On the square in front of the Prince Moulay Abdellah stadium this Sunday there was an atmosphere of going green. Rather than euphoria, it was the tension of the most important meeting in the history of Moroccan football that hovered in the cloudy sky of Rabat.
“I am focused and ready to give everything for the national team,” promised, three hours before kick-off, Nizar Alioua, from Lyon, as if he were about to enter the pitch. “We too, the supporters, have an important role to play, the coach says it at every press conference. He gives us instructions, it’s up to us to respect them,” adds the 26-year-old data analyst.
World Cups 2018 and 2022, Olympic Games 2024… The Franco-Moroccan attended all of Morocco’s last world competitions in the company of his uncle Youssef Malouane and his stuffed lion Assad, but the three friends are experiencing their first African Cup of Nations.
And for the first time, they passed the obstacle of the semi-finals where their team had stopped during the last two international tournaments experienced in the stands. “We have just one step left to get the Cup! », Underlines Nizar, whose uncle rather expresses his apprehension as the final approaches.
“There are family members who left and were waiting to see this”
“We’re stressed, we haven’t slept since last night. It’s been 50 years since we won it, we’ve experienced a lot of disillusionment,” reports the 32-year-old executive in the IT sector, who notably evokes the painful memory of the 2004 CAN final lost to the host country Tunisia. Youssef highlights the “exceptional moment” experienced by Morocco this Sunday, which particularly resonates with its family history. “There are family members who left and were waiting to see this. Today, we represent them,” proclaims the OL supporter, who prioritizes the national destiny of his country in his club’s Championship match against Brest this Sunday evening.
He predicts a 2-0 success for Walid Regragui’s players against Senegal, with a goal from Brahim Diaz who would, according to this scenario, overtake the 1976 African champion Ahmed Farras, who died in July, in the ranking of the best Moroccan scorers in the African Cup of Nations, for the first participation of the Real Madrid winger in the continental tournament.
Amid the sound of drums, a fifty-year-old dressed in an Atlas Lions jersey sings “Dima Maghrib” with the vocal power of an opera singer. Around thirty members of his family, who came from Montauban to attend the final, were trembling with impatience before the match. “It’s stressful, but even if we struggle with penalties, Bounou will save us,” promises Lina El Bermin, 14, to reassure the happy troop.
A Moroccan heir to “Lumumba”
The Atlas Lions can also count on the silent encouragement of Mohcine Homara, who will remain impassive for the first 10 minutes in tribute to Michel Kuka Mboladinga, known as “Lumumba Vea”, the regular DRC fan who became a star of the CAN after remaining standing during the entirety of his team’s matches.
Dressed in a blue cape reminiscent of Michel’s, Mohcine, who could be taken for the unofficial double of Marseille influencer Mohamed Henni, explains that he has resumed this ritual since the semi-final against Nigeria out of “solidarity” with the Congolese supporter and to celebrate “Moroccan pride”. And this support resonates, to see the ten or so Moroccan supporters who escort him to the entrance of the stadium to guide the Atlas Lions towards success.
“The Moroccans fill the stadium, we come home with the Cup! »
Khadim firmly believes in victory. But for the native of Dakar, who has resided in Rabat since 2021, it is Senegal which will be crowned African champion. “We are in a day of success, you can feel it,” says the 30-year-old tax specialist. We have to give the country a second star, everyone there is hot. » The only downside for him and his wife Mariem: the price of the tickets that they are desperately trying to find to be part of the party in the stands. “€1,500 per place, even for a final, it’s not possible,” he whispers. But don’t worry, with or without a ticket, the Lions will be with Senegal this evening! »
Many supporters of the Lions of Teranga find themselves in this situation. “The Moroccans fill the stadium, we come home with the cup! », says a Senegalese fan without a ticket, dressed in a scarf in the colors of his country, before being chased from the surroundings of the enclosure by security agents. The summit duel between Morocco and Senegal also takes place in the stands, where the deafening clamor of Moroccan supporters responds to the incessant dancing of Senegalese fans of the Twelfth Gaïndé, but especially in the streets of Rabat where supporters will undoubtedly show their joy regardless of which team emerges victorious from this final.
