The superlative performance of Morocco is the main talking point in the ongoing World Cup. The dream run of Morocco seems to have unified the Arab and African world as was evident from the vociferous crowd support they enjoyed in all their matches.
The Atlas Lions as they are called, showed that they are the ‘Davids’ of the tournament flaying much stronger teams like Belgium (World No. 2), Spain (No.7) and Portugal (No. 9) Never before has an African team reached the semi-finals of the World Cup since its inception in 1936.
What is so special?
With Morocco slated to take on France on December 15, in the semi-finals it will be a great chance for the Moroccans to upstage their colonial masters and prove to the world that winning a football match in the World Cup is akin to the conquest of a world power. An interesting aspect about the Moroccan team is that it had appointed its head coach, Walid Regruai, just three months ago.
What has surprised the purists is the fact that the Moroccan team has conceded just a single goal in the last five matches it has played. Their goalkeeper Younes Bonou is regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the tournament. Incidentally, the last time Morocco competed in the FIFA World Cup in 1998, it failed to progress beyond the group stage.
One is tempted to ask what’s so special about this Moroccan team that has seen them overcome some of the biggest superpowers in world football. A closer look at the squad reveals that 14 out of their 26 players are born in European countries. You have the likes of goalkeeper Younes Bounou, who was born in Canada. Similarly, right winger Achraf Hakimi, who has had an outstanding tournament, was born in Spain, midfielder Sofyan Amrabat was born in the Netherlands and the list goes on.
Ravi Pillai, an Indian who has been associated with the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (RMFF) for a short period, was quick to point out the farsighted vision of the MSF. Speaking to Blitz India, he said, “I was in Rabbat working with the RMFF about four years ago and was astonished to see how they reached out to the Moroccan expats across Europe and America. A leading official of the RMFF would visit countries like Spain, Portugal and Netherlands in an effort to scout for talented young Moroccans playing there. The federation would maintain an updated record of all the young Moroccan players born and based abroad. They would even be monitoring their progress, something very few federations do,” said Pillai.
Migrant Moroccans
Pillai also made another very interesting observation. He said the Moroccans are one of the largest migrant populations in Europe and maintain very close ties with the country.
An estimated five million Moroccans are in Europe alone and as per a survey done by the Moroccan Government, around 62 per cent of them in the age group of 18 to 35 visits Morocco each year. This is a very high percentage and the Moroccan soccer association ensures that the national scouters travel abroad and ‘try to prevent’ the Moroccans from playing for a foreign team.
Rush for roti & chai
Katara is attracting huge crowd. But this Katara is in Doha where many are thronging the Chapati Karak shop. Whenever one visits this shop one witnesses people queueing up for their share of karak chai and roti. Their cheese chapati and nutella chapati are highly sought after. the local establishment had to create a road to facilitate the major rush.
Mats most popular
He is not as well known as some of his German team mates, nor is he the most successful in the group, but Borussia Dortmund centre back Mats Hummels is the most popular of Joachim Loew’s 23-man-squad for the World Cup, according to a study carried by the University of Hoffenheim. “Hummels personifies the charismatic competitor who is always calm and fair,” explained Markus Voeth.
Fishy situation
The Portuguese team included 200kg of Bacalao cod in their baggage for their flights from New York to Sao Paulo.The fish, a Portuguese favourite, flew alongside, amongst others, a thousand team shirts and 48 bottles of 10-year-old port. “This was to ensure that our teammates would have enough of fish— which is an important part of the diet of any footballer.”