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Invited to «Le Vestiaire», a show broadcast on French sports channel RMC Sport, Atlas Lions' manager Hervé Renard traced back his relationship with Moroccan international footballer Hakim Ziyech.
Renard said that «things are simple and crystal clear», recalling the two matches played against Cape Verde a few days after he was appointed as a coach of Morocco’s national football team. «I put Hakim Ziyech in the stands because there were 18 players only. We had to start in these difficult situation», he recalled.
For the return leg, Hakim Ziyech played for 25 minutes only. «He was not happy with that. And here I can say that I made a mistake : I stopped talking to him», Renard said.
«Things got worse. When he came back, he was really hurt. It continued like that to the point that I stopped summoning him. But I can tell that Hakim has nothing to do with that».
The Atlas Lions coach explained that the Ajax midfielder «has never reacted to the situation in a bad way». «On the contrary, he remained calm but he wasn’t satisfied with his situation. I was not clear with him», he admitted.
«After a year, [the president of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation] told me that we must go see Hakim Ziyech and I said yes», he added, recognizing that Ziyech is a «very talented player».
«After three minutes of meeting him, everything was settled. That is to say, he wanted to come back because he is very attached to his national team and I needed him», Renard revealed. «I also recognized my mistakes. I am responsible for 99% of what happened but today the problem is resolved», the coach concluded.
?? Dans ?#LeVestiaire, Hervé Renard explique pourquoi la situation s'est très vite crispée entre lui et l'excellent Hakim Ziyech en sélection marocaine… et fait même un très honnête mea culpa ? pic.twitter.com/Hsou8aCZrO
— RMC Sport (@RMCsport) April 22, 2019
