Mohamed Ihattaren makes a summer transfer: ‘I’m incredibly motivated’
The gentlemen Danny Buijs and Bert van Marwijk believe that Mohamed Ihattaren can still reach the top. They are advising the Fortuna Sittard midfielder to move up a division this summer. Buijs believes Ihattaren would be better off making that move to another club, in order to give himself a “push.”
“I got to know Ihattaren up close when Mark was the coach of PSV,” says Van Marwijk in an in-depth interview with Voetbal International when discussing Fortuna Sittard’s star player. “I was at training twice a week. Mo was very young; his father was still alive. He was a gifted left-footed player. Not a troublemaker. If he now comes to understand what being a professional soccer player entails, he can still go far.”
“A lot of time and energy”
At Fortuna, Ihattaren is currently working with Buijs. “I’m putting a lot of time and energy into it,” says the head coach. “When things go well, it feels euphoric. On the other hand, there are moments when you think, ‘Damn, here we go again…’ What I find difficult is what I call the ‘scavengers’ surrounding some soccer players. They try to influence the guys just like I do, but from my perspective, in the wrong way. They want to hang around them because they find it interesting, can make money in the future, or enjoy the attention. As a coach, you can’t control that. It’s tough. These days, players don’t just have agents, but their own support teams.”
“Time for a new chapter”
Despite everything—including Ihattaren’s slumps—Buijs, like Van Marwijk, believes he can take his game to the next level. “Getting back to Mo: he’ll soon have played around thirty matches and been directly involved in twenty goals. And that’s at a club like Fortuna. It says a lot about his talent, shooting technique, set pieces, creativity, and game sense. He’ll be able to achieve those numbers at big clubs too. I agree with Bert: he needs to take the next step in what’s required of a professional soccer player. And it would be good if he does that at a higher level; that will give him a new incentive.”
