth time after winning the CAF Champions League against Wydad (1–1 away and 1–0 at home), due to Wydad refusing to play in protest of VAR decision.[11][12]
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Logos throughout history
1919
1924
1950
1969
1987
2012
Red & Yellow
During the first year of its establishment, Espérance played in white and green, their uniform green with the elegance of the shirt and hands and black veil. Chadli Zouiten's share was the red and yellow sports uniforms, which were better than Esperance's uniforms. He gifted them to Esperance, and since then red and yellow become their official colors.
Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors
| Period | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993-94 |  Uhlsport |
 Boga/Noumêm |
[13] |
| 1994-95 |  Lotto |
 Coca-Cola | |
| 1995-96 | |||
| 1996-97 | Coca-Cola/ Opel | ||
| 1997-98 | Coca-Cola/ Danone | ||
| 1998-99 | Uhlsport | ||
| 1999-00 | Esperance | ||
| 2000-01 | Lotto | ||
| 2001-02 | |||
| 2002-03 | Adidas | ||
| 2003-04 | Danone/ Boga | ||
| 2004-05 |  Atletica |
Danone/ Virgin | |
| 2005-06 | Nike | ||
| 2006-10 | Groupe Délice/ Danone | ||
| 2010-11 | Groupe Délice/ Danone/ KIA | ||
| 2011-16 | Groupe Délice/ Danone | ||
| 2016-17 | |||
| 2017-2022 |  Umbro | ||
| 2022- | Kappa |
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Support
The club is supported throughout the country and in the Tunisian diaspora in Europe, Middle East and North America.
Supporters Groups
Officially, the club's fans and supporters are framed by the Espérance Sportive de Tunis, but many ultras groups have appeared alongside it that organize the club's income during major interviews. The oldest group of them is the Ultras L'Emkachkhines, which belong to the ultras movement but do not have any legal system as is the case for the European bands' lovers groups. We also find the Supras, which appeared in 2004, the Blood & Gold group appeared in 2005, Zapatista Esperanza in 2007 and Torcida in 2008, and in the same year the Matadors group appeared. In 2009 the Fedayn, Ayounos Algres and Strano Boys group appeared, and in 2010 the Los guerreros group, the Resista Armada group and others... All of these groups share the southern runways behind a guard the goal under the banner of Curva Sud. Among the acronics that some of these groups raise is A.C.A.B, which is also raised by other groups in Europe and even in Tunisia. The elderly Ultras made many incomes and carcasses and created more than 35 for them at the local level only, without counting the years of repression from 2009 to 2011 when Ultras in Tunisia were prevented from entering.
Ultras L'Emkachkhines
Ultras L'Emkachkhines, and its symbol (ULE02), is an ultras group established in 2002 by a group of fans of Espérance Sportive de Tunis. Ultras was established in the summer of 2002, and it was the result of the idea of a group of Esperance fans who love the team and were influenced by the activity of long-standing ultras groups in Europe, such as Ultras Romani and Fossa Dei Leoni.
After many consultations and discussions via the Internet, they decided to organize Their first meeting was in the Tunisian capital, where it was agreed to establish the group under the name Ultras Giallorosso, but soon the name was changed through a proposal by one of the members to replace the word Galloroso with L'Emkachkhines for the symbolism of this word among the supporters of Esperance and to impart a spirit of belonging and identity More for the group, and the image of the warrior leader Geranimo was chosen as the group's emblem. Ultras L'Emkachkhines had the first match and the initiation of creativity in the Esperance match against the Egyptian Zamalek in 2002.
Ultras Zapatista Esperanza 2007
Zapatista Esperanza (ZE07), the ultras group supporting Esperance Sportive de Tunis, was founded on June 23, 2007. symbols are (siamo solo noi) and (no justice no peace). The name comes from the Zapatista National Liberation Army (Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional, EZLN) which is an armed revolutionary group from the state of Chiapas in southern Mexico. The movement takes the name of Emiliano Zapata - one of the leaders of the Mexican Revolution of 1910. It is considered the most mysterious group in Africa and one of the most dangerous, as it was classified as a criminal gang by the former Tunisian Ministry of Interior.
Accidents
Tragedy of 13 June 1971
The tragedy of 13 June 1971, when the red and yellow lost the Tunisian Cup final against CS Sfaxien at Stade El Menzah, and from it a spark of a conflict with the security erupted behind several human and material losses to order the Minister of Interior and Sports at that time to dissolve the team until President Habib Bourguiba returned to bring him back to the sports arena.
The events of 8 April 2010
Espérance lived several stations that its sons considered as a struggle, such as the events of 8 April 2010 against the security, which witnessed several wounded and arrested as a result of unprecedented clashes with the security in a famous match in which the lights of El Menzah stadium went out in a match between Espérance and CS Hammam-Lif that ended in a 3–3 draw.
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Stadiums
Stade Hammadi Agrebi
Stade Olympique Hamadi Agrebi, opened as Stade 7 November, is a multi-purpose stadium in Radès, Tunis, Tunisia about 10 kilometers south-east of downtown Tunis, in the center of the Olympic City. It is currently used mostly for football matches and it also has facilities for athletics. The stadium has a capacity of up to 60,000 spectators and was built in 2001 for the 2001 Mediterranean Games.
It was inaugurated in July 2001 for the final of the Tunisian Cup between CS Hammam-Lif and Étoile du Sahel (1–0).
Stade El Menzah
Stade El Menzah is a multi-purpose stadium, located in the north of Tunis, Tunisia.
It is built to host the 1967 Mediterranean Games at the same time as the Olympic swimming pool and gymnasium. Since then, it is an integral part of Tunisia's main sports complex. Tunisia's three major football teams, Espérance de Tunis, Club Africain and Stade Tunisien played their games there.
The stadium was completely renovated for the 1994 African Cup of Nations. It has a capacity of 45,000 seats.[14] The VIP section consists of a grandstand and 2 salons that can accommodate 300 people in a "cocktail" configuration. The stadium hosted the matches of Tunisia national football team until the inauguration of the Stade 7 November in the south of Tunis in 2001.
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| Type | Competition | Titles | Winning Seasons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic | Tunisian Ligue Professionnelle 1 | 33 | 1941–42, 1958–59, 1959–60, 1969–70, 1974–75, 1975–76, 1981–82, 1984–85, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1990–91, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–00, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2013–14, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2023–24 |
| Tunisian Cup | 15 | 1938–39, 1956–57, 1963–64, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1985–86, 1988–89, 1990–91, 1996–97, 1998–99, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2010–11, 2015–16 | |
| Tunisian Super Cup | 6 | 1960, 1993, 2001, 2018, 2019, 2021 | |
| Continental | CAF Champions League | 4 | 1994, 2011, 2018, 2019 |
| African Cup Winners' Cup | 1 | 1998 | |
| CAF Cup | 1 | 1997 | |
| CAF Super Cup | 1 | 1995 | |
| Regional | Arab Club Champions Cup | 3S | 1993, 2008–09, 2017 |
| Arab Super Cup | 1 | 1996 | |
| North African Cup Winners Cup | 1 | 2008 | |
| Intercontinental | Afro-Asian Club Championship | 1 | 1995 |
- record
- S shared record
Club prizes
Individual awards
Players awards
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Competition topscorers
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Management
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| President | Hamdi Meddeb |
| Honorary President | Slim Chiboub |
| Financial Director | Rafik Mrabet |
| Law Director | Farouk Kattou |
| President of Football Operations | Riadh Bennour |
| Spokesman | Walid Guerfala |
Coaching Staff
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Head coach |  Laurențiu Reghecampf[15] |
| Assistant coach | Skander Kasri |
| Assistant coach | Viorel Dinu |
| Goalkeeping coach | Dan Zdranca |
| Fitness coaches | Mohamed Sabri Bouazizi |
| Team doctor | Yassine Ben Ahmed |
Current squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Other players under contract
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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IFFHS rankings
Club world rankingFootballdatabase club's points 3 March 2024.[16]
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CAF club rankingsFootballdatabase club's points 3 March 2024.
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National club rankingsFootballdatabase club's points 4 August 2024 .
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FIFA Club World Cup
| Year | Position | Last opponent |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Sixth place | Monterrey |
| 2018 | Fifth place | Guadalajara |
| 2019 | Fifth place |  Al-Sadd |
African Cup of Champions Clubs and CAF Champions League
CAF Confederation Cup
| Year | Position | Last opponent |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Group stage | Étoile du Sahel |
 Saint-Éloi Lupopo | ||
 Renacimiento | ||
| 2008 | Play-off round | Étoile du Sahel |
| 2015 | Group stage |  Al Ahly |
| Étoile du Sahel | ||
 Stade Malien | ||
| 2016 | Play-off round |  MO Béjaïa |
CAF Cup
| Year | Position | Last opponent |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Winners |  Petro de Luanda |
African Cup Winners' Cup
| Year | Position | Last opponent |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Second round |  Kadiogo |
| 1981 | First round |  Zoundourma |
| 1987 | Runners–up |  Gor Mahia |
| 1998 | Winners | 1º de Agosto |
CAF Super Cup
| Year | Position | Last opponent |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Winners |  Motema Pembe |
| 1999 | Runners–up |  ASEC Mimosas |
| 2012 | Runners–up |  Maghreb de Fès |
| 2019 | Runners–up | Raja Casablanca |
| 2020 | Runners–up | Zamalek |
Afro-Asian Club Championship
| Year | Position | Last opponent |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Winners |  Thai Farmers Bank |
Club Africain (Derby)- Étoile du Sahel (Classico)
- Club Sfaxien (Classico)
Al Ahly (Rivalry)- Zamalek (Rivalry)
Wydad AC (Rivalry)
MC Alger (Rivalry)
- Louis Montassier - Mohamed Melki (1919–1923)
- Chedly Zouiten (1924)
- Mohamed Zouaoui (1925)
- Mustapha Kaak (1926–1930)
- Chedly Zouiten (1930–1963)
- Mohamed Ben Ismaïl (1963–1968)
- Ali Zouaoui (1968–1971)
- Hassen Belkhodja (1971–1981)
- Naceur Knani (1981–1984)
- Abdelhamid Achour (1984–1985)
- Moncef Zouhir (1985–1986)
- Mondher Znaïdi (1986–1987)
- Hedi Jilani (1987–1989)
- Slim Chiboub (1989–2004)
- Aziz Zouhir (2004–2007)
- Hamdi Meddeb (2007–present)
Source: www.est.org.tn
- Hammadi Ben Ghachem (1938–1939)
- Hachemi Cherif (1942–1959)
- Habib Draoua (1959–1961)
- Hachemi Cherif (1961–1962)
Jean Baratte (1962–1963)- Abderrahmane Ben Ezzedine (1963–1966)
Sandor Pazmandy (1966–November 1968)- Robert Domergue (November 1968–May 1969)
- Abderrahmane Ben Ezzedine (May 1969 – 1971)
- Slah Guiza (September 1971–November 1971)
Vladimír Mirka (November 1971 – 1973)- Hmid Dhib (1973–May 1976)
- Abderrahmane Ben Ezzedine (May 1976–July 1976)
Stjepan Bobek (1976–1978)- Mokhtar Tlili (1978–1981)
- Hmid Dhib (1981–1982)
- Mrad Mahjoub (1982–December 1983)
- Roger Lemerre (December 1983 – 1984)
Amarildo Tavares da Silveira (1984–1987)
Antoni Piechniczek (1987–1990)- Władysław Żmuda (1990–1991)
- Andon Dončevski (1991–1992)
- Zdzisław Podedworny (1992–1993)
- Faouzi Benzarti (1993–1996)
Luigi Maifredi (1996)- Khaled Ben Yahia (1996–1997)
- Youssef Zouaoui (1997–2002)
Michel Decastel (2002–2004)- Claude Andrey (2004–2005)
- Khaled Ben Yahia (2005–2006)
- Jacky Duguépéroux (2006–2007)
- Faouzi Benzarti (2007)
- Larbi Zouaoui (July 2007–August 2007)
- Carlos Cabral (September 2007–December 2007)
- Youssef Zouaoui (December 2007–May 2008)
- Carlos Cabral (May 2008–November 2008)
José Morais (November 2008–March 2009)- Faouzi Benzarti (March 2009–November 2010)
- Maher Kanzari (November 2010–December 2010)
- Nabil Maaloul (December 2010–January 2012)
- Michel Decastel (January 2012–May 2012)
- Nabil Maaloul (May 2012–February 2013)
- Maher Kanzari (February 2013–October 2013)
- Sébastien Desabre (December 2013–January 2014)
Ruud Krol (January 2014–May 2014)- Sébastien Desabre (May 2014–August 2014)
- Khaled Ben Yahia (August 2014–February 2015)
- José Morais (February 2015–June 2015)
- José Anigo (June 2015–August 2015)
- Ammar Souayah (August 2015–January 2017)
- Faouzi Benzarti (January 2017–December 2017)
- Mondher Kebaier (January 2018–February 2018)
- Khaled Ben Yahia (February 2018–October 2018)
- Mouin Chaâbani (October 2018–July 2021)
- Radhi Jaïdi (August 2021–June 2022)
- Nabil Maâloul (June 2022–May 2023)
- Anis Boussaïdiinterim (May 2023)
- Mouin Chaâbani (May 2023–October 2023)
- Tarek Thabet (October 2023–January 2024)
- Miguel Cardoso (January 2024–October 2024)
- Skander Kasriinterim (October 2024–November 2024)
Laurențiu Reghecampf (November 2024–present)
Source: www.est.org.tn
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