Fighting from the Heart
Against France, Morocco will not rely on miracles. They will work hard to win. Whatever the result, history has recorded extraordinary Moroccan services in the field of soccer for Africa and the Arab world.
Sindhunata
In the midst of the frenzy of Morocco's victory over Portugal, Walid Regragui slipped away. He met Fatima, his mother who was wearing a white veil. Fatima hugged her child, kissed his cheeks and forehead. No one knew what their words were. However, anyone would know, the victory was an event of the heart outside of sport. With such a heart, Morocco can continue its dreams in the world of soccer.
“Heart” is a keyword that is enlivened by the Moroccan team. Morocco is not a big or superior team. "Precisely because we are not a big team, we have to play with our heart," Regragui said. And for Regragui, the heart is none other than Morocco.
Regragui was born in France. A total of 14 Moroccan players were also born outside of Morocco. Moroccan blood flows increasingly in their heart, precisely because they do not live there. Being in another land calls them to go home. It is not possible to return to the land of Morocco. They can only return to the heart of Morocco.
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Regragui said, “I was born in France, but no one can win my Moroccan heart.” Regragui tried to make the other players rediscover their Moroccan heart. When taking over Moroccan coaching, Regragui was criticized; why are Moroccan players not chosen from those born in Morocco?
Regragui rejected this narrow view. For him it is not true that Moroccan players must be born in Morocco. For this reason, he called on 14 Moroccan players even though they were not born in Morocco. "I do not work on the basis of origin, but on the basis of competence," he said.
This choice is clearly modernist because it departs from the vision of diversity, not a narrow uniformity. This diversity is beneficial, because Moroccan players contribute themselves according to different experiences when they play in famous European clubs.
Morocco's head coach Walid Regragui is thrown in the air by players after the World Cup quarterfinal soccer match between Morocco and Portugal, at Al Thumama Stadium in Doha, Qatar, Saturday, Dec. 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
With the choice of diversity, Regragui wants to show the world that "every Moroccan is a Moroccan." That means, wherever he was born and lives, as long as he is Moroccan, he is a Moroccan. And those who have Moroccan blood must have a Moroccan heart.
It is the heart that makes Regragui feel sure that Moroccan players will definitely understand each other and can give 100 percent of themselves when they play. "We are deeply Moroccan. We have it together. There is nothing else. Each player speaks in three languages and they can understand each other," said Regragui. "We have made this team a family. Whoever plays for the national team, he is ready to fight and die for Morocco," he added.
Homeland, the Arab world, and Africa give us energy. So many people support us. By getting into the semifinals, we have written history.
Regragui believes Morocco is difficult to beat. "Homeland, the Arab world, and Africa give us energy. So many people support us. By getting into the semifinals, we have written history," he said. Indeed, Al Jazeera also reported, soccer has united Arab countries under the Moroccan banner.
And secretly, this moment of unity also contains political statements that reject superiority and those who consider the Arab world inferior, especially in the Western eyes. At the same time this moment brings memories that soccer could be a means of resistance to Western colonialism.
Exclusivism
As written by columnist Ronny Blaschke, when they came to Africa, Westerners brought the ball there. Aside from recreation, through the ball they also introduced Western values, such as discipline and progress. However, they made the ball exclusive for them. If there were indigenous people to play, they were simply colonial collaborators.
Of course, the exclusivism of the ball could not last long; indigenous inhabitants started playing soccer. They regarded soccer clubs as a symbol of resistance, such as Esperance in Tunisia, Wydad in Casablanca, Morocco and Mouloudia in Algeria.
France's Aurelien Tchouameni, left, celebrates after scoring his side's opening goal during the World Cup quarterfinal soccer match between England and France, at the Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, Qatar, Saturday, Dec. 10, 2022.
In Algeria, the emergence of this soccer club was in line with the development of nationalism. A Sunni intellectual, Abdelhamid ben Badis, founded a soccer club. Through the club, he gathered youths and instilled the values of nationalism, discipline, resistance and believed in their own strength. These values were offered as values that are no less noble with religious values. That is how the ball became a symbol of resistance in the countries of Maghrib (sunset).
Such an event easily disappears into history. Memories can arise if there are those that awaken it. And Morocco reveals that Arabs should awaken their political awareness and that they are not inferior to the West.
Through the ball, Morocco has shown the Arab world that they are able to modernize, which is not only about the ball but also in their awareness. Changing the awareness of the Arab world for modernity has long been desired by their thinkers, for example, Mohammed Sabila (1942-2021), a Moroccan modernist philosopher.
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In his work, In Defense of Reason and Modernity (2003), Sabila writes, “Don't stop at European modernity as a model. All humans must participate in building modernity. Modernity is a human horizon, where all traditions can take part. The Arab world can and must contribute to building modernity. To realize it, Arabs must use their ratio in a balanced way.
Modernity is a work of common sense and human efforts. Regragui has proven it on the soccer pitch. He refuses the assumption that Morocco’s achievement was a miracle. "This is not a miracle, but the result of hard work," he said.
Against France, Morocco will not rely on miracles. They will work hard to win. Whatever the result, history has recorded extraordinary Moroccan services in the field of soccer for Africa and the Arab world.
SINDHUNATA
Journalist
This article was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo.
