Saiss: It became complicated with Halilhodzic

by Staff Reporter

Friday Dec 30, 2022. 12:00

Morocco defender and captain Romain Saiss has explained how the arrival of Walid Regragui to replace Vahid Halilhodzic helped the Atlas Lions improve.

The latter coach oversaw Morocco’s successful World Cup qualification campaign, but was shown the door by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation in August – just three months before Qatar 2022.

Regragui was installed as the new head coach and went on to lead Morocco to a semifinal berth, making them the first African side to reach the penultimate stage of the World Cup.

The Bosnian has since aired his grievances at what he believed was an unfair dismissal by the federation, but Saiss – who was one of Morocco’s key men in Qatar – believes that the situation with the veteran coach had simply become too “complicated”.

“It [reaching the semifinals] was not a foregone conclusion. Everyone was going in the same direction, determined to do great things,” Saiss is quoted by Africa Top Sports.

“With Vahid, we had reached a point where it was getting complicated, even for him personally, where he was whistled every time he moved.

“This was felt in the group necessarily. When you play in Morocco and we hear his name to be whistled, it affects everyone. It brings tension.”

Saiss went on to add that Regragui’s arrival, albeit only a few months before the start of the World Cup, was an inspiring element that forced the players to lift their game.

“When he [Regragui] arrived, he didn’t have a lot of time to prepare for this World Cup,” noted the Besiktas player.

“His message and what he wanted for his team had to get through quickly. We talked a lot before the World Cup: he came to Istanbul to discuss with me. He quickly soaked up the atmosphere.

“Everyone was aware of the importance of the meeting, with the little time we had to prepare. Nobody cheated, everyone made the effort, from the staff to the players.”