Etoile Sahel manager Bertrand Marchand is confident of his side's ability to end Ahli's African ascendancy when the two sides meet in the final of the Champions League. Ahli are on course to win an unprecedented third straight title, one of which was at the expense of the Tunisian side in 2006. "It will be a revenge game, but I am confident that we are capable of ending Ahli's dominance this year," Marchand was quoted as saying by Al-Sabah Tunisian newspaper. The Frenchman claims his team does not fear the African masters, stressing that he knows every aspect of Ahli's game.
Ahli thrashed Etoile 3-0 in the 2006 final "I have been monitoring Ahli since last season, and I am fully aware of their points of strength and weakness," he added. "Ahli rely heavily on the experience of their international players, but sometimes they are over-confident, and I think that Hilal are technically more stable than Ahli." Etoile ousted Hilal from the competition's semis after beating the Sudanese side 3-1 in the second leg, to go through 4-3 on aggregate. Marchand stated that the Tunisians will be playing attacking football in both final games, and that they will be in search for goals even away from home. "We have to score more than once in the first leg in Tunisia, but we must not concede as well, and I am confident we can score away from home as we proved before," he said.
