Chelsea playmaker Hakim Ziyech was involved in a bit of a social media controversy on Thursday involving his Morocco manager Halihodzic.
The national head coach was pretty scathing of Ziyech to the media stating “His behaviour in the last two matches, especially the last one, was not that of a national team player who, as a leader in the team, must be a positive role model.
“He arrived late and after that he even refused to work. There was no point in discussing it afterwards, as a coach the answer is right there to see. For me, the national team is above everything, nobody can hold it hostage.
“For me, that type of behaviour is unacceptable. You can’t cheat with the national team. You are 100 per cent there or you are not. I won’t tolerate it.”
It did not take long for Ziyech to respond with an Instagram post which just read “Next time when you speak SPEAK THE TRUTH THEN...!” followed by a clown emoji in front of a plain black screen.
The situation is not ideal for Ziyech in his relationship with his national side especially after having a setback with the shoulder injury suffered in the UEFA Super Cup win over Villarreal. The untimely injury followed a very strong pre-season for the winger who was the Blues top scorer of the warm-up games, most notably against Spurs at Stamford Bridge in an exciting 2-2 draw.
Although being muddled up in this situation is not a good look, for Tuchel and Chelsea it could pay off in the long run if Ziyech can channel some of that frustration into improving his game in England.
His performance against Spurs in pre-season was generally excellent, scoring twice, setting up a goal for Timo Werner which was wrongly ruled offside. His energy in Chelsea’s press was notable as he exploited holes in Tottenham’s shape. Ziyech is a unique player to judge in 2021, because he does not fall into the expected definition of a ‘wide player’.
Although not slow, he certainly is not electric in transition – he is more a provider than a finisher. Even if his goals improved over pre-season, Ziyech has the tools to be an elite creator for Chelsea, with the addition of Romelu Lukaku that could be a match made in heaven.
The doubt over Ziyech is the same doubt looming over several players future and that’s the freedom to get an extended run in the team under Tuchel. In such a highly competitive attack with arguably 7 players for 3 positions, there are going to be 4 players upset each game. Often under the German tactician Ziyech has found himself on the bench.
Ziyech’s best run of starts yet at Chelsea was under Frank Lampard between late October and early December 2020, where he started five league games in a row, including two Champions League group games. In this promising run, he quickly became Chelsea’s creative hub and craftsman.
Chelsea played the ball through Ziyech regularly from right to left in Lampard’s 4-3-3. A hip injury forced him off 30 minutes into the 3-1 win over Leeds in early December which abruptly ended his strongest run in the team.
It is unfair to label Ziyech's first season as unproductive. Under Tuchel, Ziyech contributed important goals against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League and Manchester City in the league and FA Cup wins. The former Ajax man was also a good option in a dynamic front three containing Mason Mount and Timo Werner in the 1-0 win away to Liverpool back in March, which Tuchel played again in the FA Cup Final.
The evidence is certainly there to show Ziyech can impact big moments for the club, it is whether he will be able to replicate his best on a consistent enough rate to validate Tuchel dropping one of his more trusted attackers in Havertz and Mount.
For a player of Ziyech’s age and experience, he should be in a better place to impact proceedings when called upon over his younger competition in Werner, Christian Pulisic and Callum Hudson-Odoi.
Spats like the one Ziyech had are not desirable, but there may be some light to come out of an unfortunate situation in which the attacker can regain a firmer grasp on his destiny at Stamford Bridge and make a greater impression in his second season at Chelsea.
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