Will Janne Assehnou replace Chelsea’s Hakim Ziyech, asks Janne Palomäki.
Hakim Ziyech has declared that he will not play for the Moroccan national team as long as Vahid Halilhodžić is coaching him. AOP
Markku Kanerva dropped a small-scale news bomb on Wednesday when he told Jasin Assehnoun about a possible national team change.
The gifted Owl Pier was Heather’s surprise choice for the original European Championship groupbut on the eve of the tournament, Rive decided to leave the young man home to watch the prizes on TV.
That decision may still haunt for a long time.
If Kanerva had taken Assehnoun to the European Championships and given him even one minute of responsibility, Morocco would no longer be able to hijack his dual national.
Now the lions of the Atlas Mountains have a pair of aces on their sleeves. Specially the World Cup, which kicks off in November, can be a prize that can be hard to refuse.
Even when asked, Kanerva no longer wanted to specify what kind of discussion he or Moroccan head coach Vahid Halilhodžić had with the player.
It is quite clear that the Moroccan federation has no other reason to attract Assehnoun to the red shirt than the A national team, because this year the player, who will turn 24, will no longer fit into any junior national team due to his age.
Halilhodžić has at least one strong reason to haul the offensive winger to his team. The 69-year-old Bosnian is in open war with Morocco’s overwhelming biggest star, Hakim Ziyech of Chelsea..
The story continues after the picture.
Bosnian war veteran Vahid Halilhodžić led Morocco to the World Cup finals in Qatar. AOP
Ziyech has vowed never to represent Morocco again, and Halilhodžić’s shy peace offerings have not worked.
It is even likely that Morocco will not get Zieyech on its World Cup team. Maybe that’s why FC Emmen’s Finnish player has taken the radar.