Vahid Halilhodzic says he won’t recall Chelsea star Hakim Ziyech despite AFCON quarter-final exit
According to the Daily Mail, Vahid Halilhodzic, who is the head coach of the Morocco national team, has insisted that he will not be begging Chelsea star Hakim Ziyech to return to the national set-up thanks to his attitude and bad behaviour.
Ziyech has been impressive for Chelsea of late, scoring in the last two Premier League games that the club have played. The player struggled to break into the team at the beginning of the season, but his recent form has seen Thomas Tuchel pick him for the last few league games.
The same views however are not echoed by his national team’s manager, with Halilhodzic saying back in September that the player is a bad influence on his team.
“For the first time in my coaching career, I saw a national team player who doesn’t want to train and claims to be injured, although tests have shown he can play. I won’t tolerate it. He didn’t look like a player from a national team fighting to qualify for the World Cup.”
Ziyech may now see his hopes of playing for his country in the 2022 World Cup diminish, with the Morocco manager insisting that the player will not be allowed anywhere near his team. If his recent efforts in performing well for his club was to earn a national team call-up, then the winger is in for a rude surprise.
Bad attitude and behaviour
This is not the first time that the 28-year-old has been called out for his attitude, with pundits and former footballers criticising his actions on the pitch and putting it down to the winger’s behaviour. They were of the opinion that such an attitude has an ill effect on the rest of the team, which seems to be what Halilhodzic is hinting at as well.
Despite Morocco’s recent quarter-final exit at the Africa Cup of Nations, the head coach said that he would not recall the star for their games, after dumping the Chelsea winger back in September. If anything, it shows just how determined Halilhodzic is regarding his stance.
“Ziyech’s behaviour does not fit the selection. He doesn’t want to train, doesn’t want to play. He doesn’t take it seriously. I’m not going to beg him to come back.”
It certainly is a strong statement from the Morocco manager, sending a message out to his players that he only accepts those in his side who show a strong will to succeed and train well. The head coach seems to have no time to entertain those who disobey and refuse to cooperate, given that their actions can cause a bad reaction within the squad.
Ziyech’s attitude may be in question, but there is no doubting his skill. After all, the Chelsea star is a player who has 17 goals in 40 appearances for his national side. He is one of the few players in the Moroccan national team who has the potential to be world-class, along with Achraf Hakimi.
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The Blues winger’s recent performances for his club have been impressive, with earlier remarks over his attitude dissipating after the last few games in the league. We can only hope that the player continues his fine form, with a busy month ahead of us next.
We are due to play the FIFA Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi, as well as turn up for the Carabao Cup final against Liverpool. With two early opportunities to get trophies at stake, Chelsea will hope that Ziyech turns up with the right attitude, and keeps up his goalscoring touch to fire the club to glory.