The lessons of a victory

We can think what we want of football in general, bring out the expressions without appeal, forged from the ancient era to modern times – “Panem et circenses” and “Opium of the peoples”-, dwell for hours on its dormitory virtues, its logic of commodification or its function as an outlet…

But, enough of the killjoy!

Without being an aficionado in normal times, how can you remain insensitive to this dazzling victory of the Moroccan team at the World Cup!

Beyond the immediate magic of the game, and whatever the consequences of the results, there are still essential lessons to be learned, the effects of which benefit from being extended over time.

First, confidence in ourselves and in our potential.

“One of the keys to success is self-confidence. One of the keys to self-confidence is preparation,” said American tennis player and writer Arthur Ashe.

Yes, dreams can become reality, if only effort, rigor, perseverance, willpower are put into it; as long as we banish, whether in homes, at school, in business or in the political world, all defeatist discourse, all toxic spirals and draw the beneficial positive energy necessary to surpass ourselves and to surpass mental barriers.

Walid Regragui summed it all up with this expression, rooted in our culture and in our beliefs: “Dirou Niya!”, an invocation of the extraordinary power of intention and what results from it as the universal law of attraction.

Morocco’s victory is also the dazzling expression of a communion. The communion between players, whether they come from emigration or from the local championship, all united by the same feeling of belonging, under the direction of their charismatic and unifying conductor.

Communion among all the components of the nation, in the four corners of the Kingdom and outside the borders, thanks to our rich diaspora which illustrates this maxim, heard this week from the mouth of a close relative: “We can take the Moroccan out of Morocco but we cannot can get Morocco out of the Moroccan”.

Elementary evidence that Joan Josep Pallas, editor at the newspaper, does not seem to understand La Vanguardia, published in Barcelona, ​​which probably only represents itself and which is not to a bitter end in the direction of the one he calls “the neighbor downstairs”

Let us remember the recent designation of “Selection of the UN”.

“Hakim Ziyech, the main star, wasn’t even born in Morocco. He was born in Dronten, a city in the Netherlands. He doesn’t speak Arabic either. He plays with Morocco because he feels closer to the flag of his parents than to the country where they settled. “It’s stupid,” complained Dutch legend Marco Van Basten, unable to understand why Ziyech chose Morocco over the Netherlands.

Still, it’s not that hard to figure out! Everyone remains free to choose the country of their heart, as players with Spanish nationality have done, like the Brazilian Diego Costa, the Frenchman Aymeric Laporte, the Bissau-Guinean Ansu Fati, and so on.

The communion is also obviously that of the people and their king, one of whose illustrations is this symbolic scene of His Majesty wearing the uniform of the national selection and going out in the middle of the crowd, in Rabat, to share the same immeasurable joy.

Outside the borders of the Kingdom this time, to instantly see all these sequences of jubilation around the world, made possible thanks to the magic of the Net, we say to ourselves that in the space of a few matches, the Atlas Lions , representatives of Morocco but also of Africa and the Arab world, have instilled hope by succeeding in the feat of bringing together what politics has kept away and revealing the aspiration of peoples to unity, despite the divergences manifested by a certain fossilized power, its media channels and its dissonant trolls.

Beyond football, some have seen in this qualification nothing less than a revenge of the South against the North, although signs of brotherhood have arisen here and there, transcending all barriers and proving that football can also be a tremendous lesson in dialogue between peoples and civilisations.

With his pen, dipped in his usual caustic raillery, the Syrian satirical writer, Kheder Almaghout, called in substance for Morocco to be kicked out of the Arab League for having violated the sacrosanct principle of Arab defeatism, inherited from generation to generation in all areas, lest he win the World Cup, thus deviating from the all-troubled path of Arab historical failure.

As for the state of mind in the Western world, the Italian Marco Barato, a law graduate and specialist in the history of relations between Europe and the Mediterranean, also expressed, in his article devoted to the historic achievement of the Moroccan national team in Qatar, a point of view that can be roughly translated in these terms:

“Morocco’s historic qualification is not a footballing victory, it’s a lesson. It’s a lesson not to judge, not to look at the world only from a Western-centric point of view, but to realize that there has always been an interdependent world. It is up to us to open our hearts and minds.”

Football, it is now well known, is the continuation of politics by other means, as well as an important financial windfall and an effective soft power, contributing by this qualification to the international influence of modern Morocco.

The Morocco that makes you dream with its quiet strength like Yassine Bounou, both energetic and serene, conquering hearts with her irresistible smile, the perfect representation of confidence and optimism.