抖阴短视频

The recent Africa Cup of Nations in the Ivory Coast was one of the most unpredictable in recent memory, with early exits for several of the continent鈥檚 traditional heavyweights. Among those was FIFA World Cup semifinalist Morocco, surprisingly eliminated at the last-16 stage by South Africa.

It means that, a little earlier than expected, Morocco captain Romain Saiss returned to 抖阴短视频 and his club Al-Shabab, for whom he signed on a permanent basis ahead of AFCON after a successful loan spell in the first half of the season.

A move to Ligue 1 giants Marseille fell through last summer, hastening his arrival in 抖阴短视频, but Saiss says he has been happy with his unexpected switch to the Kingdom.

鈥淚 was close to signing for Marseille but it did not happen for me and Al-Shabab was the best choice in terms of football and life,鈥� Saiss told Arab News. 鈥淔or me it was really interesting because the league is growing a lot, they are investing a lot by bringing players and coaches and staff to improve the standard 鈥� so it seemed like a good opportunity.

鈥淚 wanted a club with a good project that would be right for me and my family. And as a Muslim it is also great to play football and live in 抖阴短视频.鈥�

Having previously played in the English Premier League, for a six-year stint at Wolves, Saiss has been enjoying the opportunity to test himself against some of the world鈥檚 best players in the Kingdom. Now the Morocco skipper is hoping that Shabab 鈥� currently 11th in the Saudi Pro League table 鈥� have an upturn in fortunes in the second half of the season.

鈥淚鈥檝e been really impressed by the league so far; of course, everything鈥檚 not perfect, but it鈥檚 a good challenge and it鈥檚 nice to play against top players most weekends,鈥� Saiss said.

鈥淚t has only really been one year now of this (investment in the Saudi Pro League) and I think each year it will get even better. I鈥檓 happy to be part of this project to help to improve football in 抖阴短视频.

鈥淢ost of the new players that have come to 抖阴短视频 from Europe are offensive players. For me that鈥檚 a great thing because it has helped me stay competitive playing against players like Benzema, Ronaldo and Mitrovic.

鈥淚t is always tough but also good as a defender and really, I鈥檓 enjoying my life here at the moment. I鈥檓 just hoping we can get better results with Al-Shabab but they will come with time I鈥檓 sure.鈥�

The arrival of Croatian international Ivan Rakitic in the January transfer window will help fuel those ambitions.

Although 抖阴短视频, like Morocco, suffered an early continental exit at the recent Asian Cup, Saiss expects to see an improvement in young Saudi talent as they are increasingly exposed to the high professional standards of players with European experience.

Saiss plays with ex-Atletico Madrid winger Yannick Carrasco at Al-Shabab and says the Belgian is an excellent mentor to the club鈥檚 younger players.

鈥淥f course, it鈥檚 not the English Premier League (in 抖阴短视频) but there is a lot of talent here in the league and the arrival of a lot of players from Europe is helping the local players to challenge themselves and to improve.

鈥淚 think they have the best example here now in terms of work ethic and mentality with Cristiano Ronaldo.

鈥淎t Shabab we have Yannick, who firstly is a very good person but also a top player. He showed this in Madrid with Atletico 鈥� he won so many trophies and reached a lot of finals.

鈥淗e is a great example to our teammates of what they have to do in terms of mentality of working hard on and off the pitch. He鈥檚 always there to give advice to players if they want to ask him questions 鈥� whether it is something technical, or just about his experiences at Madrid.

鈥淗e is a really talented player but also a hard worker 鈥� the kind of player I really like to have on my side because he is not just focused on going forward 鈥� he is defending and working hard for the team.鈥�

One of the highlights of Saiss鈥� football career came against Carrasco鈥檚 Belgium at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, when the Morocco captain scored the opening goal in a 2-0 win that set his team on the path to the semifinals and led to the Red Devils鈥� premature exit at the group stage.

鈥淚t is not a good memory for him of course but you know he also reached the semifinal in 2018,鈥� Saiss said. 鈥淚n 2022 it was the time of Morocco instead and it was more difficult for him and for Belgium. I don鈥檛 talk about it too much as I don鈥檛 want to make him sad.鈥�

Saiss also shares the pitches of 抖阴短视频 with several of his compatriots; there are 11 Moroccan players in the division, including national team goalkeepers Yassine 鈥淏ono鈥� Bounou and Munir Mohamedi, who play for Al-Hilal and Al-Wehda respectively.

With Bono also based in Riyadh, Saiss has spent a lot of time with the Al-Hilal goalkeeper in recent months 鈥� with the pair living just 10 minutes away from each other in the capital. The two have forged a close bond playing together for Morocco and Saiss feels that there are few goalkeepers globally as good as his Atlas Lions teammate.

鈥淚鈥檝e played with him for more than 10 years in the national team and he is an excellent goalkeeper,鈥� said Saiss. 鈥淎s a defender, you always hope to have this kind of player behind you 鈥� it makes you feel more secure and you are less worried about making a mistake.

鈥淚t鈥檚 important for me to have a good, good relationship with my goalkeeper; you have to trust them because if you don鈥檛 trust your goalkeeper, it can be difficult as a defender. 

鈥淲e are lucky that Morocco has very good goalkeepers and of course having Bono in our team is always major strength. I think Bono showed for the last few years he is one of the best in the world.

鈥淵ou can see with Al-Hilal, they only conceded nine goals in the league. Of course, it鈥檚 not all about Bono, but I think he has had a big part to play in that. He鈥檚 a top player and top guy also 鈥� very friendly with everyone, always smiling. You can count on him.鈥�

While Bono has been one of Saiss鈥� best teammates, his list of toughest opponents is a long one that includes Kylian Mbappe and Romelu Lukaku. But it is another Belgian who Saiss highlights as the trickiest he has faced.

鈥淚 can talk about many, many players, but Eden Hazard was always very, very difficult,鈥� Saiss recalled. 鈥淲e want to play professional football to be able to meet these kinds of players, to play against them.

鈥淲hen I look back now, I鈥檓 very happy and proud about what I鈥檝e done in the game and the players I have played against. I have suffered against these guys too of course 鈥� that鈥檚 inevitable when you are facing such quality players. But yes, Hazard in his prime is something I will always remember.鈥�