By Alasdair Howorth, CNN
After three hours of constant noise, Education City Stadium fell into library-like silence as Achraf Hakimi stepped over the penalty spot.
Hakimi was born in Madrid and the weight of Africa and the Arab world rested on his shoulders, but you would never have guessed it when Paris Saint-Germain coolly put the ball into the net and sparked wild celebrations not just in the stadium, but in Morocco as well. and for the Moroccan diaspora.
This was a historic day for Morocco, for Africa, for the Arabs and for the Muslims. The Atlas Lions had roared to upset Spain, winners of the 2010 World Cup, and reach the quarter-finals of Qatar 2022. The significance of the occasion was not lost on coach Walid Regragui.
“Before it was only the Moroccans who supported us,” he said before the game against Spain. “Now it’s the Africans and the Arabs.”
For many, it was the surprise of the tournament, as the North Africans won their first World Cup knockout match. But how did Morocco reach the final eight of the most prestigious competition in world football?
The return of the chosen son of Morocco
Many were shocked when the Moroccan federation made the decision to sack Vahid Halilhodžić in August, just over three months before the World Cup after the Bosnian coach guided the team to qualification for Qatar 2022.
But for those in Morocco, he was the heir to the Moroccan coaching throne simply taking his place at the perfect time.
Affectionately nicknamed “Rass l’Avocat” (Avocado Head) for his bald pate, Regragui was a tough-tackling defender who, despite being born in France, chose to represent his family’s nation, earning 45 caps.
Since becoming manager, Regragui has enjoyed success everywhere he’s been, leading Moroccan mid-table club FUS Rabat to their only league title.
He had a brief spell in Qatar, where he won the league with Al Duhail SC, before returning to Morocco, where he led Wydad Cassablanca to a league and Champions League double earlier this year.
It was a question of when, not if he would take over the team. Many Moroccans thought it could be after the World Cup or in a few years, but none were unhappy when it was announced that he would take over the national team less than 100 days before his first World Cup game.
In African football, Regragui has often been compared to José Mourinho thanks to his tactical discipline and stellar man-management skills. Both have been present at the World Cup.
Morocco has played over 400 minutes of football in the tournament and negotiated a penalty shootout, and yet the Atlas Lions have conceded only once, and that was an unfortunate own goal against Canada in the last match of the Team group F.
After the dramatic victory on penalties against Spain, a video circulated on social media of Regragui running into the stands and hugging and kissing his mother who was in the crowd.
Regragui is a Moroccan born in France. He has assembled the most nationally diverse team at the World Cup (14 of the 26 players were born outside of Morocco from six different countries) and has seamlessly integrated this group of players from around the world into a cohesive unit.
World Cup tournaments can be emotionally difficult to navigate – players are away from home for weeks – but Regragui has countered that by allowing player families to stay with the team at camp in Qatar.
Just like the emotional video of Regragui hugging his mother, one of the most tender photos of the World Cup was that of Hakimi kissing his mother after Morocco’s victory over Spain.
It’s not just the players who have had their families with them. Regragui himself was filmed going to the stands to visit her mother Fátima de ella, who told Moroccan broadcaster Arriyadia how much she meant to her.
“During his entire career as a player and as a coach, I never traveled to see him,” Fatima said. “I have lived in France for more than 50 years and this is the first competition for which I left Paris.”
A Federation that takes football seriously
The Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FMRF) must also be credited with the success of the Atlas Lions in Qatar 2022.
After decades of football mediocrity, the FMRF, with the backing of King Mohammed VI, decided to reform the nation’s football structure.
In 2009, the FMRF inaugurated its national football academy, the Mohamed VI Football Academy, which helped develop current international players such as Nayef Aguerd and Youssef En-Nesryi, as well as trying to discover talent in the Moroccan diaspora by employing scouts from across Europe to score any eligible youth player in Europe.
The federation also began investing in women’s football, developing school and club football, as well as creating a national league structure. Funded by the FMRF, Morocco is currently the only nation in the world to have two levels of women’s football that are fully professional.
The jewel in the crown of Moroccan football investment is the Mohamed VI Football Complex on the outskirts of Rabat.
The training complex contains four five-star hotels, eight FIFA-standard pitches, one of which is covered in a climate-controlled building, as well as a medical center including a dentist.
That investment over the past decade has begun to pay off.
For the first time in history, Moroccan clubs are the holders of the men’s and women’s African Champions League titles, as well as the men’s Confederations Cup, the African Europa League.
Morocco is also the champion of the African Nations Championship, a continental tournament in which nations field teams exclusively with players playing at the national level, while the women’s team came second in the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations earlier this year and he qualified for his first World Cup.
Morocco’s World Cup success may be the tournament’s best story yet, but it is not the result of luck and courage, but experience and planning.
The CNN Wire
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