On Saturday, 24 February, Ansar thrashed Bourj by 4-0 and this harsh defeat had consequences for Bourj FC manager, Hussein Tahan. This was a second consecutive defeat by a large score, after a 3-0 loss to Al Ahed in the previous round, and the club management decided that this is too much, so Hussein Tahan was sacked. Today, the club official social media pages stated that the club is thanking Hussein Tahan for everything he has done and wishes him all the best in the future.
A few hours later, Malek Hassoun was announced as the new manager, along with a photo of him signing the contract, sitting near sporting director Abbas Ali Atwi ”Onika”.
Malek Hassoun (left), the new Bourj FC manager. Photo source: Bourj FC Facebook page
Malek Hassoun was the manager of Tadamon Sour until this week-end, leading them to a 2-1 win over Hikma / La Sagesse yesterday, so the move is rather surprising. One can only guess that there more to this sudden change than the clubs would slip to the press.
Hussein Tahan was Bourj FC manager for more than a year, as he was appointed in January 2023, when Osama Al Sakr was sacked for the same reason: poor results in the play-offs. Bourj FC finished the 2023 play-off in fifth position with Hussein Tahan, not an improvement after Osama Al Sakr left. However, the results were better in the 2023-2024 regular season, which saw Bourj FC finishing in third place. Pretty much the same as last year, Bourj FC started poorly the play-offs, but they also had the toughest opponents in the first three games: Nejmeh, Al Ahed, and Ansar. They grabbed a point with Nejmeh, but they lost neatly both to Al Ahed and Ansar. This was, in theory, the reason to sack Hussein Tahan.
In my opinion, there might be other (unseen) reasons behind this decision, which is otherwise too harsh for a manager who has basically done his job. In the current context, given the roster they have, one cannot ask any Bourj FC manager to do better against the three Lebanese giants, Nejmeh, Al Ahed, and Ansar. Of course, with some tactical intelligence and some luck, one can get a point or even three, in certain circumstances, but in most cases Bourj FC does not stand a chance, regardless the manager. The two upcoming matches, against Racing and Safa, would have been different, because Bourj FC could definitely get some points out of these. But it is now too late for Hussein Tahan; the new manager will have to lead Bourj FC in those matches, and it is not going to be easy, because this is equally a chance for both Racing and Safa to improve their tally. So, Bourj FC dropped from third to fifth place in the play-off table, but they will have to fight for the fourth place at best realistically speaking.
The new manager, Malek Hassoun, is 48 years old, played for Shabab Al Ghazieh and for Ansar as a midfielder, and he has 12 appearances and 2 goals for the Lebanon national team. He became an assistant manager at Ansar in 2009, and since then he managed many teams, including Ansar (as full manager in 2013-2014), Shabab Al Ghazieh, Shabab Sahel, Shabab Al Arabi, Shabab El Bourj, Al Ahly Saida, Safa, and most recently Tadamon Sour (between 2022 and 25 February 2024).
He will have the difficult mission to manage Bourj FC in the current Lebanese League play-off.
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