For the first time in the history of football, an African team qualified, on Saturday, for a World Cup semi-final.
by Mustapha Kessous ( Casablanca (Morocco), Special Envoy)
They don’t have the words. The emotion is too strong, dizzying, stunning. In recent hours, a new feeling has embarked on millions of Moroccans, young or older. How to contain this intense feeling? If not to run without knowing why; accelerate in a scooter in the middle of the crowd; Embred a stranger as if he were his brother; Take a picture with your parents to immortalize this unique moment; Tighten the red banner with the green star as if it were the most precious of the fabrics; Dancing with his best friends to lose their minds like tireless dervishes. And scream, too, to be heard throughout the country.
Saturday, December 10, Morocco struck Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the living legends of football, in the quarter-finals of the World Cup (1-0). This victory is historic: never, since the creation of this tournament in 1930, an African team had reached the last square.
just after The end of the match, the people of Casablanca went to pour out of the United Nations. Thousands of people, gathered to celebrate their national team, displayed the same, bright smile. Tonight, we saw the heart of “Casa” beat hard, very strong. “It’s an unforgettable moment, says Abdelhraman Tahidi, 28, the body wrapped in the flag. I would never have thought that we would arrive at this stage of competition. It is a dream that becomes reality. To be Honest, I can’t believe it. ” Ismaël Raouy, a 28-year-old merchant, says he is calm by qualification for the next round: “Frankly, we feel good”, he says.
“Tonight, we are all The same family “
The youyous resonate in the sky of Casablanca. We vibrate to the sour sound of the horns or to the rhythms of the Darboukas. We fall for smoke. We sing the national anthem together. There is even a man who disguised himself as … Santa Claus. Drunkenness carries, children at “Hadjas” (old). Executives, unemployed, schoolchildren, undocumented … “Tonight, we are all of the same family”, proclaims Chems, 15, dressed in the white jersey flocked Hakim Ziyech, the selection guide. She does not have the words, like the others, to say her “pride” to belong to the African First Nation in the semi-finals of a World Cup.
“It is monumental: we are the first country to represent our continent, the Arabs and the Muslims. This victory gives us a great ambition”, welcomes Youssef, 26, engineer in the automobile. Ousmane Mbow, a 35 -year -old Senegalese technician, dressed in the Lions de la Teranga jersey, abounds: “We share this joy with Moroccans, we are together.”
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