Mustapha Hadji sees Barcelona influence in Mohamed Wahbi’s approach

Mustapha Hadji sees Barcelona’s influence in Mohamed Wahbi’s football. The former Morocco international believes the coach has several ways to shape his attack and rejects the suggestion that the national team faces a centre-forward crisis. He also says Moroccans continue to cheer Lamine Yamal, although the player represents Spain rather than the Atlas Lions.

Asked whether Morocco lacked a genuine No. 9, Hadji pointed to the range of options available to Wahbi. In his view, the coach can adjust his system and is not reliant on one type of striker. “We have young attacking options who shone at the Youth World Cup, including Yassir Zabiri, who plays in the Spanish league, and I do not think there is a crisis in that position in the Moroccan national team,” he said.

Hadji also recalled that Saibari led the attack at the World Cup despite not being a conventional centre-forward. To Hadji, that experience shows how the central role can be given to a player whose attributes allow him to serve different purposes. He said Saibari can play as a No. 9, an attacking midfielder or on either flank: several roles for one player, depending on the coach’s choices.

Hadji links Barcelona’s influence to this attacking flexibility. “Wahbi can use a false nine, as Pep Guardiola did with Barcelona in the past and Hansi Flick does today,” he explained. The comparison is not just about placing a particular player up front. In Hadji’s account, it reflects an approach that can change the team’s shape rather than rely on a specialist striker.

The former international also spoke about the bond he says Moroccans still feel with Yamal. “40 million Moroccans cheer for Yamal,” he said. Hadji says the player is loved and supported in Morocco despite wearing Spain’s colours, and that many regard him as having Moroccan blood. He added that Yamal was young when he chose his national team and faced pressure; turning down the chance to play for Spain could, in Hadji’s view, have been difficult at that age.

For context on Yamal’s international career, Kooora reports that he first played for Spain in September 2023. The outlet also credits him with two titles over the three years it refers to—the World Cup and the European Championship—while he is still 19. Those details help frame the choice Hadji discusses, without diminishing the Moroccan support he describes.