Morocco Appoint Bosnian Head Coach

Morocco has appointed immediate former FC Nantes head coach Vahid Halilhodzic as their new boss on a three-year deal.

The Bosnian fills the vacant position left since Herve Renard resigned last month after Atlas Lions’ elimination from the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.

The Royal Moroccan Federation unveiled the new coach on Wednesday stating that his targets included taking Morocco to the World Cup in 2022 and the semi-finals of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.

Morocco had narrowed their search to two coaches but could not agree on terms with French Laurent Blanc who was asking a huge salary.

Halilhodzic’s coaching resume is not to be underestimated as he has previously been in charge of Algeria and Ivory Coast.

“I hope we can achieve the best things together with Morocco even at the financial level,”  said the Bosnian man, laughing along with the press conference attendees.

“It’s the fourth time that I will try to take a team to a World Cup and I get sick when I lose something,” Halilhodzic added.

The 67-year-old tactician led Algeria to the last 16 of the competition in Brazil in 2014, where they lost only on penalties to the eventual champions Germany in the last 16.

He also led Ivory Coast to 2010 World Cup as well as Japan for 2018 global showpiece but he faced the axe weeks before the finals took place.

Halilhodzic also has previous experience of working in Morocco, having taken Raja Casablanca to the African Champions League crown in 1997.

Morocco will face Central Africa, Burundi and Mauritania in the Group G of the 2021 Africa Cup qualifiers that will be staged on October 7 and will end in November 2020.