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Rabat – Vahid Halilhodzic, the head coach of Morocco’s national team, has said that Chelsea midfielder Hakim Ziyech should have been left out of the national team much earlier.
According to statements published by Tribal Football magazine, the Bosnian coach has not been happy with what he described as a pattern of bad behavior by the Chelsea midfielder who has since been left out of the national team.
Halilhodzic told the press that his decision to leave Ziyech out of the Atlas Lions lineup came after repeated attempts to work with the midfielder whom London-based Chelsea football club valued at €40 million in 2020. The midfielder has had a rocky start at Chelsea, and has repeatedly been linked with other clubs.
Halilhodzic claims his Dutch-Moroccan star player has shown a pattern of poor behavior and lamented not excluding him earlier from Morocco’s national football squad. “Honestly, I regret that I didn’t make this decision sooner,” he told the press. The Bosnian coach stated that his conflict with Ziyech “is not one case of ill-discipline.”
Read also: Morocco’s Football Star Hakim Ziyech Cut From National Team
He claims his staff made repeated attempts to reconcile with Ziyech, stating “we tried to talk to him, but you have to draw the line somewhere. It’s sad, it’s a mess, but also a shame.”
The dispute between the Atlas Lions’ head coach and a player many hoped would be one of Morocco’s leading stars is part of an “accumulation” of poor behavior on Ziyech’ part, according to Halilhodzic.
“After a while you just have to put a stop to that,” he told the press.
The public dispute between Ziyech and Halilhodzic revolves around claims by the Bosnian coach that the Dutch-born midfielder has not shown sufficient commitment to the team. Ziyech has disputed these claims on social media, posting a cryptic Instagram story that appeared to tell Halilhodzic to “speak the truth.”
