Morocco Coach Renard Admits Mistake in Ziyech Conflict, Cites Communication Issues

In a heartfelt interview with RMC, the French coach explained: "I am appointed coach, I start training on Monday. We play on Saturday in Cape Verde, on a synthetic pitch with a lot of wind, a typical African match in the characteristics that I know. I put Hakim in the stands. We start on difficult bases," Renard recalls.

"During the return match against Cape Verde, Hakim Ziyech came on only 25 minutes but he was certainly not satisfied with the entire stage," the coach continues. "I make a mistake there: I don’t talk to him. Each goes his own way. The situation is getting tense. He comes back, the third time, he’s a little injured... until I no longer select him," the coach said.

For Hervé Renard, the player is absolutely not to blame. "On the contrary, he remained impeccable, even if he was of course not satisfied" and "never showed a bad temper or reacted badly".

The decision is then made by the president of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) Fouzi Lekjaâ to settle things and fly to the Netherlands. "After a year, my president told me ’we should go see him, do you see the season he’s having? I said yes, on his qualities, there’s nothing to say, that’s what we need. We went to Amsterdam and after three minutes of conversation, everything was settled. He wanted to come back, he is very attached to his national team. I needed him and I recognized my mistakes."