Paulo Duarte turned Ilaix Moriba's absence from Guinea's camp into a public rebuke on the eve of the match with Eritrea. The coach said the Celta Vigo midfielder did not travel because of physical discomfort, but he also went after Moriba over a dispute involving the number 10 shirt already worn by Aliou Baldé for two years.
The number 10 dispute
Duarte's complaint was not subtle. Speaking to Estadio Deportivo, he said Moriba wanted the 10 shirt despite Baldé already wearing it, and added: "Maybe you are still too small to wear the 10." He also pushed back on the idea that a shirt number changes selection status, saying: "If you have the 10, are you going to play?"
The Guinea coach's broader point was about hierarchy. His criticism framed the issue as ego, not merit, and he made that plain when he said, "when you have a very big ego, you only care about yourself." Moriba's club form does not really support the idea that he is short on involvement either.
The midfielder has made 12 La Liga appearances for Celta this season and logged 899 minutes. He has also played three times in the UEFA Europa League, which makes this look more like a clash over status and squad politics than a question of whether he is in rhythm.
The awkward part for Guinea is that the public swipe came while Moriba was already away from the camp for physical discomfort. Duarte has chosen to make the shirt issue part of the story anyway, and he did it in blunt terms before facing Eritrea.
Written by Daniel Hartley with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 2 outlets. How we work →
