They’re the underdogs taking the World (Cup) by storm – and if you’re not a football fan, you’re forgiven for not being able to name a single player in the team called the Atlas Lions.
Morocco are into the semi-finals in Qatar, making history as the first African, Arab, and Muslim nation to ever reach the final four.
Along the way, they’ve beaten Belgium (world number two), Spain (7), and most recently Portugal (9) without conceding a single goal. In their group stage, they also held out Croatia for a goalless draw, the 2018 finalists who also have reached the semi-finals this time around. In fact, the only goal they have conceded all tournament was an own goal in a 2-1 win over Canada.
It is nothing short of miraculous. The team’s coach, Walid Regragui, was only appointed to the role on August 31 – and when he was appointed, the shaved-head mastermind was disparagingly labelled ‘avocado head’ by pundits in the northern African nation.
He has proved all the doubters wrong on Morocco’s miracle run, and even held an avocado next to his head, with a miniature football inside it, in a cheeky dig at his critics.
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After beating Portugal 1-0 in the quarter-finals, he declared: “When you watch Rocky, you want to support Rocky Balboa because of his hard work and commitment, and I think we’re the Rocky of this World Cup.
“We’re becoming the team that everyone loves at this World Cup, because we’re showing that even if you don’t have as much talent, if you show that desire, heart and belief, you can achieve.
“I’m sure many of you will say this is a miracle, but we’ve won without conceding against Belgium, Spain, Portugal and that’s the result of hard work.”
Morocco’s success isn’t just down to Regragui’s efforts in recent months, but is the result of a near-decade of hard work back home.
Regragui himself was born in France, where he played most of his career as a tough-nosed right back. Little wonder, then, that his team defends so stoutly against the heavyweight attacks of their more-favoured rivals.
And like Regragui, many members of his squad were born overseas: a whopping 14 of their 26 players, the most of any nation.
PSG right back Achraf Hakimi was born in Madrid. Goalkeeper Yassine ‘Bono’ Bounou was born in Canada. Chelsea forward Hakim Ziyech was born in the Netherlands, while captain Romain Saiss was one of many born in France. Much of that is due to a Moroccan diaspora across Europe – around five million people in all, with over one million settling in France and around 800,000 in Spain.
In 2014, Morocco made a concerted bid to convince foreign-born talents to represent the country of their heritage, rather than their birth.
Early the next year, Ziyech was on the brink of playing for the Netherlands national team – but decided to leave their team camp and turn his back on the nation. He debuted for Morocco later the same year, and has played a key role in their rapid rise, scoring against Canada then dispatching a penalty in the shootout win over Spain.
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The decision to select so many foreign-born players was hugely controversial in Morocco – and required a backflip after previous coach Vahid Halilhodžić exiled players like Ziyech.
But Regragui has united the side under one banner. As he declared after that stunning win over Spain: “Today, we have shown that every Moroccan is Moroccan. When he comes to the national team, when they come with their passport, he wants to die, he wants to fight for their country.
“As the coach, I was born in France, and nobody can have my heart for my country.
“What is good is that players are born in Germany, Italy, Spain, France, the Netherlands, Belgium – every country has a football culture and we have created a mixture.”
Morocco’s king, Mohammed VI, said the players embody the “hopes and dreams of Moroccans … all over the world.”
THE MOTHERS
Part of the success – and one of the key reasons they have been embraced by fans from all nations – is due to Regragui’s decision to invite the families of the players to Qatar and make them a key part of the team’s journey. All players were offered the chance for their families to enjoy an all-expenses-paid trip to Qatar. Their World Cup base – Wyndham Doha West Bay – often resembles something more like a family-organised summer camp.
“During his whole career as a player and as a coach, I never travelled to watch him,” his mother Fatima told Moroccan TV channel Arryadia. “I’ve been living in France for more than 50 years now and this is the first competition that I left Paris for.”
It goes back to something Regragui said on his very first day as Morocco’s head coach: “Our success is not possible without our parents’ happiness.”
The parents and families are in the front row at their games, or even on the pitch celebrating with the team after victories. Achraf Hakimi – one of the finest right backs in the world – has gone viral for celebrating with his mother, with the 24-year-old planting a kiss on his mother’s forehead.
“My mother was a cleaning lady and my father was a street vendor,” he told Spanish TV program, El Chiringuito. “They gave up their lives for me. They took many things away from my siblings in order for me to succeed. Today, I play for them.”
“I love you mom,” Hakimi captioned a photo of himself celebrating with his mother after the Belgium victory.
After the quarter-final victory over Portugal, 29-year-old Sofiane Boufal brought his mother down to the ground and danced in front of the singing fans.
Goalkeeper Yassine Bounou celebrated his stellar performance by having a kick-around with his young son on the field.
His boy, Isaac, donned his father’s far-too-large gloves and even dribbled the ball into the net, causing rapturous applause from Morocco fans still at the stadium.
THE FANS
And there’s been no shortage of Morocco fans in the stands roaring them on.
Qatar is home to over 15,000 Moroccans and thousands more have flooded to the nearby nation. One estimate was 50,000 Moroccans were in Doha for their quarterfinal.
At every match, their supporters have filled up over 80 per cent of the stands. Their roar of noise, drumming, dancing, and an iconic take on the classic ‘Viking clap’.
After their gutsy hold-on-for-dear-life win over Belgium Regragui declared: “I swear to God if the supporters weren’t here, we wouldn’t have advanced to the next round!”
Such was the support in Qatar that FIFA allocated an additional 5,000 tickets for Moroccans to attend the match with Spain. Morocco’s Royal Federation managed to snare more tickets – and distributed them for free. Coach Regragui even got a security guard to pull apart a fence outside the team hotel in order to give a spare ticket to a fan.
THE BIGGER CONTEXT
But the success of the Atlas Lions is about more than just one nation. Their historic journey has drawn in and enchanted fans from around the world. In what is already a memorable World Cup – the first to be held in the Middle East – the Moroccan underdogs have become the first African, Arab, and Muslim nation to ever reach the final four.
In Palestine and Tehran, fans have filled the streets in celebration just as they have in Marrakech or Casablanca
When South Africa hosted the continent’s first World Cup in 2010, Ghana’s Black Stars united Africa with their brilliant run to the quarter-finals, before falling to Uruguay in a dramatic and cruel exit. Now, it is Morocco – who also bid to host that 2010 tournament – carrying the hopes of a continent.
“Africa is back on the map of football today,” Regragui said after the Portugal win. “We had the mentality. We knew we could make history for Africa.
“We had the right attitude for our people, for us, for Africa.”
He said earlier in the tournament: ‘I am very proud of my fans, my people and Arabic people, because I think you have Qatari people, maybe Algerian people, Tunisian people, Arabic people and African people, you have a lot of countries behind our backs to make history.”
THE DREAM
Hardly anyone believed Morocco could get this far in the World Cup. Indeed, many experts declared they had no chance of making it out of a tough group.
“It’s crazy. We’re living a dream and we don’t want to wake up. I have goosebumps,” winger Sofiane Boufal said after their quarter-final.
The dream is shared by everyone in the squad.
Bounou said: “We’re in the same state as you … pinch me, I think I’m dreaming.”
The dream isn’t over.
“We can dream, why shouldn’t we dream about winning the World Cup?” said Regragui, who was one of many in tears after their quarter-final win.
“It doesn’t cost you anything to have dreams. European countries have been used to winning the World Cup …
“Anyone who plays us now will have to be at the top of their game to beat us, it won’t be easy for them, that’s the message I’m trying to send out.”
If they do reach the final, they’ll be the first nation outside Europe or South America. But no matter what happens against reigning champions France on Thursday morning (6am AEDT), the Atlas Lions have already made an impact that will ripple through world football for decades to come.
“What’s important for future generations is we’ve shown that it is possible for an African team to get to the semi-finals of the World Cup. Or even the final, why not?” Regragui said.
“These moments are great, but we’re here to change the mentality,” Bounou said. “This feeling of inferiority … we have indeed changed this mentality, and the generation coming after us will know that Moroccan players can create miracles.”
