This article was automatically translated from HIBAPRESS, the Arabic version:
Hibapress-Rabat-Caf
There were the smiles. The “thank you” repeated endlessly in the mixed zone. Then the words, more posed, in a press conference where the young Ziyad Baha, 15, let glimpse a little more than his precocity ball at the foot. Double scorer and man of the match against South Africa (3-1), Friday in Mohammedia, the Moroccan was one of the great craftsmen of the qualification of the Atlas lion cubs for the semi-finals of the CAN U-17 Totalnergies. “I dreamed of this moment long before kick -off. We wanted this semi-final. And now we are targeting the final. The title must remain in Morocco. »»
Smiling, sincere, the player from Real Bétis did not mask his joy at having won his first individual trophy of the tournament. “The title of best player in the match? I wanted it for a long time. But this is just a detail. What we really want is to be African champion. »»
A pressure in the name of the blood
On the bench, his father, Nabil Baha, gives him no gifts. And he assumes. “I am harder with him than with others. He does not have the right to make mistakes. Because we will always say that if he plays, it is thanks to me. »»
Morocco coach speaks with frankness and lucidity. He knows what this situation can generate as suspicion. He opposes it by the requirement. “If he was not good, he would not even be summoned. But every time he plays, he marks. He has statistics that I will take out one day. These are brutal figures. »»
Born in 2009, Ziyad Baha joined young selections from the age of 11, constantly evolving in categories superior to his. “He has always been outclassed. He is a player who must be helped, but also push. He has personality. He knows he’s good, but he also knows that he has a lot of work. »»
A promise to supervise
In the locker room, quiet, the father-son link takes over. “Sometimes I take him in my room to talk to him, to give him the ideas in place. I may be harder than supporters. But that’s what it takes. »»
And if the road is still long, the Moroccan technician has no doubt about the potential of his son. “He will have a good career, if he remains humble, if he works more than the others and if he continues in this path. »»
On the ground, Ziyad lets his feet speak. Already the author of four goals since the start of the tournament, he advances without noise, carried by a clear ambition and a complacency without complacency.
