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Morocco’s Captain Mehdi Benatia Announces Retirement from International Soccer
Wednesday 2 October 2019, by
The captain of the Atlas Lions announced his international retirement on Tuesday, October 1st. In a long interview with a Saudi media, the Moroccan international talks about his rich career marked by 11 years of experience, glory but also disappointment.
Mehdi Benatia is definitively turning his back on his international playing career. This decision that the captain of the Moroccan team is preparing to make was made a few years earlier, upon returning from the Russian expedition, but was put on hold under the pressure of former coach Hervé Renard. According to the Qatari sports channel beIN SPORTS, Renard had persuaded him to return last November for the crucial match against Cameroon, counting for the 2019 CAN qualifiers.
Unfortunately in Egypt, Benatia was transparent during the tournament. He only played the first two group stage matches (against Namibia and Côte d’Ivoire) and even missed the round of 16 against Benin. Faced with this drop in performance, the Atlas Lion remained very discreet off the field, giving no statements to the press and not attending any press conferences, reports the same media.
Yet the international career of this Al Duhail defender has been rich and full of suspense. Brought in from Clermont Foot, a Ligue 2 club in France, by French coach Roger Lemerre, European champion with France in 2000 and African champion 2004 with Tunisia, this talented young man at the time was able to fill the void in the Moroccan defense. In the friendly match against Zambia played on November 19 at the Mohammed V complex, the young defender Medhi Benatia surprised and delivered a perfect performance at the end of the match.
Mehdi did not stop there. Over the matches, Benatia became a key element of the Moroccan national team, reports the same source. Despite his superhuman efforts to play his role within the team, Morocco failed to secure its ticket for the World Cup and the 2010 CAN.
Increasingly prominent in the squad, it was not long before the former Udinese, AS Roma and Bayern Munich player recovered the captain’s armband under Badou Zaki, the hero of 2004. With the arrival of Renard, Morocco qualified for the 2017 CAN in Gabon and reached the second round for the first time since 2004 and also secured its ticket for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, after a victory over Côte d’Ivoire in Abidjan (0-2), with goals from Nabil Dirar and... Medhi Benatia.
This Tuesday, October 1st is finally the right date. The Bianconero and captain has officially ended this prosperous and eventful career.