Esperance of Tunisia have sacked their coach

The only shock is that the decision has taken so long, as it comes six weeks after Esperance's defeat to Egyptian side Ismaili in the semi-finals.

As has now become custom with the Tunisian champions, the coach has paid the price for the club's failure to reach the final of the continent's top club competition.

Esperance lost both legs in the semi-final, despite starting as favourites to take the title this year.

It has now been a decade since Esperance's last success in the tournament, despite being regular features in the Champions League.

They finished as runners-up in both 1999 and 2000 while they went out in the semi-finals in 2001.

In 2002 they failed to get past the group stage and immediately fired their Swiss coach Mochel DeCastel.

Zouaoui is also a past victim of the regular changes, which come despite Esperance's dominance on the domestic circuit where they stand three points clear in the Tunisian league.

Zouaoui's temporary replacement is his assistant Lotfi Jbara but Tunisian newspapers have been speculating about the possible arrival of Italian Francesco Scoglio, who has previously coached Tunisia and Libya as well as his native Genoa.

Also leaving Esperance is controversial president Slim Chiboub, who is standing for election to both the Caf and Fifa executive committees later this month.

However Chiboub, who is the son-in-law of the country's president, is expected to still have a strong hand in club affairs from the shadows.