Lebanon started their West Asian Championship campaign with a 1-0 defeat to hosts Iraq, but there were numerous positives to take from the Cedars’ first performance under new head coach Liviu Ciobotariu. On what was a great occasion in the city of Karbala, where Iraqis filled the stadium to watch their National Team’s first competitive match on home soil in over a decade, it was the men in red who played the better football, and although they returned empty-handed, fans were left encouraged by what they had seen.

Continue reading “Disappointing result but loads of positives for the Cedars on opening night” →

The Lebanese national team is in Iraq ready to participate in the 2019 West Asian Championship. This tournament represents the Cedars’ first bit of action since the 2019 Asian Cup back in January, and the first bit of action for new Romanian head coach Liviu Ciobotariu, meaning that loads of people will be tuning in to see what this “new” Lebanon looks like.

Continue reading “Lebanon’s guide to the West Asian Championship” →

Lebanon did not meet expectations at the recent Asian Cup, their first in 19 years, and this meant that Montenegrin head coach Miodrag Radulovic did not have his contract renewed after four years in charge. He was replaced by the Romanian Liviu Ciobotariu, who took training with the National Team for the first time this week in preparations for the West Asian Championship which kicks off in Iraq on the 30th of July, and then the Qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup and the 2023 Asian Cup.

Continue reading “5 things Lebanon’s new head coach needs to do” →

Just over a month ago, Lebanon’s Olympic Team participated in Asian Cup Qualifiers with no preparation and as result finished 3rd in their group. Then, a few weeks later, it was the turn of the under-19s, who participated in the ISF World Championship (a non-FIFA tournament) in Serbia and achieved an impressive 8th place out of the 24 participating teams. This is a stark contrast between two generations who are only a few years apart and yet, there is a logical explanation for this contrast: the FA.

Continue reading “Lebanon youth teams evidence that consistent failure is due to poor management, not lack of talent” →

Earlier this week, it was confirmed to us that Miodrag Radulovic, Lebanon head coach since 2015, would not continue with the Cedars. This comes after four years which saw him qualify the team for the Asian Cup for the first time in their history, during which they clinched their first ever tournament win in the 4-1 victory over North Korea, as well as go on a 16-match unbeaten run between March 2016 and October 2018. We might very well find out who replaces him after the LFA Executive Committee meeting on Monday. Here I take a look at some of the possible candidates for the job:

Continue reading “Who should coach the National Team?” →

This week is a massive week for the Lebanese Olympic Squad (Under-23), as they prepare to travel to Saudi Arabia to participate in the 2020 Asian Cup qualifiers. However, they go there with non-existent preparation as the FA has shown very little interest in the youth teams and very little planning when it comes to their management and development.

Continue reading “Qualification unlikely for Lebanon Olympic team which should have been group favourites” →