The Lebanese Football Association has announced its agreement with Serbian coach Aleksandar Ilic to lead the national team, succeeding Czech coach Ivan Hasek, whose contract ended about four months ago. The association stated on its official website: "The executive committee of the Lebanese Football Association decided in its meeting (on Wednesday) to contract Serbian coach Aleksandar Ilic to lead the Lebanon national team for the next three years, succeeding Czech coach Ivan Hasek. The Serbian coach is expected to arrive in Beirut early next week to sign the contract and start his coaching duties."
Ilic, who is 53 years old, will supervise the Lebanese national team during the preparations for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup, with the host country to be determined on October 17, 2022, by the executive office of the continental federation. He will also be tasked with preparing for the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
Ilic has extensive experience in the Arab region, having coached Saudi Arabia's Al Ahli, in addition to Al Qadisiyah, Al Raed, and Al Batin, as well as Iraq's Al-Shorta. He started his playing career as a defender with the Yugoslavian club Red Star in 1990, then moved to Radnički Niš, followed by Cádiz in Spain, Paniliakos in Greece, and Club Brugge in Belgium, where he won the league title (1998), the cup (1996), and the super cup twice (1996 and 1998), and then Anderlecht in Belgium, contributing to their league (2001) and cup (2001 and 2002) victories before retiring with Vitesse Arnhem in the Netherlands in 2004.
The Serbian obtained the UEFA Pro Coaching License in 2008 and took over Radnički in 2010. His first Arab experience was with Saudi Al Ahli in 2011 for four months as an assistant to Norwegian coach Trond Sollied, leading the team to win the King’s Cup. He then guided Radnički to win the Serbian league title (2011-2012), saved Al Raed from relegation twice (2016 and 2018), led Al-Shorta to win the local super cup (2019), and most recently coached Al Qadisiyah last season.
