DIn my life, I would have lived two historical moments of paramount importance: the return of King Mohammed V (1909-1961), it was November 16, 1956 (return which led to the independence of Morocco), and the qualification, on December 10, of the Atlas Lions for the semi-final of the Football World Cup. Two events which have nothing to do with each other but which produced an exceptional effect on the entire Moroccan people. Euphoric crowds, flags in the wind, men, women and children mixed in a common joy, in a spontaneous, sincere and lively celebration.
Sunday evening, I went with friends to the Casablanca corniche. We were on foot, holding the Moroccan flag in our hands, crazy with happiness, our happy tears flowed, and our pride gave us an energy that we could not suspect.
I, who am not a football fan, am stuck in a phenomenon that is beyond comprehension. I watched the four matches that Morocco played. A passion that I did not know myself. Heart pounding, nerves on edge, extreme tension, gaze obsessed with the screen, I became someone else. I memorized the names of the players. Most play in European teams. Some come from popular neighborhoods of Casablanca such as Atyat Allah, Jawad El Yamiq, Achraf Dari, Yahya Jabrane and Azzedine Ounahi. Some have been trained at the Mohammed VI Academy.
Symbols rain down in the media
I know everything about the life of coach Walid Regragui. His mother, a cleaner at Orly. Him playing in small teams. A modest man who believes in hard work and a job well done. He doesn’t like to talk about luck or chance. Only the rigor of the work and the perseverance count for him. He rigorously applied this method to the Atlas Lions.
I admit I found it hard to believe, to see this magnificent crowd walking in the main avenues of this cornice which had become pedestrian for one evening, we realized that what we had seen on the TV screens was a reality : Morocco qualified to play the semi-final. Later in the evening, we will learn that it will be against France.
Symbols of all kinds are raining down in the media. Some journalists talk about the current crisis between the two countries and the possibility of overcoming it through football. While I was watching the France-England match with my friends, I was in another tension. I wanted France to win and I was afraid that they would face my other country, Morocco.
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