Clemente arrives in Libya

Former Spanish coach Javier Clemente arrived this weekend in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi to take charge of training and return to the bench the qualifying match for the Arab Cup that Libya will play on June 19 against Sudan.

In an official statement released this Sunday, The Libyan Football Federation (FLF) announced that the Basque coach will be presented to the press this week in an appearance with President Abdelhakim al Shalmani, and other members of the FLF Executive Office.

Clemente, 71, returns to a bench he already knows and from which he gave Libya its first and only continental title: the African championship championship (CHAN) disputed in 2014 in South Africa, and which was awarded by defeating Ghana in the final after a goalless draw and an agonizing penalty shoot-out.

Unlike the African Cup of Nations (CAN), the most prestigious men's tournament on the continent, In CHAN, national teams cannot include players who play leagues outside the continent.

The former coach of Athletic and Espanyol de Barcelona, ​​among others, accepted the leadership of the Libyan team in 2013 and was dismissed in 2016, already started the civil war, after a resounding defeat against Congo (4-0).

Now he replaces Montenegrin Zoran Filpovic, former Red Star and Benfica player, who has had two draws and six defeats in the last eight games.

A country at war

Federation sources indicate that the objective is to qualify for the next edition of the CAN (for the one that is disputed next January in Cameroon has not been classified) and try to qualify for the first time for a final phase of a World Cup.

Libya is in group F qualifying together with Angola, Egypt and Gabon by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, against whom he will begin the battle for a place in Qatar at the beginning of September.

Most of the Libyan players play in the league of their country, with some exceptions in North African teams, in the MLS and one of them in Italy.

International football returned to Libyan stadiums last March, after more than seven years interrupted by the civil war that has bloodied the country and after the agreement of a fragile ceasefire that has been in force since October.

And he did it at the Benghazi Martyrs Stadium, with a qualifying match for the CAN against Tunisia, which took the victory with ease (2-5). EFE