Switzerland manager Murat Yakin has responded to Leeds United winger Noah Okafor’s public outburst earlier this season.
Watson cover comments made by the national team manager on various topics including the Leeds United player.
Okafor hasn’t represented Switzerland since November 2024. The media in his country had pinned the blame on him for this.
On October 8th, Blick reported the 25-year-old’s attitude was questionable during the last European championship. Later that month, the same newspaper stated Okafor had a misunderstanding with Yakin during the tournament.
The attacker has featured regularly since joining Daniel Farke’s side from AC Milan last August. He played over 1,200 minutes from 20 matches for the Whites, but it wasn’t enough for him to return to into the national team.
Yakin overlooked Okafor in last three international breaks, and this clearly didn’t please the latter. Two months ago, the Leeds United man publicly lashed out over his omission. He had even slammed Yakin and the national team director, Pierluigi Tami, for lack of communication.
Manager not giving up on Leeds United player
Tami had then warned the player to be patient as he wasn’t giving a positive energy to the national team camp. Yakin has now joined the director to express his disappointment.
“I think it’s a shame when dissatisfaction is aired publicly. If the team performs well and wins, a fringe player can figure out that he’ll need some patience. And the players can always call me if they want to talk,” he said.
“No [it didn’t hurt], I’m in a good position to judge. I spoke with Noah repeatedly during the European Championship year. I told him that I valued his qualities, but that he also faced competition for his position.”
With Okafor featuring regularly for Leeds United, the door remains open for him to return.
“There’s always a way. Like I said, I don’t take things like that personally and I don’t hold grudges. We’ve spoken on the phone, and I’ll be visiting him in Leeds soon,” Yakin explained.
