Coach speaks of “conspiracy”
After just three months, the Moroccan first division side Raja Club Athletic ended their collaboration with former Belgium national team coach Marc Wilmots on Monday. The club did not communicate an official reason for the separation, according to reports, the 52-year-old did not meet the high expectations of him. In the Belgian daily newspaper “Het Nieuwsblad“Wilmots now expressed his astonishment at the club’s action in clear words.
“After a win! This proves that the evaluation of my work had nothing to do with the results. It can’t be worse. Come on, nobody can take this resignation seriously, can they?” the newspaper quotes the former Schalke professional as saying. Wilmots had looked after the current second in the table in just ten games since he took office on November 11, scoring an average of 1.6 points – apparently not enough for the club’s lead.
In December, the team missed out on winning the CAF Supercup after losing to Egyptian club El Ahly, and they have also drawn in the last four games in the league. The gap to leaders Wydad AC is eight points after 17 match days (to the table).
Wilmots Firing in Casablanca: Social Media Conspiracy?
Born in Dongelberg, he suspects that the decision about his dismissal was based on the club’s internal and not a sporting background, he speaks of “a political question”: “At the beginning of November there were three candidates for the presidency. The president was elected with 70 percent. That also means there were two losers. They started conspiring and used all sorts of means, including social media.” The coach describes the latter as a “great poison in Moroccan society. This is where social media has more power than any other. So it was clear that every time we didn’t win, my head was on the chopping block.”
For Wilmots, Raja Casablanca was the first employer after he left Iran at the end of 2019 due to a lack of salary payments as national coach. His longest tenure was from 2012 to 2016 as Belgium national coach, after which he worked in the same capacity in Ivory Coast. At club level, he worked as an interim coach at Schalke and as head coach at VV St. Truiden.
Wilmots’ contract in Casablanca was originally for a period of two years, but he did not want to sit out. In fact, the Belgian is “already in talks with another employer on site”: “I won’t reveal too much now. But the idea is that I’ll stay here with my wife and little girl for a few more months,” Wilmots said.
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