Lebanese Futsal Undefeated Champions 2016-2017: Bank of Beirut SC

by Jad Deaibess

An Almost Imaginary season was wrapped up on Sunday by Bank of Beirut winning their 3rd Title in 4 participations since inauguration in 2013. The Club who lifted the title in 2014 & 2015 has won the Lebanese Futsal Championship 2016-2017 after a nearly perfect regular season of 15 wins and sweeping their opponents in the Quarterfinals, Semi Finals and Finals.

After Losing last year’s Title in the final yards of the Championship, Bank of Beirut SC decided to come back stronger this season by recruiting several young talents to assist the team achieving the local and only goal. With daily trainings and Video sessions, all the matches were prepared on the highest level with team Head Coach Dejan Djedovic for the 4th straight year and the assistant coach Hassan Hammoud who was promoted to this position after being the captain for 3 straight years.

The players played each match of the regular season with eager and strive to get the win and to stay on top of the league to prove themselves as the untouchable and undefeated team in Lebanon which they got it after 15 wins and a tie.

Getting into the Quarterfinals, Bank of Beirut had gained the home court Advantage, and was ready to face Al Horriye Saida club (8th in the regular season – newly promoted from division 2). Even though there was a big difference in the players’ level, however Djedovic and Hammoud requested from the team to play on the highest level and not to lose focus. Eventually the series ended 2-0 in favor of the Champions.

Next stop were the Semi Finals series against Choueifat Club, who had a good Lebanese squad backed up by 2 solid Iranian players and an Iranian Head Coach. However, the series was ended 3-0 after winning the 3 matches 7-0, 2-0 and 6-1 and sending a terrifying message to the opponents in the Final.

After a 3-2 win over the Ashrafiyeh Youth Club, the Strong Army Team (2nd in the regular season) reached the Final against Bank of Beirut. The latter knew that this Final Series will be all about mental and technical skills, and most important endurance, strengths and Stamina abilities since the opponents are well known for their hard physical playing system. The first half of the 1st match ended in the favor of the Lebanese Army 1-0, while in the locker rooms the technical staff was giving all the instructions and motivations needed at the halftime in order to get back to the game and claim the win. And so the players did, they managed to immediately level the score and they never looked back, scoring 4 another goals and ending the match in their favor 5-1.

The 2nd match in the finals was a crucial match for the army team to continue fighting for their 1st title. However, Bank of Beirut players did exactly what they were asked to do. They scored 2 goals in the first half and defended amazingly in the second half, giving their fans a fascinating win and 2-0 lead in the Finals.

Down came Sunday 26th of March 2017. Fans from all around Lebanon came to watch their Favorite team getting crowned for the 3rd time, and they got what they expected. 5 exciting goals from 5 different stars showed that Bank of Beirut is able to win big but not depending on 1 single player due to a solid playbook by the head Coach. Final Score 5-0 and the Final series was swept 3-0 in favor of the Champions.

Bank of Beirut SC is this year’s Lebanese Futsal Champion without any single loss. An achievement never done before in the modern history of the game in Lebanon, in addition the team has tied the record of 3 Championships with Pro’s Café club.

The team’s ultimate target is a Medal in the AFC Club Futsal Championship this year, and the Management and the Technical staff and the players are preparing for this on the highest level.








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