Esperance de Tunis

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) and Hédi Kallel. 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.

Their first colours were green and white. In 1920, the club recruited a young high school student, Chedly Zouiten, who provided a set of jersey with vertical red and yellow bands, which became the club's new colors. 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 final lost against the Club Sportive Sfaxien (historic goal of Abdelwahed Trabelsi 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.

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. 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.

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. 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. 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.