Morocco play both sides with Halilhodzic
Times are bad for Vahid Halilhodzic as Morocco coach. The Qatar World Cup is just around the corner and all indications are that the president of Morocco's top football body, Fauzi Lakjaa, is going to leave a decision on his future until after the summer.
Although a few weeks ago he spoke out vehemently against Halilhodzic for his relationship with the players and his style of football, he has now decided to ratify him in the position.
The statement is brief: "The Royal Moroccan Football Federation denies what was reported in some media about the hiring of coach Walid Regragui to coach the Moroccan national football team and confirms that Mr. Vahid Halilhodzic is the current coach of the Moroccan national team".
One can read between the lines that what is less important is to ratify the Bosnian. The important thing is to deny that Regragui already has a contract and that, today, Halilhodzic is his coach. It is a way of protecting himself against the legal problems that the dismissal will have.
CAF awards
The CAF awards are another hot topic in the Moroccan news. The nominees are already being announced and in the coaches' section there is a mess because Halilhodzic has dropped out of the final phase.
The coaches chosen to be named Africa's best coach are Aliou Cissé, Pitso Mosimane, Carlos Queiroz, Tom Saintfiet and, here's the problem, Walid Regragui. The Bosnian ran out of votes in the preliminary poll and was eliminated.
Aliou Cissé is coach of Senegal and African Cup winner. Pitso Mosimane is coach of Egypt's Al Ahly and CAF Super Cup winner. Carlos Queiroz coached Egypt and came within a whisker of returning the country to the World Cup. Tom Saintfiet is coach of Gambia and winner of the Africa Cup of Nations in 2021. And Walid Regragui, coach of Qatar's Al-Duhail SC and 2022 Asian Champions League winner.
These are the names of the coaches who have left out Halilhodzic, winner of the Africa Cup of Nations with Morocco in 2021, but corresponding to 2020 and responsible for the Atlas Lions' high performance in the run-up to the World Cup.
The morbidity of the awards to be presented on 21 July in Rabat will be that Walid Regragui will win the best coach category in the capital of the country he hopes to coach one day.
