Not selected by his coach for CAN 2021, the Chelsea player does not miss the boss of the Atlas Lions.
At Ajax Amsterdam he was a king. Since then, it’s more complicated for him. Morocco’s star player, Hakim Ziyech (28) is going through difficult months. Heckled in London since his arrival at Chelsea in exchange for a check for €40 million, the midfielder no longer really shines. In the club, he was a second knife for Frank Lampard and his situation has not changed under Tuchel.
In the national team, it’s worse. Scrambled with Vahid Halilhodzic, Ziyech has not played with the Atlas Lions since June 12, 2021. Dismissed by the former coach of FC Nantes for “disciplinary problems”, the number 22 of the Blues did not succeed to make up with his coach. Result: Ziyech was not called up for the Africa Cup of Nations. A choice that Halilhodzic does not regret. Asked by the DailyMail, the Bosnian explained himself.
Halilhodzic assumes his choice
“I changed 85-90% of the national team to form a group that follows my philosophy and has the necessary profile to obtain results. At first people didn’t understand, but I knew what I was doing and I’ve only lost one friendly match in two and a half years. For me, the collective is more important. Anyone who doesn’t respect the team can’t play with me.”, said the coach of the Atlas Lions, before continuing.
“When you wear the jersey of the national team and behind you there are 38 million Moroccans who love this team and are proud of it, you cannot spoil its image. It is important that everyone behaves properly. » And sportingly, Halilhodzic obviously does not regret the absence of the Chelsea player. “Now we play faster and there are more off-ball movements. We also gained efficiency in all six World Cup qualifying matches. The goals were scored by defenders, midfielders and forwards, because our strength is the collective and that is very important. » Ziyech is warned.
