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Moroccan Defender Mendyl Aims for National Team Return After Bundesliga Struggles
Tuesday 1 October 2019, by
After his failed stint in Germany with Schalke 04, the Moroccan international has returned to Ligue 1, at Dijon. Determined to make people forget his failure in the Bundesliga, the Atlas Lion also wants to regain his place in the national team and play the next Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) 2021, after missing the 2019 edition.
In an interview with France Football, Hamza Mendyl, 21, says it all about his career. The young Dijon player did not fail to take stock of his disastrous stint in the Bundesliga, his debut at DFCO and his absence from the Moroccan national team.
Loaned this summer to Dijon, Mendyl, whose contract with the Royal Blues runs until 2023, was little used during his season with Schalke 04 and only participated in 16 matches in 2018-2019, all competitions combined, due to his drop in performance, reports the same media.
For the Moroccan international, his stint in the Bundesliga was complicated, although at the beginning the signs were green. His nightmare, he recalls, began with the arrival of the new coach, Huub Stevens.
However, he puts a little damper on it by taking full responsibility for his exclusion: "But it had nothing to do with football, it was a matter of discipline. I had delays that led to me being excluded from the group. But we all make mistakes and we all deserve a second chance," he admitted. Strengthened by this experience, he nevertheless specifies that he has learned from his mistake.
With his poor performances in the Schalke 04 squad, Mendyl had been excluded from the Moroccan national football team by the former coach, Renard. Thus, he had not been called up to participate in the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN), which was held in Egypt this summer.
When asked about the subject, the Lion says he is ready to deserve his place. The left-back hopes to regain his place in the squad thanks to this new coach who has already seen him in action with the Olympic team. "I’m not selected yet. But he (Halihodzic) came to see us play against Mali (1-1) during the Olympic qualifiers. I was rather happy with my performance."
"Meanwhile, the Moroccan international hopes for a call from the current coach, Vahid Halihodzic, to take part in Morocco’s friendly matches against Libya and Gabon, on October 11 and 15 respectively.
"All I want is to play as much as possible and have a full season, come back to the national team and regain my true level with, as an objective, the 2021 CAN as well. It’s a must. I’m not going to miss it this time (laughs)," concludes the player of Ivorian origin.