Morocco’s coach Vahid Halilhodzic has failed to lead the national team to qualify for the finals of the 2021 African Cup of Nations (CAN). Many say the coach made wrong moves that could have been avoided. His dismissal by the Moroccan Football Federation is not farfetched.
Following Morocco’s elimination in the quarter-finals in CAN against Egypt 1-2, with only Sofiane Boufal’s goal scored at 4.’
The Atlas Lions ended their adventure in the sporting event, disappointing hopes and expectations as well as pushing many to criticize the coach’s choices, or “wrong moves,” considered the main reason behind the national team’s failure.
Vahid’s choices
Morocco’s coach Vahid Halilhodzic has brought out Sofiane Boufal at 50,’ the player who scored the national team’s first goal against Egypt in the first half time, replacing him with Soufiane Rahimi, considered to be among the wrong moves, especially that Sofiane Boufal didn’t sustain any injury.
Additionally, the national coach didn’t invite the international attacking midfielder within Chelsea Football Club, Hakim Ziyech to be part of the recent sporting events, including the FIFA Qatar World Cup, and CAN 2021.
The international player Hakim Ziyech was the standout performer, with his glittering goal just after halftime the game’s signature moment, guaranteeing Chelsea’s victory against Tottenham (2-0) over the last week.
In the previous CAN games, including Malawi and Gabon, many considered Vahid’s decision in placing Ayoub El Kaabi next to Youssef En-Nessyri wasn’t a good choice, as both players hadn’t a connection in their performance, and weren’t a good match, according to sports commentators.
Vahid’s income
The national team’s coach tops the ranking of the highest-paid coaches of the 33rd edition of the African Cup of Nations (CAN).
The Top 10 highest-paid coaches are as follows:
1- Vahid Halilhodžić (from Bosnia-Morocco) $89,000
2- Carlos Queiroz (from Portugal-Egypt) $85,000
3- Djamel Belmadi (Algeria) $65,000
4- Antonio Conceiçao (from Portugal-Cameroon) $59,000
5- Javier Clémente (from Spain-Libya) $59,000
6- Hector Cuper (from Argentina-DR Congo) $55,000
7- Gernot Rohr (from Germany-Nigeria) $55,000
8- Hugo Broos (from Belgium-South Africa) $50,000
9- Patrice Beaumelle (from France-Côte d’Ivoire) $35,000
10- Milovan Rajevac (from Serbia-Ghana) $30,000
Is it time to dimiss Vahid?
According to a close source to the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF), the dismissal of Vahid Halilodzic would be seriously discussed within FRMF’s members, which has two weeks to dismiss the coach without compensation if the first goal of the contract is not fulfilled by the coach.
Indeed, two years ago, Faouzi Lekjaa, during the presentation of the Bosnian coach, had clearly put into place the goals to achieve, namely a final in the 2021 African Cup of Nations, a qualification for the FIFA World Cup 2022, and CAN 2023.
At that time, Lekjaa pointed out that the failure to achieve any of the set goals at any stage means the contract will come to an end between the federation and the coach.
The next few days will decide on Halilhodzic’s fate, either to continue as the national team’s coach or to step down from his position, especially after he failed to reach the first goal in the 2021 African Cup of Nations (CAN).
For now, Morocco’s coach has only the option to make more efforts in the upcoming sporting event, namely the 2022 Qatar FIFA World Cup, which is set to take place in March.
The national team is set to play against the Democratic Republic of Congo between March 23 and 29.
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