Today Lebanese football wakes up to the devastating news that the Shabab Sahel head coach, “Hajj” Mahmoud Hammoud, has passed away from COVID-19 aged just 57 years old.
Continue reading “Hajj Hammoud passes away: a huge loss for Lebanese football”
Today sees Lebanon kick off their Fifa Arab Cup 2021 campaign against none other than the great Pharaon. Egypt will arguably be the Cedars’ toughest test of the tournament and all eyes will be on the two sides as they both cope with key absences. Indeed, because of the fact that this tournament, which is being played as a warmup to next year’s first ever World Cup on Arab soil, is not occurring during an official international break, many of the players based outside of the Arab world were unable to attend. Nonetheless, this should be an exciting encounter in front of a large crowd of expatriate Lebanese supporters – 7 thousand are expected to attend today’s game against Egypt – who will passionately cheer on their team.
Continue reading “Lebanon open their Arab Cup campaign against African giants Egypt”
Thursday’s game against Iran was one hell of an emotional rollercoaster for Lebanese fans as the Cedars led for almost the entire game before falling apart in stoppage time and losing the game 2-1. Despite the supporters ban imposed by FIFA supposedly for “security reasons” in what was Lebanon’s first home game of this stage of World Cup Qualifying, the game was played with intensity and the tension was palpable as Lebanon came agonisingly close to a historic result that would have placed them in a very favourable position in the overall context of the group.
Continue reading “Some important lessons and a positive outlook for Lebanon despite heartbreak”
Lebanon kick started their Third Round of World Cup Qualifying campaign with an important goalless draw against the UAE in Dubai on Thursday. Having gone into this game as big underdogs and considering they were subjected to significant pressure by the hosts at times during this game, the Cedars walk away the happier of the two sides as they get their first point on the board. This was not only the first game of the Third Round of WCQ but it was also the first game for Lebanon under the tutelage of Czech head coach Ivan Hasek, and lots of eyes were on the Cedars to see how they fared at the highest level of continental football and under new management. After all, Lebanon scraped through the Second Round thanks in no small part to the results of other teams as well as the surprising withdrawal of North Korea and they definitely have a point to prove regarding whether they even deserve to be playing at such an advanced stage. At the end of an intense 90 minutes and hard-earned draw, we learned several key things about this “new” Lebanon side.
Continue reading “What we learnt from the UAE match”
With a win in tomorrow morning’s game against Turkmenistan, the Cedars would ensure only their second ever qualification to the Third Round of the World Cup Qualifiers, the first time being that historic run in the 2014 edition.
Continue reading “Lebanon on the cusp of a historic qualification”
Today, Nejmeh face rivals Ansar in one of the most important derby in their history, with the title necessarily going to one of the two by the end of the game.
Continue reading “The biggest Beirut Clasico in history! How do both sides win this game and what could victory mean for our game?”
This weekend sees the long awaited return of the Lebanese Premier League and I think it’s fair to say we are very excited. Domestic competitive football has become a rare occurrence in recent years because of social turmoil and the health crisis linked to the pandemic. So it’s wonderful to see the league return, and the new format does add excitement to the competition, which may give us the best title race we have seen in years with 3 teams potentially fighting it out to be crowned champions.
Continue reading “The league returns and we have one hell of a title race on our hands”
359 days since the last time the Cedars took to the field. I think we can all agree this is way too long and everyone is eager for the National Team to get back into action. But since Lebanon’s 0-0 draw with North Korea in Beirut last year, a lot has changed and there is a lot to look out for on the Cedars’ return.
Continue reading “The National Team is back! Here are 5 things to look out for”
On Wednesday, the Lebanese Football Association announced their decision not to renew the Romanian Liviu Ciobotariu’s contract as National Team head coach, with Jamal Taha chosen as his successor. This decision comes as the country finds itself in the midst of an unprecedented economic and financial crisis, a circumstance which surely impacted the Federation’s decision. And yet Ciobotariu’s departure will leave many wondering what might have been.
Continue reading “Liviu Ciobotariu was a breath of fresh air for Lebanese football”
On Monday, the 2020 AFC Cup kicks off for the clubs representing Lebanon this year. Ahed – who qualify as league winners – and Ansar – who qualify as league runners up having lost to Ahed in the FA Cup final – will be facing tough challenges ahead of this year’s competition because of the country’s dire economic and political situation and both head coaches, Bassem Marmar (Ahed) and Abdel-Wahab Abu Al-Hail (Ansar), will see their credentials seriously tested as they bid to lead their teams to success.
Continue reading “Marmar and Abu Al-Hail managerial skills put to the test in this year’s AFC Cup”
Lebanese Football Review 