Listen to the article
Dozens of coaches of different nationalities have led the Lebanese national men’s basketball team from the middle of the last century to the present day. The idea of Lebanese basketball has succeeded in achieving remarkable results at both the national team and club level in all age categories, on both the national and international scenes.
Today’s topic focuses on the foreign and Lebanese coaches who have led the Lebanese national men’s basketball team since the middle of the last century and since the beginning of the modern history of Lebanese basketball in 1993.
Prior to this date, several coaches had led the national team, including Gabi Arabji, Henri Yabroudi, Albert Mamo, and others, in the 50s, 60s, and 70s of the last century. The Lebanese national team was absent from international competitions due to the civil war in Lebanon between 1975 and 1990.
In 1997, the Lebanese Basketball Federation appointed French coach Milo Monosour to head the technical team, marking the first time a foreigner had supervised the Lebanese team. Milo’s tenure was short-lived, as he was replaced by coach Rizkallah Zalloum ahead of the Arab Cup held in Lebanon in 1997, where Lebanon finished as runner-up.
Since 1999, Lebanese basketball has been in the hands of American coach Andrew Young, who took charge of the men’s national team. The first major success was Lebanon’s qualification for the 2002 World Cup held in Indianapolis, USA, after finishing as runner-up at the Asian Cup in China in 2001.
Coach John Neumann led the Lebanese national team at the World Cup, marking the first time Lebanese basketball had participated in a world competition for national teams. Subsequently, several foreign coaches took over the reins of the Lebanese men’s national team over the years, including American Paul Coughter, who led Lebanon to second place at the Asian Cup in Qatar in 2005 and to qualification for the World Cup in Japan for the second time in 2006. However, the Lebanese team, which was awarded a wild card, won its first match against Canada but lost the others and failed to reach the second round.
Lebanon’s fourth appearance at the World Cup took place last summer in Indonesia under the guidance of young Lebanese coach Jad El-Hajj, after impressively qualifying for the World Cup and securing qualification before the end of the qualifiers. Lebanon put in an outstanding performance, particularly against France in the first round and in the final standings. The Lebanese national team is currently ranked 28th in the International Basketball Federation’s world rankings, which is considered a very respectable position.
Three American coaches led the Lebanese national team during its first three participations in 2002, 2006, and 2010, while Lebanese coach Jad El-Hajj led the team at the 2023 World Cup. Jad El-Hajj had previously coached the Lebanese men’s national team to the first Arab championship title in its history, held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in 2022, as well as a second-place finish at the Asian Cup in 2023, behind Australia, in a final where Lebanon lost by just two points after trailing by more than 15.
It seems that Coach El-Hajj will continue his journey with the Lebanese national team, which has several important overseas deadlines, including the Asian Cup qualifiers in Saudi Arabia in 2025 and the Paris 2024 Olympic Games qualifiers. The possibility for the Lebanese team to take part in the next Summer Olympics is still open if it passes the qualifiers, bearing in mind that Lebanon has never taken part in the Summer Olympics in basketball, which is missing from its record of achievements.
Regarding foreign coaches, the Lebanese Basketball Federation has called on many non-American foreign coaches, such as Serbian coaches Vasilije Matić and Dragan Raca, Slovenian Slobodan Subotić, and Lithuanian Ramūnas Butautas, but the experience of European coaches has not been encouraging.
In addition to Jad El-Hajj, many Lebanese coaches have coached the men’s national team, including Rizkallah Zalloum, Ghassan Sarkis, Joe Moujaess, Patrick Saba, and Fouad Abou Chakra. Egyptian coach Sherif Azmi has been in charge of the Lebanese team for several months. The Lebanese coach has acquired an international reputation, having been hired by numerous clubs in the Gulf and Arab Middle East countries.
There is no doubt that the choice of a Lebanese coach for the Cedars national team is the most appropriate and the best, as the results have proved that a Lebanese coach is an expert on Lebanese basketball and its stars, living their reality. We wish Lebanon every success in the upcoming important events.
