Our federation needs to respect and support us: Aleksandar Ilic explosive ahead of Hero Intercontinental Cup final

The tactician was full of praise for the efforts of the Indian team and their quality on the pitch.

India and Lebanon will clash again at the 2023 Hero Intercontinental Cup on 18 June 2023. This time, it's the final game of the tournament and the winner will walk away with the trophy. The fixture is set to take place at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneshwar, Odisha, which is set to attract a huge crowd for the ultimate fixture.

Aleksandar Ilić, the head coach of the Lebanon men’s football team was joined by captain Hassan Maatouk in the pre-match press conference. The tactician gave insightful responses to the questions by the media and praised the Indian football team for their newfound quality and adventurous gameplay.

He also talked about being happy with the players of Lebanon who are delivering impressive performances at the tournament despite the difficult situation back home and less number of players to choose from at the Hero Intercontinental Cup.

Here are the excerpts from the conversation:

Proud of the players

Lebanon’s tactician was quick to shower praise on his players due to the efforts that they had put in to reach the final. “I am really proud of my players for what they have done till now. If you look at the circumstances of the tournament, I must say we have done a great job,” the head coach said while praising his team and indicating that with 80% new players, they had a doubt if they had the power to reach the final and do a good job at the tournament. 

“From 1964, Lebanon did not play any final game. I don’t know if this is true or not, but if it is true, now we are building a new history with our national team, playing a final after 59 years. I think that the players need to be proud of this because they did a lot of things with the help of me and my staff, “ he further added while referring to an interesting fact found in an article by the Lebanese footballers. 

India has done an amazing job

Speaking about their opponents in the final, Aleksandar Ilić said, “I am positively surprised with the Indian national team. I think they have done an amazing job in the last few seasons and football is looking much different than in the past. 10 years before we were not able to talk about Indian football and I really respect the condition and everything we have seen here.”

“We respect all players,” the tactician said in the context of how to plan against Sunil Chhetri. He indicated that the Indian team possess good quality all around and despite the rotations, do not lose it.

Lack of support by the federation

In an explosive statement by Aleksandar Ilić, he expressed disappointment in not receiving ample support from the Lebanese football federation. In this context, he said, “I am only disappointed about one thing and that is we have so many players who are not accepting to come to play for the national team. For sure we have quality but from a list of 20 players, I get 16. It is not my fault, I cannot do anything there.”

“Our football federation, because we are working hard, if they want to continue at this rate I think they need to respect us more and give more support, not only excuses. I am sorry I have to say it but I am honest. We are working here with a lot of difficulties and the players feel that,” he further added.

Hassan Maatouk on being at the tournament 

The skipper spoke about being happy to play at the Hero Intercontinental Cup and understands that the final is going to be difficult due to India’s quality.

He said, “It was really nice to be in this tournament. Our target from the beginning was to work hard with the coach. We know it would not be easy to play three games every three days. The coach prepared the team well to make it happen. Target was to be in the final. We play against India and they are really good. I wish we give everything in the final. It will not be easy but we will fight to be the champions.”

Focus on giving their best

Hassan Maatouk also spoke about how the players are focused on putting in a good performance for the fans back home who are going through a difficult time due to internal issues. He said, “We will try to make people in Lebanon proud of us and to make some good things for the country. We are in a different situation but as a football player, we leave everything behind and try to work hard with the coach.

"There are also problems in Lebanon’s football, our league, stability in football and everything else is not so good. We will try to give our best here,” he said while responding to a query on how the footballers of the Lebanon national team are able to focus despite the problems back home troubling their country.