For the first time since 1998, Morocco played in the World Cup. While they failed to live up to the promise shown under veteran coach Hervé Renard, becoming mathematically eliminated after two losses, they still have plenty to be excited about. Apart from Morocco’s burgeoning talents in Hakimi Achraf and Amine Harit, who respectively turned away attention from Spain and France to represent the Atlas Lions, Morocco can take solace in the fact that their fans absolutely rocked the show. While Portuguese fans were few and far between, despite having won the Euros 2 years ago, Moroccan fans dominated the atmosphere and filled the air with their raucous songs. They echoed their hymns through the Luzhniki metro station, they bellowed out the national anthem from the top of their lungs, and they didn’t stop chanting, even after the game, when many people would be swallowing throat lozenges just to ease their hoarse throats. It was contagious passion; I found myself joining along for the occasional “Vive Le Maroc.” Furthermore, they had a sense of humor. When Cristiano Ronaldo had the ball, they would chant “Messi” and “Cristiano Vaffanculo,” (perhaps the latter is a tad abrasive, but the point stands). “Cristiano Vaffanculo” turned to “FIFA Vaffanculo” whenever the refs would fail to give a Portuguese player a booking for an aggressive tackle. Cristiano’s early goal ended any chances of Morocco progressing, but Morocco’s fans will doubtless have relished the experience to see their team compete in the biggest tournament in football for the first time in 20 years.
