Tomorrow Lebanon will play their first game since the end of their 2022 World Cup Qualifying campaign & one of the many things that has changed is the man in the dugout.
Aleksandar Ilić was appointed to replace Ivan Haśek after a disappointing end to what had been a promising campaign and many fans are going to want to know who the new man in charge is.
The 53-year old Serbian had a decent playing career featuring for numerous European clubs most notably Club Brugge & Anderlecht.
Since his retirement, he has been head coach of Saudi teams Al Ahli & Al Raed, Iraq’s Al Shorta & Kuwait’s Al Qadsiah & therefore clearly has experience coaching in the region although this will be his first job in charge of a national team.
As of now there is not much else to say about him but Lebanese fans will be hoping he can take us to the next level following on from our decent results under his predecessor.
One positive indication Lebanese fans can take is that the FA allowed him to bring a larger coaching team than those who came before him, including his own pick for a goalkeeper coach & an analyst. Also, the fact he has signed on a 3 year contract is an indication that there is a degree of long-term planning with this appointment from both parties, although obviously things can change quickly in football.
In any case I think fans will get excited upon seeing that he seems to have a selected numerous young players for his first squad and an unusually large proportion of attack-minded players.
Lebanese Football Review 