Morocco’s Hakim Ziyech Announces Retirement from National Team

The dispute between Ziyech and coach Vahid has just taken on a turn that was certainly not anticipated. The Moroccan player has decided to close the Moroccan file at his level. A decision he says he has carefully considered. "Honestly, I understand them. But I won’t return to the national team. Yes, it’s my final decision," he said firmly, but with a certain sadness.

The disagreement between the player and Vahid Halilhodzic started a few months ago. The coach accused Ziyech of minimizing the national team, of not giving it the importance and respect it deserves. This was before the match that was to be played in Conakry and counting for the World Cup qualifiers. Despite numerous mediations and interventions by the players, Hakim Ziyech was definitively sidelined by the coach. He even declared that the file was closed at his level and that if he had to return to the selection, he would leave.

Ziyech’s decision comes a few days after Morocco’s participation in the Africa Cup of Nations. He would have liked to participate in it to recover from the failed CAN in 2019. But the non-settlement of the conflict that opposes him to the coach did not allow him to participate in it. Vahid Halilhodzic had even congratulated himself on Morocco’s results at the CAN without Ziyech. At the press conference held after Morocco’s elimination, the coach again maintained that for him, the Ziyech file belongs to the past.

The player has decided to abide by the coach’s decision not to call him up again. "It’s the decision he made and we have to respect it." Hakim Ziyech has finally decided to close the file. Even if he insists that his decision is irrevocable, the Chelsea midfielder said he is sad for the Moroccan supporters who were hoping to see him wear the national team jersey again. "I understand them. I’m sorry for them. That’s the current situation."

According to some experts, this bomb dropped by Hakim Ziyech could hasten the departure of the coach, who has been on the hot seat since Morocco’s elimination by Egypt in the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations. Will the Royal Moroccan Football Federation accept losing a player like Hakim Ziyech or will it try everything to bring peace back to the Lions? The coming days may shed more light on this.