Morocco Eyes Vahid Halilhodzic as Potential Replacement for National Team Coach

There is no longer any doubt that the French coach of the Atlas Lions will soon leave the head of the team. In disgrace with the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF), Hervé Renard must submit his resignation in the coming days.

The premature exit of Morocco from the CAN is seen as a humiliation that Fouzi Lekjaa, President of the FRMF, regrets. For him, the coach did not achieve his goal of leading the Atlas Lions to the CAN final, even though the Federation has provided him with all the necessary means. The termination of Renard’s contract, which runs until 2022, will certainly take place during a meeting scheduled for this week.

But already, rumors are circulating about the identity of Renard’s likely replacement to lead the Atlas Lions next. And the name that comes up the most is that of the Bosnian coach, Vahid Halilhodzic.

Indeed, according to sportklub.hr, the poorly managed transfer window by Nantes, the "Sala" affair and the uncertainty surrounding the coach’s future with the Canaries would push Vahid Halilhodzic to reconsider his commitment with the club. According to the French press, despite a contract that runs until June 2020, the person in question had already been contacted last May by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF).

To recall, Vahid Halilhodzic had already worked in Morocco, leading Raja Casablanca in 1997 to win the African Champions League. The technician then shone by qualifying Côte d’Ivoire for the 2010 World Cup, then by achieving a feat with Algeria, qualifying for the 2014 World Cup, reaching the round of 16 in this competition, for the first time in the history of the Fennecs, the same source specifies.