They took away my pride – Halilhodzic hits back at Morocco

by Staff Reporter

Wednesday Dec 28, 2022. 12:00

In the wake of Morocco’s historic run to the semifinals of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, former coach Vahid Halilhodzic has hit back at the Atlas Lions.

The 70-year-old Bosnian was in charge of Morocco from August 2019 to August 2022, and successfully secured qualification for the 2022 World Cup.

He was dismissed for reported disagreements with the president of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation, opening the door for Walid Regragui to take over.

Regragui then led the Atlas Lions to the final four of Qatar 2022 and gracefully paid tribute to the work done by his predecessor.

“Well done and a big thank you to Vahid Halilhodzic, who did a great job and created this group of players,” noted the former Wydad Casablanca coach.

However, Regragui did add: “I brought my mentality there. I brought something new and the players are the ones who sacrificed themselves in order to fulfil all that I ask of them.”

This is particularly important in regards to a player such as Hakim Ziyech, who fell out with Halilhodzic and effectively quit the national team, but returned under Regragui and notably showed far greater dedication to the cause.

Halilhodzic – who was also axed by Japan and Ivory Coast after successful World Cup qualifications – has now responded to Morocco’s success and expressed the personal pain he felt.

“You know I didn’t comment on anything about Morocco at all,” he is quoted by tportal.hr.

“Journalists from Morocco, from the region are calling me… but it’s hard for me to say anything.

“And these words cannot wash away my bitterness, and cannot make up for what I missed with this tournament.

“They took away my pride, I can’t forget or forgive them. Because it was also supposed to be my farewell to my coaching career. That’s all I can say on that topic.”

Halilhodzic has also managed the likes of Raja Casablanca, Paris Saint-Germain, Dinamo Zagreb, Algeria and Nantes in his career.