14 July 2011
Raja Casablanca are three-time CAF Champions League winners, but the 2011 competition represents their first foray into the group stage in six years. The reigning Moroccan champions will fancy their chances in a wide open Group A that also features Enyimba, Al Hilal and Coton Sport.
State of the team
As the 2010/11 Moroccan GNF 1 champions, Raja Casablanca are a team in very good shape. They finished seven points clear of second-placed Maghreb Fes and managed to win an impressive 18 of their 30 matches in what is generally considered a very competitive league.
They boasted the best attack (45 goals scored) and equal third best defence (23 goals conceded).
In the preliminary stages of the CAF Champions League, they racked up an incredible 10-1 win over Chad minnows Tourbillon before squeezing past Stade Malien (on the away goals rule) and ASEC Mimosas (on penalties after a 1-1 draw in a one-legged playoff).
The tough ties against Malien and ASEC should ensure that Raja are battle-hardened and well aware of the difficult task lying ahead of them in Group A.
Strengths
Raja’s attack promises to be one of the most potent of the teams left in the competition.
They were easily the highest scorers in their domestic league and their 10-1 dismantling of Tourbillon in the first preliminary round underlined their potency in attack.
The Green Eagles also have a strong winning mentality. Their championship success on the domestic front is prime evidence of this; as is the way in which they scored a late equaliser in their last preliminary match against ASEC and went on to win the penalty shootout to advance to the group stage.
Weaknesses
The big question mark regarding Raja is how they will react to new coach Ilie Balaci (see below).
Mohamed Fakhir was the man who guided the Greens to their league success and he clearly had a strong bond with his players, but he lost patience with political interference from the upper reaches of the club and left. Balaci has previous experience of working in Casablanca, but that was the better part of two decades ago.
If he is unable to establish a good working relationship with his playing staff – and quickly – then Raja may find themselves in trouble.
The coach
Romanian Ilie Balaci became Raja Casablanca’s coach in July 2011, taking over from Mohamed Fakhir.
The 54-year-old is entering his second spell as a manager in North African football. He coached Tunisia’s Club Africain between 1990 and 1992 and then spent the next two years at Olympique Casablanca in Morocco.
From 1994 onwards he has moved between jobs in Romania and the Middle East, coaching several different sides from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
He inherits a team that is in very good shape and as a result will be under immediate pressure to produce good results, particularly in the CAF Champions League.
Squad
Goalkeepers: Yassine El Had, Younes Ataba, Tarik El Jarmouni
Defenders: Elamine Erbate, Hicham Mahdoufi, Mohamed Oulhaj, Rachid Soulaimani, Souleymane Demba, Ismail Belmaalam
Midfielders: Mohsine Moutouali, Lancine Kone, Bilal Danguir, Abdessamad Ouhakki, Nabil Masloub, Hassan Alas, Abdelmoula Berrabeh, Kouko Guehi, Mamadou Baila Traore
Forwards: Hassan Souari, Hassan Tir, Bouchaib El Moubarki, Yassine Salhi, Hicham Aboucherouane
Click here for player profiles
Fixtures
16/07/11Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Raja Casablanca v Coton Sport
29/07/11Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Al Hilal v Raja Casablanca
14/08/11Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Enyimba v Raja Casablanca
26/08/11Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Raja Casablanca v Enyimba
10/09/11Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Coton Sport v Raja Casablanca
18/09/11Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Raja Casablanca v Al Hilal