Day 10 of 12: Bouchrieh’s Preparations. Interview with Coach Stevan Ljubicic

Created in 1956, and officially registered on October 10, 1960, Bouchrieh is and without doubt the most famous Lebanese volleyball club since 1970. The team joined the first division in 1964, and has won the Lebanese volleyball championship 17 times since then. Coach Stevan Ljubicic from Serbia will be in charge of the team this year, and he joined us in a brief interview in which we discussed the following:

Q: When did the team start preparations, and how many training sessions per week is the team performing?
A: The team started training when I arrived on December 1, but before that they were doing physical preparations. We are training every day except Sunday. Additionally, our foreign players are having morning practice, and our domestic players join us whenever possible. Later on, we might also have practice on Sundays if needed.

Q: What are the team’s goals this year in the championship?
A: Our goal is to reach the semi-finals, and to be at least in one of the first four teams.

Q: Which team do you consider to be your hardest opponent?
A: There are 6 to 7 teams that are of an equal level. There are teams that are in their best shape such as Anwar, Halat, Dalhoun, Tannourine, and Zahra.

Q: What are the advantages that your team has over its rivals?
A: I like the atmosphere of the team, and we are having good practice. Technically, we have good service and good block. But to play on top level we must be good at everything.

Q: What are the latest results that your team has achieved from friendly games?
A: Our game results were:
Sacre Coeur 3-1 Bouchrieh
Zahra 3-2  Bouchrieh
Halat 2-3  Bouchrieh
Moreover, we had a friendly practice with Anwar without score, we were doing shared exercises.

Q: What are your expectations for your first game this season which will be against Riseleh Sarafand?
A: We still have a few days to prepare ourselves. I expect us to improve from game to game, to adapt to each other more, to put some system, and to play serious. Nevertheless, I expect us to win our first game.

Game 1:
Bouchrieh vs Riseleh Sarafand
Date: Tuesday, 12 January 2016
Time: 7:30PM
Court: M. Murr Stadium

Bouchrieh vs Riseleh Sarafand history since 2009:

Bouchrieh‘s history since 2009:

Photographs taken from:
– Sports Mania
– AbdoGedeon
– Malaeeb