Many big players marked Lebanese football in the last decades. The most important ones were Fadi Allouche, Moussa Hojeij, and more recently, Hassan Maatouk. Other outstanding Lebanese footballers were Roda Antar and Youssef Mohammed, who played in the Bundesliga for years.

Wadih Abdelnour, journalist at Radio Monte Carlo, explains that “in 2001, a new federation was elected, with Hachem Haidar as president, and Bahij Abou Hamze as secretary general”. Equally important was the inception of the Ahed football club in the mid-2000’s, which would become the best Lebanese team in the past five years. Abdelnour adds that “in 2019, Ahed received the highest football award: the AFC Asian Cup. Its finances and management are solid. It is backed by Hezbollah.”

Another Lebanese club, Tadamon Sour, boasted great players but never won the league. 

The best Lebanese players of the last three or four decades

As for the Lebanese players who were undoubtedly the best in the post-war era, Abdelnour states that “one must make a distinction between the ones who played in Lebanon, and the ones who competed abroad. The two who excelled outside Lebanon are Roda Antar and Youssef Mohamad. The latter was captain of FC Köln. Many other local players stood out, such as Wael Nazha and Ali Fakih. Hassan Maatouk is the most recent Lebanese football star.”

Abi Chahine reminds us that “the best 90’s Ansar players were Allouche, Meselmani, and Chehab. The best Ahed players recently were Ahmad Zreik and Mohamad Haidar. Let’s not forget Moussa Hojeij, Nejmeh’s star player of the 2000’s.”

Asked by Ici Beyrouth to compare Pierre Issa’s performance to that of the best Lebanese players of that time, Abi Chahine insisted that “Issa was a South African international, not a Lebanese player, and was highly skilled. Youssef Mohammad played in the Bundesliga for about seven years and was competent. Pierre Issa played at Marseille and Watford. Issa is more famous, but Mohammad has a better performance. Also, Issa had the chance to grow up and be trained in France.”

A national team that fails to deliver

One must admit that the Lebanese national team never delivered or qualified to the World Cup. Although it performed well during the qualifiers in 2014 and 2022, its progress was hindered by structural hurdles. Abi Chahine clarifies: “the main problem in Lebanese football are the lifetime contracts of the players. A player cannot afford to be ambitious. Many couldn’t leave their clubs and shine abroad. Little by little, though, the situation changed. There are now limited contracts that players can sign with clubs. Moreover, Ansar’s domination for so many years affected the competition in the country. Lebanese football’s popularity also dwindled because of Ansar’s monopoly, not to mention the damage done to the national team. Another determining factor is that rarely have Lebanese players developed their career abroad. This is partly what makes the national team struggle, not to mention the bad grass quality in Lebanon. Many pitches are made of artificial grass, which increases injury risk. The national team does not have access to a stadium of its own, which means it has to play in different locations. One of the main issues is that all pitches are owned by municipalities, which is why clubs can’t manage their own. Furthermore, Lebanese municipalities are bogged down by corruption.”