Hassan Benabicha, the newly appointed coach of the local Moroccan national team, is wasting no time as he prepares for CHAN 2014. The competition is scheduled to take place in South Africa from January 11 to February 2. Starting from Monday, December 30, the local version of the Atlas Lions will embark on a preparation course in anticipation of CHAN 2014.
In light of his recent appointment, Benabicha promptly revealed the list of Lions who will represent the Cherifian kingdom in South Africa.
In an interview with the Moroccan newspaper Le Matin, the new coach discussed the current state of the local team and justified the selection of players. “They are the best local players at the moment. As you may have noticed, there is a strong representation of Raja de Casablanca players. They will constitute the core of this national team. I think it’s normal after the feat they achieved in the Club World Cup. For them, it will be continuity, the fruit of their effort and their work, and we will count on them a lot. The WAC and the Moghreb of Tetouan are also well represented. All these players know each other, and some were with me during international competitions,” explained Benabicha.
He also shared insights into their preparation camp, acknowledging that the regrouping is starting a little late, but he remains confident. “Of course, and that’s what worried me. The African Cup was fast approaching, and the choice of the local coach was delayed. But better late than never. My apprehension is that the preparation will be done in a hurry without an international friendly meeting. The objective of the moment will be to prepare the players mentally and physically and ensure automatisms. We will do it with the technical staff. We will enter training on Monday after Raja’s match against Moghreb de Tétouan so that players from these two clubs will be present. We’re staying together until February 1st. As we have not planned an international friendly match, we will play against teams from the 1st or 2nd division to refine our preparation.”
Despite taking on the team’s destiny a bit late, the ambitious Moroccan coach aims to guide the local Atlas Lions as far as possible in the competition. “I am very ambitious, and I want to live up to the trust placed in me, just as much as the players. We will go to South Africa with a conquering spirit, and we will play without too many complexes. It won’t be easy, given the late preparation conditions for the national team, but we believe in it.”
Benabicha is closely following the votes organized by Africa Top Sports.com, especially in the category of the Best African Club 2013, where Raja Casablanca fans are currently dominating CS Sfaxien’s supporters!
