Moroccan Midfielder Taarabt Returns to Benfica’s First Team After Lengthy Absence

Demoted to the reserve team due to a drop in his level and especially his behavior, the Moroccan international has again participated in the first team’s training session last Wednesday in preparation for the upcoming European Cup matches, especially against the very difficult Turkish team Galatasaray.

His coach explains it in the columns of the newspaper Record. For Bruno Lage, if Taarabt "has not been used in the reserve team, it is because it made no sense, we had Jota, Willock... Seven months ago, and with my rise to the first team, I see the same Taarabt training every day with the intensity that I admire," declares the coach, admitting not to know the player well. "Taarabt started the season in the reserve team, with me. I didn’t know him, I had heard about his past, but what I’ve seen is that he’s a player who always trains very well, with an intensity that I’ve admired since the first day."

And the coach insists on giving him another chance, even if it’s the second or third. We must "see if he deserves a second or third chance: if you train for seven months with the same intensity, it means something has changed," to see if the player takes advantage of this opportunity "to make a career according to his potential."

Note that a few days ago, the enfant terrible of Moroccan football refused a transfer to the Saudi club Al Fateh, which had offered him a contract until the end of the season and then a one-year extension if the experience was successful.