Morocco NT : Probable squad and news

Discussion in 'GROUP B: Portugal, Spain, Iran, Morocco' started by pogoss, Dec 11, 2017.

  1. pogoss

    pogoss Member

    Wydad Casablanca
    Morocco
    Jan 15, 2017
    Japan
    Club:
    --other--
    Nat'l Team:
    Morocco
    we don't need Malcuit so he can wait for France

    Masina isn't Moroccan, he doesn't see himself as Moroccan, the FRMF might as well try to give citizenship to a Brazilian.

    if you mention Zekhnini you can mention dozens of other players, the guy has only played once with Fiorentina.

    Hamdallah for now there is no concrete offer, your source isn't reliable and I don't think Rennes can afford him, his salary is to high for such a club (200 000 euros a month tax deducted).
     
  2. pogoss

    pogoss Member

    Wydad Casablanca
    Morocco
    Jan 15, 2017
    Japan
    Club:
    --other--
    Nat'l Team:
    Morocco
    I'm not bothered because they are Moroccan too, Moroccan people in Europe are very close to the Moroccan culture, they live with each other, they watch Moroccan TV, they spend all their summers in Morocco every year as they all have families here. When we played France in France, Belgium in Belgium and Netherlands in the Netherlands it was like we were at home as most of the crowd was supporting Morocco.

    Things are different for people who are too far away to visit African countries like Congo or even Ghana. For them it's an expensive trip while Moroccan used to come even by car. So the link is easier for us to keep.

    Also Banoune, Yamiq, Dirar, Mendyl, Haddad, Bencherki, Bouhaddouz, Tannane are born in Morocco, Bounou is born in Canada but has lived in Morocco since he was a kid.

    What bothers me is when the federation tries to convince someone to chose Morocco. The players are the ones who need to convince and the National Team should get to chose the players. Those who refuse once should be put aside forever.
     
  3. Iranian Monitor

    Iranian Monitor Member+

    Aug 18, 2004
    Nat'l Team:
    Iran
    I am proud of the fact that there are a couple of players on our squad, namely Dejagah and Ghoddos (both born to Iranian parents outside of Iran), who along with Ghoochannejad (born in Iran but grew up outside the country), represent (almost in perfect proportion) the diversity of Iran and the potential, wealth and talent that exists for the country among its emigrants. Their presence strengthens the bonds that connect Iran's national team to its people. It makes our team belong, not just to Iranians who live here, but to hundreds of thousands of its fans who live or were even born outside of Iran.

    I will be honest: I wouldn't have the same attitude if Iran's team looked like Morocco's. If we had 19 (or some similar number) of players who weren't born in Iran. I would not see such a team representing Iran properly. It would be almost an insult to 80 million Iranians born and raised in Iran and the talent found among them. The outer limits of what I would welcome in this approach is found in what we had in Iran's Wc2014 squad. Anything substantially more and I would begin to lose the interest and connection to the team.

    Another Iranian fan brought up this issue as a reason for neutrals not to like Morocco's team. But I never thought of it that way: As long as the fans in Morocco believe this team represents them adequately, and is not implicitly or explicitly passing a negative judgment on the quality of players produced by Morocco itself, I am not sure this issue concerns anyone else.
     
  4. pogoss

    pogoss Member

    Wydad Casablanca
    Morocco
    Jan 15, 2017
    Japan
    Club:
    --other--
    Nat'l Team:
    Morocco
    What if 10% of Iran's population was living abroad and most of them in 3 countries close to Iran ? what if most those expatriate come to Iran every year for summer vacation and still have close bounds with their families in Iran ? Would you still see that as an insult ?

    I think it's only natural that most of our players are born in France and Holland, we have a huge population living there and practicing football in those countries is much better than in Morocco even at amateur level. I've been in France and I was impressed by the number of football fields where you can play for free. In Morocco the cities are full of concrete, there is not much space for playing football and you have to pay for the very few pitches without grass so we mainly play on the streets. Playing on the streets is good for developing dribbling skills but you don't learn to make crosses and long range shots on small surface.
     
  5. Atlaslion18

    Atlaslion18 Member

    Raja Casablanca
    Morocco
    Dec 27, 2017
    I think we lack a world class left back. Hakimi play there at the moment, but he is actually a RB. Mendyll has great potential, but is just not good enough at the moment. Lazaar hasn’t played a whole lot at his club and it seems HR doesn’t like him that much. So we do need Masina and Malcuit. Malcuit is on the radar of multiple top teams and Masina will probably go to Napoli soon.
     
  6. Atlaslion18

    Atlaslion18 Member

    Raja Casablanca
    Morocco
    Dec 27, 2017
    We are in the unique position that we have got a huge diaspora that plays good football. We’ve got more than 4500 players all over the planet. From competitions in Asia, to clubs like Real Madrid and Barcelona. Most of these players have the Moroccan nationality and feel 100% Moroccan. So if they want to represent Morocco, why would they get discriminated against?

    We did have lots of discussion inside Morocco early 2000’s. But the consensus was that we should select the best players available. If a player is good enough, has a Moroccan passport and desires in to be in the Moroccan squad, he should get a call-up. Besides that, there seems to be an unwritten rule that there should always be a couple of Botola players included in the squad.
     
  7. pogoss

    pogoss Member

    Wydad Casablanca
    Morocco
    Jan 15, 2017
    Japan
    Club:
    --other--
    Nat'l Team:
    Morocco
    And Malcuit is a RB too so you won't solve the LB problem with him.

    Masina doesn't want to and while he could have said something like "I'll think about it" he prefered to say clearly that he doesn't know about Morocco and doesn't consider playing for Morocco. Maybe he'll change his mind if you send him a video of you begging him on your knees but I wont beg anyone. If we need to convince someone to play for Morocco we might as well naturalize Brazilian players or directly support Brazil or another big team who doesn't need a left back.
     
  8. pogoss

    pogoss Member

    Wydad Casablanca
    Morocco
    Jan 15, 2017
    Japan
    Club:
    --other--
    Nat'l Team:
    Morocco
    are you including those who play with their friends on Sunday mornings ?

    So stop talking about Masina.
     
  9. Iranian Monitor

    Iranian Monitor Member+

    Aug 18, 2004
    Nat'l Team:
    Iran
    1- Iran has a significant emigrant population (several million or around 5% of the population), but the emigrant population from Iran are mostly from middle and upper middle class backgrounds and aren't that hugely represented in sports, including football. Still, it is partly because it is a true reflection of Iran that I am entirely comfortable with the fact that a couple of our players are born outside the country and another (despite being born in Iran) grew up outside the country. That is 3 of 23 players that will be in our roster (even assuming all 3 make the roster, which isn't entirely clear at all), which would be roughly a correct and proportional representation of Iranian emigrants.

    2- It is certainly true that players who grow up in Europe and learn their football in such countries will develop certain skills and traits better than those who grow up in Iran. The street football culture which used to be dominant here (it is fast disappearing even in Iran) did produce good dribblers, not good team players with some of the other attributes. On the other hand, if our football is to properly reflect our population as well as our own football culture, it would have to be largely drawn from the same mold with its warts and all.

    3- What would be comfortable to me as an Iranian is naturally not going to be the same as what would be comfortable to someone from another country, including someone from Morocco. And, of course, attitudes within each country also differ from one individual to another. All that said, however, I still kind of feel that having a side with as many foreign born players as Morocco has is a bit too much. It really makes Morocco appear more a club team than a national team, even though I recognize all your players are actually of Moroccan origin and have genuine connections to Morocco. Still, those are not football connections and from a footballing perspective, they might as well be foreign players.

    Please don't take anything I say the wrong way. These are my musings on the subject and I am certainly not passing judgment so much as sharing my thoughts.
     
  10. Atlaslion18

    Atlaslion18 Member

    Raja Casablanca
    Morocco
    Dec 27, 2017
    That number is from mountakhab.net. If you scroll down you'll see it too. Suprised you didn't know that number. As you are also a member there.

    Malcuit is a full back. He plays both posts

    Masina never rejected Morocco outright. We definately shouldn't beg, but asking couldn't hurt.
     
  11. zahzah

    zahzah Member+

    Jun 27, 2011
    Club:
    FK Crvena Zvezda Beograd
    Well... Masina at least is born in Morocco :)
     
  12. pogoss

    pogoss Member

    Wydad Casablanca
    Morocco
    Jan 15, 2017
    Japan
    Club:
    --other--
    Nat'l Team:
    Morocco
    Why should it be proportional ? do you think the same about Iran's cities proportional representation in the NT ?

    I don't take it wrong, I just don't agree, what is the local football culture and connection. In Morocco we have some clubs who play direct football, some play possession play ... and I'm sure it's the same in Iran, each club has it's own football style and it will vary depending on the coach so you would have players with different football culture even in a national team 100% based on local players.

    Some of the players born in Europe are also fans of Moroccan clubs, Harit is a Wydad Casablanca fan since he was a kid and he partied in Casablanca along with other Wydad fans after we won the CAF Champions League. Many of those players born in Europe played or are playing in our local league too and they don't look like foreign players.
     
  13. pogoss

    pogoss Member

    Wydad Casablanca
    Morocco
    Jan 15, 2017
    Japan
    Club:
    --other--
    Nat'l Team:
    Morocco
    Which is the proof that it means nothing, he knows nothing about Morocco and spent less time here than any of the NT players.
     
  14. pogoss

    pogoss Member

    Wydad Casablanca
    Morocco
    Jan 15, 2017
    Japan
    Club:
    --other--
    Nat'l Team:
    Morocco
    http://mountakhab.net/www/modules/fiches_joueurs/fiches.php
    It's says 4721 moroccan players in the site's repertory which includes former players based in and outside of Morocco. Concerning the current players it says 396 players in Morocco and 175 players outside of Morocco in 25 countries.

    Malcuit is a RB who can probably help in the LB like many other RB but if you look here he didn't do it recently.
     
  15. Iranian Monitor

    Iranian Monitor Member+

    Aug 18, 2004
    Nat'l Team:
    Iran
    To the extent people in Morocco don't have any issues, and feel the same connection to their team as they would otherwise, ultimately it really doesn't matter where these players were born or where they grew up. That said, with respect to what you mentioned:

    If Iran's team was overwhelmingly representative of one region or ethnic group in a totally disproportionate way, it would not be as representative and maybe even not as popular across the full spectrum of our population as it is now. Usually, without much intention behind, our national team does reflect the country as a whole in this sense as well.

    More broadly, I am also not typical of most of our fans. Most Iranian fans are more favorably inclined towards foreign coaches than Iranian ones. I am the opposite. The success of Carlos Queiroz and some other foreign coaches more recently has made me pause and reflect on this issue more. But I am still not sure where one can draw the line between a team really representing Iran and when its success is more important than who helps achieve that success? In that sense, and rather curiously given my background where I grew up outside of Iran, I am far less open minded on these things than most Iranians, event many who have never stepped foot outside of Iran. As I mentioned, I am completely supportive of Iran's team including a couple of players born outside of the country to Iranian parents. I was even supportive of inviting Daniel Davari to our team during Wc2014 (although he didn't impress on the field with his performances when he was tested in our friendlies and was rightly set aside from our team later). I supported Davari being invited eve though he was really a special case: hardly spoke Persian beyond a few words and was from a mixed Iranian/.German-Polish background. Still, it was one player and we have these special cases among the community that constitute Iranian fans. But I am very doubtful that I would be supportive of an Iranian team which was predominately foreign born and foreign raised. There is a point where it becomes a bit insulting to talents that can be found among the 80 million who live in Iran.
     
  16. pogoss

    pogoss Member

    Wydad Casablanca
    Morocco
    Jan 15, 2017
    Japan
    Club:
    --other--
    Nat'l Team:
    Morocco
    I would prefer a local coach as well, it would make more sense for national teams but since it's allowed and done everywhere so be it.

    Concerning the players I welcome players born outside of Morocco but it has to be their own choice and no convincing should be needed. I'm also not welcoming the idea of changing from one NT to the other and I really dislike the new FIFA rules.
     
    zahzah repped this.
  17. Laurent75

    Laurent75 Member

    Aug 2, 2014
    I think Renard will use a different system against Portugal and Spain. Wouldn't be surprised if he uses Ait Benasser again, like he did during the first games of the qualifiers. The goal would be to defend as good as possible and try to counter. Something like this, t :

    ----------------------------------Benatia-----------------------Saiss-----------------------------------

    ---Dirar-------------------------------------Ait Benasser--------------------------------------Amrabat

    ----------------------------El Ahmadi------------------------Boussoufa----------------------------

    -----Ziyech------------------------------------------------------------------Belhanda---------------

    ------------------------------------------------Boutaib ?-----------------------------------------------
     
  18. Laurent75

    Laurent75 Member

    Aug 2, 2014
    Adam Maher moves from PSV to Twente.

    Keep in mind he never played an official game with The Netherlands, only a friendly in 2013 against Italy. Which means he can still be called with Moroco if he regains the form he had few years ago.
     
  19. MarocFAN

    MarocFAN Member

    May 18, 2006
    Morocco/Germany
    #44 MarocFAN, Jan 16, 2018
    Last edited: Jan 16, 2018
    He played in three WC2014 qualifier matches.
     
  20. Laurent75

    Laurent75 Member

    Aug 2, 2014
    My bad, I did not even remember him getting minutes in those games.
     
  21. MarocFAN

    MarocFAN Member

    May 18, 2006
    Morocco/Germany
    Ayoub El Kaabi could be the solution for our striker problem.
     
  22. zahzah

    zahzah Member+

    Jun 27, 2011
    Club:
    FK Crvena Zvezda Beograd
    Now 8 goals in 5 games, probable Golden Ball and Golden Boot winner at the CHAN.

    Boutaib wasn't a bad option, but this could be a star player coming out of the blue.
     
    MarocFAN repped this.
  23. MarocFAN

    MarocFAN Member

    May 18, 2006
    Morocco/Germany
    In the final he scored his nineth and hit the bar post with two overhead kicks.

    In an interview he said that Atletico Madrid has contacted him.
     
    Philip J. Fry repped this.
  24. zahzah

    zahzah Member+

    Jun 27, 2011
    Club:
    FK Crvena Zvezda Beograd
    To be honest most of his goals were tap ins though...

    Still think he will at least make the final 23 and looks very good to oust Boutaib from the starting spot.
     
  25. MarocFAN

    MarocFAN Member

    May 18, 2006
    Morocco/Germany
    It's not just his goals. He also created some of these goals, because of his defensiv play. He doesn't just stay in the front but also runs back and initiate attacks. Also his stats are impressiv.
    Since 2016 he played 45 matches and scored 48 goals.
    http://www.footballdatabase.eu/football.joueurs.ayoub.el-kaabi.224908.fr.html
     

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