Today in Radès, it will not be just a simple match. It will be a page of emotions to write, a dream to grasp, revenge to take or a feat to be reissued. Because the final of the Tunisia Cup is never an event like the others: this is this suspended moment, when the passion of an entire people condenses in 90 minutes of tension, joy, doubt … and sometimes tears.
Between the Tunisian stadium and the Hope of Tunis, there is not only a trophy in play. There are seasons to buy, dynasties to assert, careers to switch. There is above all this unique fervor, specific to Tunisian football, where each action raises a collective breath, each goal releases or crucifies thousands of supporters.
The Tunisian stadium, proud of its history, dreams of preserving its crown and snatching a second consecutive title. For its fans, this final is a light at the end of a tunnel of doubts. It is a last chance to vibrate the Bardo, to make a jersey shine too often relegated in the shade. It is also the faith of a club that brought down giants, keeping its inviolated cages as a promise of resilience.
Opposite, Hope advances with the stature of a champion, but not only. She embodies the insatiable appetite of the giant she has become. She wants double, history, heritage. Each victory is a requirement, each trophy a debt towards a platform which never is satisfied with the minimum. For Esperantists, winning is not a luxury: it is a duty.
And between these two worlds, there is a lawn. A green rectangle where anything can happen. Where logics are reversed, where statistics are erased, where heroes are born in the moment. Where the failed shot of an attacker can haunt a season, where the stop of a goalkeeper can go into legend. Where the cries of the stands, the lifted flags, the swinging hearts become the real actors of the match.
Basically, this final is much more than a sporting confrontation. It is a declaration of love to Tunisian football. To his historic clubs, to his young talents, to his pressure coaches, to his tireless supporters. Whatever anyone will raise the cup: what we will remember is what only football can offer us – this raw, sincere, universal emotion.
While the Radès stadium is preparing to vibrate, it is useful to recall that this unprecedented poster brand, a historic first between two clubs which had never faced each other at this stage of the competition.
The Bardo club, winner of the very first post-independence edition in 1956, will compete in its 13th Cup final with the hope of winning an 8th title, and the second in a row. For its part, the Bab Souika club, which dominates the charts with 26 contested finals, aims for a 16th coronation and a 6th double in its history.
