Interview with Badou Zaki, coach of Olympic Safi

For its
first match of the
championship, Olympic
Safi managed
to hold the outgoing
champion, Raja
Casablanca, at the Mohammed V Sports Complex in Casablanca. A positive result that serves
to boost the morale of Badou Zaki's protégés.
In the following interview, Zaki discusses numerous points, including his departure from WAC and his arrival at OCS, his objectives with the club,
the support of the public…
Interview

Libé: Could you tell us about your arrival at OCS from Wydad?

Badou Zaki: It must be acknowledged that I left WAC for several reasons. It is true that working within a big team like Wydad is not easy, and it is also true that I would have liked to continue with the players of this club; but it was not possible. The work seems difficult not on the pitch, but because of misunderstandings, discord, and troublemakers who negatively impact performance. My choice for OCS is based first on our commitment, as coaches, to work with all clubs needing our services. Furthermore, Safi is a big club and has enormous potential in terms of football and great ambitions.

Under what conditions did you accept the proposal from the OCS management?

The golden rule of my strategy is to work according to an objective-based approach since I have been working as a coach. It is a principle for me. I was very surprised by the proposal from the OCS management, which consists of putting the team back on the right track and then qualifying it to occupy a place among the greats. I said yes on the condition that they help me form a homogeneous, competitive, and strong team. Consequently, we will have to work hard to occupy a good place in the championship next year.

Could the support of the public be the source of your strength?

I was able to receive the message from Safi: everyone here wishes to have a great team and positive results. I gave a lot to WAC and our efforts were rewarded, except that due to bad circumstances, things went wrong with that club. It is difficult to continue under those conditions. For OCS, I firmly believe that things will be different.

Will OCS be able to guarantee this vision to successfully carry out your project?

Indeed. Since we share the same goal by avoiding anything that could compromise our process, and the club owes nothing to the players, they participate regularly in training sessions, being aware of the mission that falls to them. Perseverance and caution are the only guarantors of our enterprise.

You started your work by recruiting certain players who will occupy essential positions to compensate for the shortcomings the team suffers from, while sparing the club great expenses. How did the OCS recruitment process go?

Intelligently, of course. The new recruits are not bound by contracts to other clubs: this effectively spared us from being caught in the clutches of an "auction." We called upon those who took leave of their clubs at the end of their contracts, such as Amine Lachhab (WAF), Yacine Bayoud (Meknès), Youssef Basri (Moghreb de Fès), Yacine Bissati (HUSA), Badr Kadim (Chabab Al Massira), Hamza Hammoudi (FAR), Yacine Haddou (Nimes), and the Cameroonian Inisti Yanga. Certainly, we do not have players of great caliber, but we have a very good team.

The public of Safi weighs Zaki's mission, but they have confidence in you. How did you feel this during the friendly matches?

I appreciate this modesty of the Mesfiouis. I must make it a point of honor to be worthy of this value. However, I would like all the potential of the city to lend a hand in order to translate the project onto the field. I would like the public, which is now mine, to be by my side no matter what happens so that the results are on our side.

Is the team ready?

The ideal team is never limited to eleven, but to all the players of the club. The journey is never all flowers: one must expect everything: injuries, yellow and red cards… Everyone knows who they are and knows what they must do. We must work, fight, and show diligence and application. I think we already have the makings of a good team. We are working to remedy, along the way, everything that could harm our objective on the pitch: all elements must be ready to "function without grinding." We do not have the right to make mistakes, although to err is human.
Some see that Abdellah Maddi could take the place of the international Hamd Allah.
The technician does not see things that way. Hamd Allah is a center-forward by vocation, whereas Abdellah Maddi plays on the wings. His strength lies in his ability to serve a good striker.

Why, in your opinion, do we no longer have this type of player by vocation as we did ten years ago?

The cause is the absence of local pitches. The Moroccan footballing past is an edifying proof of this. The lack that football in Morocco suffers from lies undoubtedly in real estate. We used to play at least four matches a day. I think the supervisory authorities are called upon to revisit our memory in this regard and learn the lessons.

In the absence of local pitches, training centers could be the solution.

It is not enough. Children need a lot of space to play like in Europe. Streets and boulevards do not offer this opportunity since they are made for traffic. Training centers cannot accommodate everyone.
It is true that Safi has a national training center that gave us Hamza Hesraf, Hamza Semmoumi, Saâd Aït Alkhorsa, Er Rahouli, Abdellah Maddi, and El Bahraoui; however, if they had developed in the neighborhoods, they would be better.

Can we say that things are going well now?

The club officials and the public have been able to see the change for themselves, being aware of the rules of professionalism: good conduct, diligence, and application. Mutual respect and seriousness in work contribute greatly to our success. OCS will soon be talked about.