Midfielder on settling at Corinthians, compares Brazil and Morocco | OneFootball

Signed by Corinthians in March 2026 after not renewing his contract with Dalian Yingbo FC, from China, attacking midfielder Zakaria Labyad gave an exclusive interview to ge.globo and spoke about the similarities between Brazil and Morocco. The two countries will even face each other on Saturday night (13) at 7 p.m. at MetLife Stadium in the opening match of Group C of the 2026 World Cup.

“Everyone in Morocco loves football. Children play football in the streets, older people play too. Everyone follows football. All the bars and restaurants will be full to watch Morocco play in the World Cup. It has always been like that. I think the way Brazil looks at football is the same as Morocco. If you look at the fans of the big clubs, it’s crazy,” he began.

Photo: Rodrigo Coca/Corinthians Agency

Speaking about the fan bases of clubs in both countries, Labyad said that playing at Neo Química Arena is “crazy”: “You can’t compare anyone to Corinthians, because I think they have the best fans in the world. Playing at the Arena is a crazy feeling. In Morocco they also feel and love football in a different way. I see that here at Corinthians.”

Later, he shared his expectations for Morocco’s performance in the World Cup. In 2022, the Moroccans were one of the tournament’s big surprises and reached the semifinals, where they were eliminated by France, who were then defeated by Argentina in the final. He also mentioned a conversation with left-back Noussair Mazraoui, left-back for Manchester United in England, with whom he played at Bayern Munich in Germany, about matters related to the Brazilian national team.

“If you talk about Morocco, everyone will remember the 2022 World Cup. This year they can reach the same stage with a different style. In 2022 they played defensively and on the counterattack, but when I watched the last game against Norway they were building from the back. They had some very good attacking moves.”

“I spoke with Mazraoui, he is one of my best friends and plays for United. We had a conversation about the Brazil team. Both teams need to win this game, both have great stars. It will be interesting. Seeing Morocco compete against Brazil will be very interesting; it is a football country like Brazil. It’s a 50-50 game. I play in Brazil, but I’ll be rooting for Morocco,” he continued.

Then he added: “Of course we talked about Brazil, about several players. He has already played against Vinicius and other forwards. I talked about the midfielders and players who play in Brazil. They also look forward to playing against Neymar; everyone wants to play against great players. I hope Neymar is fit to face Morocco.”

After not getting many chances under coach Dorival Júnior, the midfielder started being used more after Fernando Diniz arrived at the beginning of April. Under the new coach, he scored his first two goals for Timão: the first on May 21, in the 1-1 draw against Peñarol-URU in the Libertadores group stage, and the second against Atlético-MG in Itaquera, in the 1-0 win in the Brasileirão.

In this way, the No. 52 analyzed how his adaptation to Brazilian football has been going and, in this regard, mentioned the importance of coach Fernando Diniz and the more experienced players in the squad, such as Memphis Depay and André Carrillo.

“It has been very good. My adaptation in Brazil has been easy, I already speak and understand Portuguese. Brazilians are like Moroccans, very lovely people. I already knew some players at Corinthians, like Memphis and Carrillo. They helped me. Corinthians is a big club, the pressure is huge. I’m very happy at the club, especially in the last few games when I was able to score twice to help the team.”

“I think I’m going to help the team a lot, I feel good. I’m training every day. The season is not over. We finished the first part with a good win against Grêmio. I feel great, and I’m sure I’m going to make the fans very proud.”

Labyad concluded: “I’ve had many coaches in my career. Diniz helps us a lot with and without the ball. He has a great relationship with all the players. He is very direct—when something is bad, he says it, just as he does when it’s good. I’m showing him the kind of player I am. He knows my quality now, just like everyone at Corinthians. He is a different coach, has a different style, and loves good football.”

Since arriving at Parque São Jorge, he has two goals and one assist in 14 matches (one as a starter), with seven wins, two draws, and five losses — a 54.76% success rate. Before wearing the Alvinegro shirt, he played for PSV (Netherlands), Sporting (Portugal), Vitesse (Netherlands), Fulham (England), FC Utrecht (Netherlands), Ajax (Netherlands), Yunnan Yukun (China), and Dalian Yingbo FC (China).

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.