Football: Rabah Saadane Urges Fennecs' Fans Not To Pressure Mehdi Lacen

The Algerian national team coach Rabah Saadane has said that his countrymen must respect the Racing Santander player’s desire to visit North Africa before he makes his decision on whether to don Algeria's colours… 

• Saadane has told  a local sports’ magazine that fans of the Fennecs should show understanding towards Mehdi Lacen’s hesitancy towards joining their team, considering the fact that the player has never even set foot in  Algeria.
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• The trainer met with the player in Santander weeks ago to discuss his possible future in Algerian colours, but Lacen maintained his position that he would like to visit his father’s homeland before making his definitive choice on the matter.

• “We must not anticipate [his choice] and especially must not put additional pressure on him. The president of the Federation Mohamed Raouraoua contacted him a few days ago to organise his trip to Algeria. We’ll surely see what happens thereafter,” Saadane explained in the interview.

• The Algerian coach also took the opportunity to express his admiration for the Racing Santander midfielder who, in his mind, is a shining example of mental strength, considering he moved to Spain alone at the age of 20 and has managed to forge a successful career.

• Furthermore, Rabah Saadane said that he perfectly understood Lacen’s desire to visit Algeria before deciding on his international future, and even went as far as saying that he admired him for it because it shows he doesn’t want to take advantage of the Algerian national team as other players might have in his position.