Former Coach Defends Ziyech Amid Morocco National Team Controversy

In an interview with So Foot, the Dutch trainer defended his former player and even stated that Ziyech is not responsible for the conflict that opposes him to the national coach Vahid Halilhodzic. "He has been given a reputation as a ’strong-headed’ person, but that is far from true," confided Jeffrey Talan, while specifying that he never had the slightest problem with him when he was at Heerenveen.

"I had very good relationships with him. I coached him for a very long time, and he’s a special guy, with a unique mentality. You have to know how to manage him, but a coach who can’t handle Hakim Ziyech isn’t a good coach, because if you do, you have your best player," he assures.

According to him, the only reproaches he sometimes made to Ziyech concerned football and had nothing to do with his behavior. "When you’re with him, he likes to joke around, he’s actually a pretty positive guy. And in the locker room, he’s clearly a leader. Sometimes certain players are a bit late and drag their feet, but he made sure everyone did things properly," he recalls.

He said he was proud to see what has become of the one who was his little protégé, especially with his exploits at Chelsea. "He has become a very intelligent player, who has managed to make his way to the highest level with an adolescent body. I am troubled every time I see one of his matches. The main thing I have to say is that he has not changed as a human being. I believe I can say that his childlike soul is still in him," he concludes.