Ex-Morocco Star Amrabat Blasts Coach Halilhodzic’s ’Ego’, Calls for Change

In an interview given on Sunday to the ESPN channel, Nordin Armrabat was not tender towards Vahid Halilhodzic. The AEK Athens striker clearly indicated that the coach "is not getting the maximum out of this group because of his stubbornness and his huge ego. How can you only select one player out of four present at the highest level in the Champions League? I don’t know at all what he’s trying to do, but personally, he’s doing the exact opposite of what the fans expect."

On the list of players sidelined for having aroused the anger of the coach, there is also Nordim Amrabat. He deplores the absences of Hakim Ziyech and Noussair Mazraoui, dismissed for futile reasons according to him. "For a small dispute, not selecting Mazraoui for two years? It’s logical that the supporters chant the name of these players."

Moreover, the 34-year-old player was very critical of the coach’s game strategy. "In the CAN qualifiers, he played with a 4-4-2 system, during the CAN, he played with a 4-3-3 and now 5-3-2 after training only twice with this system? There is no automatism, nothing," he notes, before adding that Halilhodzic must "put his ego aside" or "leave permanently."

Even though he is angry with the coaching and the way the national team is being run, the Moroccan player prefers to remain positive about Morocco’s qualification for the World Cup. "On Tuesday, I think we’re going to win. Not thanks to Vahid but thanks to the supporters. If I were Fouzi Lekjaa, I would wait for the post-match on Tuesday to give the coach the choice either to put his ego aside, or to leave permanently. It’s no longer possible," he said.