Morocco Football Federation President Explains Halilhodzic’s Dismissal as National Coach

Long criticized by supporters, Vahid Halilhodzic was finally dismissed from his duties last Thursday. When questioned about the timing, the football boss felt that this decision was necessary to create a better working environment within the national team. "Each one had to go his own way with his head held high in this period where important victories have been won," he said to the EFE agency.

Listing the reasons for this dismissal, Lekjaa mentioned, among other things, the management of the players’ squad, pointing to the exclusion of players such as Hakim Ziyech, Noussair Mazraoui, Amine Harit or even Younes Belhanda, which had created an unhealthy atmosphere within the group, over the course of the gatherings.

"The national team cannot exclude high-level Moroccan footballers who play for teams around the world, whatever the reason. This feeling was also shared by the public and the players themselves," he continued, specifying that "no one understood why footballers who had played for six or seven years with the national team were sidelined [...] This generated a sense of apathy."

However, the official praised, the Bosnian technician succeeded in the main objective behind his appointment in August 2019, that of forming a solid group of players after the international retirements of the players who formed the backbone of the group of his predecessor, Hervé Renard. Lekjaa believes that Vahid has accomplished this mission in the best possible way, but qualifies his remarks when it comes to talking about "results".