{"id":1265038,"date":"2022-12-14T13:00:44","date_gmt":"2022-12-14T13:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/12\/14\/world-cup-2022-morocco-coach-walid-regragui-reaps-rewards-of-investment\/"},"modified":"2022-12-14T13:00:44","modified_gmt":"2022-12-14T13:00:44","slug":"world-cup-2022-morocco-coach-walid-regragui-reaps-rewards-of-investment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/12\/14\/world-cup-2022-morocco-coach-walid-regragui-reaps-rewards-of-investment\/","title":{"rendered":"World Cup 2022: Morocco coach Walid Regragui reaps rewards of investment"},"content":{"rendered":"

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<\/span>
Dubbed \u2018avocado head\u2019, Walid Regragui has been a hugely popular and successful appointment as Morocco coach<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<\/thead>\n\n\n
Host nation:<\/strong> Qatar <\/span>Dates: <\/strong>20 November-18 December <\/span>Coverage: <\/strong>Live on BBC TV, BBC iPlayer, BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC World Service, BBC Sounds and the BBC Sport website and app. <\/span>Day-by-day TV listings<\/span> \u2013 <\/span>Full coverage details<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Morocco coach Walid Regragui already knows what it feels like to win a trophy on Qatari soil and to receive a cup from Fifa president Gianni Infantino, and the big question this week is whether he can achieve both again on Sunday. <\/span><\/p>\n

\n

A suggestion that would have provoked ridicule before the World Cup has become an ever-narrowing possibility after Regragui stunningly steered the Atlas Lions to the last four. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Having already won domestic and continental club titles this year, if the 47-year-old is to lead an African and Arab side to a first World Cup final, then he will have to knock out the country where he grew up and played nearly all his club career.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI come from the Parisian suburbs,\u201d he <\/span>has previously said. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are hungry guys there and love challenges. The more you tell us we can\u2019t make it, the more we want to try.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

This is fortunate as Regragui will face defending champions France on Wednesday (19:00 GMT), just three months after his first game in charge of Morocco. <\/span><\/p>\n

Owing to inspirational man-management and a bond with his players that is close yet strict and trustworthy, the former international has moulded a talented squad to all pull in the same direction. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe coach has managed to form this unit and that is his greatest achievement,\u201d Rachid Azzouzi, who played for Morocco at the 1998 World Cup, told BBC Sport Africa. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEvery player has respect for him and wants to carry out his plan \u2013 this is the reason they\u2019re playing so well.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Another is quite simply the belief that Regragui, who has delivered three wins and a penalty shootout success in four World Cup matches after just two victories in Morocco\u2019s previous 17, has instilled. <\/span><\/p>\n

Those close to the former Ligue 1 and La Liga defender speak of him exuding positivity, noting that Regragui\u2019s own career progressed thanks to both his professionalism and belief. <\/span><\/p>\n

He has now honed that into in his players.<\/span><\/p>\n

Witness the way he <\/span>calmly helped Munir Mohamedi<\/span> keep a clean sheet against Belgium after being called upon at the last minute; how Youssef En-Nesyri, a selection criticised by some in the Moroccan media, has become the country\u2019s <\/span>record World Cup goalscorer<\/span> after Regragui\u2019s firm backing.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018Smells like team spirit\u2019 <\/h3>\n
\"Walid<\/span><\/span>
Regragui, who won 45 caps for Morocco between 2001-2009, started every game during their run to the 2004 Nations Cup final<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Appointed in August, Regragui instantly wanted to change the team\u2019s mentality. He delivered a simple message to his squad: anybody anticipating an early exit would not go to Qatar. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf you are a small team, you need to dream and to believe,\u201d he said after Saturday\u2019s quarter-final win over Portugal.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe have elite players \u2013 [Hakim] Ziyech for Chelsea, [Noussair] Mazraoui for Bayern, [Achraf] Hakimi for Paris St-Germain \u2013 in top clubs and a team that can win World Cup games.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey have shown they are capable of that level of performance \u2013 that is important for future generations.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Before this tournament in Qatar, Morocco had beaten only Portugal (1986) and Scotland (1998) in five World Cups, with their previous best run, a second-round exit, coming 36 years ago.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, they have beaten three of the world\u2019s top 10 in a month, their on-field displays against Belgium, Spain and Portugal turbo-boosted by off-pitch support and their incredible fortitude shown by conceding just once at the finals despite such illustrious opponents.<\/span><\/p>\n

Regragui\u2019s messages have clearly rubbed off.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAs the coach said, we needed to get rid of the feeling of inferiority we had,\u201d goalkeeper Yassine Bounou said after reaching the semi-finals.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cA Moroccan player can face anyone in the world now. We have indeed changed this mentality, and the generation after us know now Moroccan players can create miracles.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

So too can Moroccan coaches.<\/span><\/p>\n

Royal approval<\/h3>\n
\"Walid<\/span><\/span>
Then Wydad Casablanca coach Regragui received his African Champions League winners medal from Fifa president Gianni Infantino in May<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The sight of a <\/span>Morocco fan waving his colours<\/span>external-link<\/title><\/svg><\/span> while driving through the country\u2019s streets is nothing unusual \u2013 certainly not this past month \u2013 but it is when the supporter is the country\u2019s state ruler. <\/span><\/p>\n

King Mohammed VI is a huge football fan who, alongside Morocco\u2019s football federation (FMRF) president Faouzi Lekjaa, is largely responsible for massive support and financial investment \u2013 unrivalled in Africa \u2013 in their country\u2019s game. <\/span><\/p>\n

In recent years, Lekjaa \u2013 a Confederation of African Football vice-president \u2013 has pulled many strings to the point whereby Morocco has often become <\/span>the<\/em> focal point for the continental game, hosting several <\/span>key meetings. <\/span><\/p>\n

On the field, Morocco have also impressed, <\/span>twice winning<\/span> the African Nations Championship (for players based in their own domestic leagues) and reaching a first <\/span>Women\u2019s Nations Cup final<\/span> and Women\u2019s World Cup this year, on top of Wydad Casablanca becoming African club champions for the third time.<\/span><\/p>\n

Handily, Lekjaa is also a <\/span>delegate government minister<\/span>external-link<\/title><\/svg><\/span> in charge of the country\u2019s budget \u2013 and with the North Africans keen on global promotion and football deemed a perfect vehicle, money is not in short supply on a continent where it is often sparse.<\/span><\/p>\n

In recent years, the FMRF has pulled no punches, investing $20m in women\u2019s football and $65m into the state-of-the-art Mohamed VI training complex which, located on the edge of Rabat, was inaugurated three years ago by the King, who had already funded an academy in his name.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yet, despite all the investment and the talent in the squad, there was a fundamental problem as the World Cup approached: star winger Ziyech had <\/span>left international football<\/span>external-link<\/title><\/svg><\/span> following a row with then coach Vahid Halilhodzic.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mazraoui had also been sidelined so Lekjaa seized the moment in August, summarily dismissing the Bosnian, then <\/span>adding Regragui,<\/span> the missing piece in his ongoing jigsaw who now had the chance to fuel the FMRF\u2019s long-advanced dream.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018Moroccan miracle\u2019 <\/h3>\n
\"Walid<\/span><\/span>
FMRF president Faouzi Lekjaa (right) brought Regragui in with a clear brief to recall Hakim Ziyech to the squad<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

African champions just once, back in 1976, the Atlas Lions have reached only one continental semi-final and now one World Cup semi in three decades \u2013 with Regragui, who played every game as Morocco finished 2004 Nations Cup runners-up, the common denominator. <\/span><\/p>\n

After a club career in Europe \u2013 with only a three-year spell at Spanish side Racing Santander taking him away from France, where he played for Ajaccio, among others \u2013 he started his coaching one in Africa.<\/span><\/p>\n

A brief stint as assistant Morocco coach ended after a reported tactical row \u2013 then he took charge of his first club in 2014 and soon led FUS Rabat to a first title in their 70-year history.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe was a player interested in tactics \u2013 the strategy of a match \u2013 who understood quickly,\u201d former Roma and Marseille boss Rudi Garcia <\/span>said shortly afterwards.<\/span>external-link<\/title><\/svg><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen he signed with FUS, he knew how he was going to manage his group and play. He used his experience as a player a lot.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Regragui added another league title with Al Duhail in Qatar in 2020, before a move to Moroccan giants Wydad delivered the club\u2019s joint-best season in a distinguished 85-year history when adding the league to <\/span>the African crown won in May.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dubbed \u2018avocado head\u2019 but a hugely popular appointment as Morocco coach, Regragui has not vastly altered the team \u2013 with just three changes between Halilhodzic\u2019s side beaten by Egypt in the <\/span>Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals<\/span> in January and Regragui\u2019s preferred World Cup line-up.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yet the changes were sizeable, as Mazraoui and Ziyech returned to the fold, while midfielder Azzedine Ounahi \u2013 one of four players in the squad from the Mohammed VI Academy \u2013 has seized his moment to shine.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Ziyech saga has been rewarded. He is a winger without a club goal or assist this season, but he has registered the most shots, crosses and assists for Morocco in Qatar \u2013 though it is his pressing that may be unrecognisable to Chelsea fans.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a clear gameplan and everyone has to work. I don\u2019t think Hakim and [Sofiane] Boufal have ever run as much in their life,\u201d said Regragui after the Portugal win.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Hakim<\/span><\/span>
Regragui, who has brought out the best in Ziyech, regularly visited Morocco as a child, speaks a local dialect and now lives in Casablanca<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Regragui\u2019s approach, typified by his defence\u2019s resolve, his midfield\u2019s energy and his forwards\u2019 flair, is to soak up pressure and hit opponents on the break.<\/span><\/p>\n

Former <\/span>international rival Didier Drogba<\/span> says Morocco\u2019s on-field attitude mirrors Regragui\u2019s as a player: \u201cA lot of intensity and technically very smart.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The former Ivory Coast striker added: \u201cHe knew how to read the game, anticipate the next phases and close down the opponent.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is good for all the African managers. It\u2019s a great example of what to do to succeed in the World Cup.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

With a squad forged in adversity during qualifying when <\/span>fleeing a military coup<\/span> in Guinea, Regragui could now become the first coach to win both a continental club title and World Cup in the same year.<\/span><\/p>\n

African coaches have rarely been in demand by European clubs but can Regragui \u2013 very much with a foot in both continents \u2013 buck that trend after dispatching some of the world\u2019s established heavyweights at this World Cup?<\/span><\/p>\n

\"BBC<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Get the latest results and goal notifications for any team at the Fifa World Cup by downloading the BBC Sport app: <\/span>Apple<\/span>external-link<\/title><\/svg><\/span> \u2013 <\/strong>Android<\/span>external-link<\/title><\/svg><\/span> \u2013 <\/strong>Amazon<\/span>external-link<\/title><\/svg><\/span><\/p>\n

\"BBC<\/span><\/span>\"BBC<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Get your daily dose of Fifa World Cup reaction, debate & analysis with <\/span>World Cup Daily<\/span> on BBC Sounds<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Around<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dubbed \u2018avocado head\u2019, Walid Regragui has been a hugely popular and successful appointment as Morocco coach Host nation: Qatar Dates: 20 November-18 December Coverage: Live on BBC TV, BBC iPlayer, BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC World Service, BBC Sounds and the BBC Sport website and app. Day-by-day TV listings \u2013 Full coverage details Morocco coach […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1265039,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1265038","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-africa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1265038","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1265038"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1265038\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1265038"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1265038"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1265038"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}