Adam Bakoni and the backstage equation: 1.92m in Morocco's defensive line

In the first three training sessions at the Giussy Training Center, I noticed a detail that few mentioned: Adam Bakoni was about a head taller than his teammates in the same position. He wasn't standing in the defensive line — he was standing in the third row, among the forwards, as if instinct had already pulled him forward. This is a 20-year-old, born in Poland, with a Moroccan father and Italian mother, who has just officially chosen to wear Morocco's jersey instead of continuing his journey with Italy's youth system.

This decision didn't come overnight. Bakoni had worn Italy's youth jerseys for years, from U15 to U19. But last summer, when Morocco's U23 squad list was announced for two friendlies against Mali and Tanzania, his name appeared — and that was the clearest signal of the direction he had chosen. The article on Goal.com called this "a new victory in the thorny file" of the Moroccan Football Federation, and suggested that Morocco may have found a successor to Achraf Hakimi.

But that very article, in a middle paragraph, wrote directly: "Casting Bakoni as the heir to 27-year-old Achraf Hakimi is premature." That's what I want to address — not to deny the boy's talent, but to understand the real picture behind a national team selection decision.

Morocco's landscape: How crowded is the right-back position?

Let's start with the defensive lineup Morocco currently possesses. Hakimi, 27, is the undisputed choice at right-back — the right-back of Paris Saint-Germain, who scored at the 2026 World Cup and became a symbol of Morocco's generation. Behind him, Noussair Mazraoui, 28, currently at Manchester United, was a natural right-back at club level but is used at left-back for the national team. Then there's Zakaria El Ouahdi, 24, who has made an impressive breakthrough into the senior national team calculations. And Omar El Hilali, 23, playing in the Spanish league, is pursuing more caps for Morocco.

That's four names, all in their late twenties or early thirties, all with experience at major tournaments or in pre-peak phases. Bakoni, at 20, is the youngest — but also the least established of this group.

At Monza, the team competing in Serie A, Bakoni has only made three league appearances this season. He is not yet a regular starter in the lineup. That's a reality anyone reading the Goal.com article can see, even if the headline suggests otherwise. I have been following many Serie A matches this season, and I notice that a young player without a firm position at the club usually needs at least another season to establish himself. Bakoni is only at the beginning of that process.

1.92m: Extraordinary physical attribute or disadvantage?

There is one detail that makes me think more than the national team decision. Bakoni's height of 1.92m is "unusual for a position that leans heavily on speed and attacking energy," as the article itself noted. I have seen many tall right-backs in my career, but 1.92m is a number that makes one ask: what role is he really suited for?

In modern football, right-backs typically stand between 1.70m and 1.80m — short enough to have a low center of gravity, quick enough to track opposing wingers. Bakoni is not that type of player. He is taller, probably heavier, and possibly less agile in tight spaces. But that height brings a different advantage: aerial ability.

I recall what I observed at the 2026 World Cup — Morocco had to face many set pieces from European opponents. A right-back standing 1.92m could become a target in the opponent's box during corner kicks, and also a defensive aerial shield at the home end. This is a physical profile that makes one wonder: is Morocco thinking of a different role for him, rather than a traditional attacking right-back?

The article also mentions that Bakoni can play at right-back or push further forward as a right winger. This versatility is an advantage — a coach can carry one player instead of two. But it is also a trap: when you can play multiple positions, you are easily seen as "a player for many places" but not truly excellent anywhere. I have seen many players fall into that cycle — minutes fragmented, development slowing, eventually becoming names on a long bench list.

Morocco is playing a long game

What I find most interesting is not Bakoni's case, but the broader picture it paints. In that same U23 call-up, Morocco also summoned Kais Bari — a player who previously wore Belgium's youth jersey, son of Ivorian legend Kolo Toure — and Amir Bouhamdi. Both came from European academies, have Moroccan heritage, and are in their developmental years.

This is not a coincidence. This is a systematic recruitment program by the Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF), targeting Moroccan-heritage players who grew up and were trained at top European academies. This strategy was proven effective at the 2026 World Cup, when Morocco had in the squad many players born and raised in Europe but who chose to wear the jersey of their ancestors.

More importantly, Morocco will co-host the 2030 World Cup alongside Spain and Portugal. That is a timeline any federation must calculate. Hakimi will be 34 in 2030. Mazraoui will be 35. El Ouahdi will be 31, El Hilali will be 30. And Bakoni will be 26 — at the peak of his career.

Morocco is building a right-back line for the 2029-2032 period, and they are betting on the youngest names right now, when recruitment costs are still low and development time is still long.

The headline trap

I want to return to an important point: the Goal.com article itself wrote that calling Bakoni "Hakimi's successor" is premature. But the headline poses that question as if it were a real possibility. This is a familiar pattern in sports journalism — creating an appealing question, then letting the body answer cautiously. Readers usually only remember the headline.

I have witnessed this many times in my career. A young player is labeled "the successor to a legend," then judged against expectations they never set themselves. When they fail — and many will fail, because that is the nature of youth football — the story becomes "an overhyped talent." But the reality is, no one can evaluate a player who has only played three Serie A matches.

The article also says Bakoni's future has been "settled" — but the evidence is only that he was called up to the U23 squad for friendlies. These are matches not part of FIFA's binding system for youth players, with no sporting commitment. The official process to change national teams under FIFA regulations is still ongoing, and the official result still needs confirmation.

What to watch next

What will Bakoni do in the next 12-18 months? That is the most important question. If he starts playing regularly at Monza — or moves to another club where he can get more playing time — the path to Morocco's national team will become more realistic. If not, he will remain forever in the state of "promising player" that never becomes reality.

I will also watch whether European federations — Italy, Belgium, Spain — react in any way to Morocco's diaspora recruitment strategy. One reaction could be these federations trying to "tie down" young players by giving them senior national team appearances earlier, before Morocco can approach them.

As for Morocco, this is a long game. They are building a squad for the 2030 World Cup, and they are betting on the youngest, cheapest players with the longest development time. Bakoni is part of that game — not a star, but a knight. And in football, knights are sometimes as important as rooks.

But I still remember the image of Bakoni standing among the forwards in that first training session — taller than everyone, as if he had already found a position different from what the system had assigned. Perhaps that is the real clue to his future.