The ES Setif Sentinel
The dugout9 Nov 2026
Mohamed Hamek says ES Setif went back on their word
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Merouane Zerrouki signs a new deal
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Merouane Zerrouki commits to ES Setif for another 3 years.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Riad Benayad in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at ES Setif this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Words at ES Setif training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mahamoud Metwaly is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
Merouane Zerrouki gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Match7 Nov 2026
Riad Benayad sends ES Setif past ES Mostaganem
It finished 1‑0, and it was Riad Benayad’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to ES Setif.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Riad Benayad was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.32. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Ahmed Kendouci was unplayable
Successful dribbles: 18. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Market9 Nov 2026
Ibrahim Bekakchi is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at ES Setif has been clear about where Ibrahim Bekakchi stands, which is more than many ever get.
In brief
- Squad ES Setif lose Sofiane Mahrez
- Market ES Setif sign Abdulqader Abdullah, one for the future
- The dugout The manager’s verdict