NEWS
Retires! Former Salzburg Player Accuses Coach
During his time at Salzburg, Noah Okafor made the leap into the Swiss national team. Now, at just 26 years old, he is retiring from the "Nati".
Noah Okafor is temporarily putting an end to his career with the Swiss national team.
The 26-year-old announced his retirement in a detailed statement, effective "until further notice".
Okafor cites his treatment by national coach Murat Yakin as the reason. He states that his decision has nothing to do with a lack of playing time.
Clarifying Talk with Yakin After the Euros
Okafor had long hoped for an improvement in the situation. A clarifying talk with Yakin and members of the coaching staff a year after the Euros initially gave him a good feeling and cleared up misunderstandings.
However, at the World Cup, he was particularly disappointed by the way he was treated.
According to Okafor, during the match against Algeria, even small errors – far from his own goal – were reacted to in a way that "deeply affected" him. He describes this as the "most difficult period" of his career so far.
In the weeks that followed, the decision eventually matured that he no longer wanted to play for Switzerland under Yakin for the time being.
