Bayern’s new signing is among the most appreciated players so far: “I think we can go very far, but there’s no need to make proclamations”
Bayern Munich was ahead of the game and the feeling is that they didn’t make any mistakes this time either. Because Ismael Saibari, purchased from PSV Eindhoven before the start of the World Cup for 55 million (he has already undergone a medical in the United States), is one of the revelations of the World Cup: the Morocco striker scored on his debut against Brazil and repeated it against Scotland, scoring a goal that allowed the Atlas Lions to “mortgage” access to the round of 32. The man of the match award against McTominay and his teammates went to Hakimi, but Saibari is still thrilled with the satisfaction of the magical moment he is experiencing.
Saibari, how do you feel after scoring in your first two matches in this World Cup?
“I’m very happy. We achieved an important victory, we have four points and we have a good position in the group. We’ll see what happens in the next matches. The mentality must be to try to win them all. We don’t care who we face: we’re only interested in winning.”
She only talks about the team, but she is considered by many to be the revelations of the tournament so far. What do you think?
“I’ll leave that to the public and the journalists to say. I just want to help the team. Everyone does their job for the good of the group and I simply try to do mine which is to score. We’re like a family and we all give each other a hand.”
Against Scotland, Pep Guardiola was in the stands to watch the match. An extra satisfaction?
“It’s an honor that Guardiola was in the stands. He’s a coach who made football history.”
Do you know that your goal against Scotland could be remembered as the one that qualified for the round of 32?
“I’m always happy when I score and I can help my teammates. My goal, however, isn’t just mine, but everyone’s credit: the action comes from behind, from the construction of the game we did for several seconds. Then there are the passes: Brahim gave me two fantastic assists against Brazil and Scotland and allowed me to score two goals. With such good teammates, I only have to focus on finishing.”
At Bayern Munich next year he will have equally good teammates… (He pretends not to hear the question and smiles) Is this the best moment of your career?
“Definitely yes. As a child I dreamed of playing in a World Cup with my country and here I am. That dream has come true and I’m enjoying it very much because I also managed to score two goals. I’m very happy, but the most important thing is to get through the group stage and get as far as possible in the tournament.”
In 2022 you came fourth. What is the goal now?
“We have them and we work every day to achieve them, but the agreement in the locker room is to face one match at a time. Now we will focus on recovering energy and then on the next match against Haiti. Only then will we see how far we can get.”
Don’t you think it’s a bit reductive for a Morocco that drew with Brazil and beat Scotland?
- “I don’t want to be misunderstood. I think we can go very far, but there’s no need to make proclamations. First of all we need to get the three points against Haiti too and then we’ll understand better what will happen. The next one will be a very important challenge for our journey to the World Cup and we don’t want to get it wrong.”
Speaking of Brazil, you are first in the group together with the green and gold among the favorites to win the cup.
“Brazil are strong and we understood this by challenging them. We played on their equal footing and the point we won was important and deserved. However, it was fundamental to repeat ourselves against Scotland because no one underestimated the effort and everyone gave their all despite a little tiredness and the heat. We deserved the victory against a good team to which we conceded nothing. It’s a shame because we could have scored the second goal and ended the match earlier, but that’s fine too.”
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