Former Moroccan director: Ashraf has feared rejection of Spanish churches to affect contract with Real Madrid

Born on May 29, Ashraf, born in Madrid, Spain, had the opportunity to play for the Spanish national team, but eventually chose to play for Morocco (both parents are Moroccan). Former Moroccan technical director Lagate talked about the process of the players making this decision in an interview with The Team.

How to discover Ashraf's?

"A Moroccan scout in Spain, Rabbi Tacassa, deserves our respect. He knows all Moroccans from Spain, Italy, Germany and other places. When I was the technical director of the national team, I decided to hold a training camp for the U17 in 2015, and convened 24 Moroccan domestic players, 14 from Europe, including five or six from Tacassa, among which Ashraf. He was already very outstanding at the time, and he ran amazingly at the age of 17. I don’t know why, out of some intuition, I gave it to you. He was full of love for our national team and always kept calling to ask about the next training camp. Later we participated in the UNAF (North African Football League) Championship, and that time we won the championship. Ashraf was our captain, which was the first trophy in his life. From then on, he has been an indispensable part of the team until one day, something inevitable happened..."

The Spanish national team recruited him?

"Yes, it's what Tacasa told me that they can no longer reach him, neither himself nor his father. It's usually him calling Tacasa, so I asked them why they didn't reply to Tacasa's phone. He said he admitted that he had a problem because he received a call from Spain and he was a little scared and worried about what impact it would have on his contract with Real Madrid if he didn't go. I told him: 'I suggest you go so you can compare and then make a choice based on your heart.'" Is it easy to decide?

"No, he was a little confused when he came back. At that time, I decided to go to Madrid to meet him with his dad and two of his Spanish agents. We met at a hotel and I told him: 'If you chose Spain, you are still Moroccan, we will always be your strongest supporters. Even if you play for Spain, we will be happy for you. But if you choose Morocco, we will be even happier.' Then I asked him: Who are the full-backs in Spain? He listed the names of Carvajal, Nacho and others, and one Some young players from the U17. What about Morocco? ‘Diral…and Michael Cheretien.’ I said to him: ‘I can’t guarantee anything, but with your ability and hard work, you will have more opportunities to play in the Moroccan national team, but the final choice is for you! Give you half an hour to consider, and I have to talk to other players.’ Half an hour later, when I came back, he said to me: ‘I decided, just Morocco!’”

” Then I recommended Ashraf to the then Moroccan coach Renal before the players played for Real Madrid’s first team. Say to him: ‘I never ask you for anything except give a young player with great potential a chance.’ So he called Ashraf on the second training camp. At the beginning, Ashraf was a little shy, but everyone knew what happened later… To be honest, when I met his agent, I was still a little worried because they were all Spaniards and I thought things might have ended here. But they were great and didn’t put any pressure on the players. Frankly speaking, Ashraf had a deep relationship with Morocco, and he was in the cultural environment of Morocco Growing up. In Spain, Morocco's history of immigration is shorter than France or Belgium. At first, he didn't understand why he was not selected for the first training camp. He was anxious and called me (laughs). Now, Ashraf is still the good guy in his memory. Every time I send a message to congratulate him, he will reply. He could have ignored me, which is normal, because his success is entirely based on his own efforts. I feel extremely proud to see him reaching such a high level today. Among the competitions I have seen, he is the best in the world in his position. "