French they will face Morocco in the semifinals World Cup 2022. This match will be a meeting between the forwards of Les Bleus, Olivier Giroud and Atlas Lion trainer, Walid Reragui.
According to Get French Football News, the two defended together Grenoblewho was then playing in Ligue 1, in the summer of 2008. Giroud, a graduate of the Grenoble academy, had just returned from a season on loan at Istres.
Reragugui had actually joined since the summer of 2007, but when he was signed, Giroud had rushed to Istres. Thus, the two only became teammates in 2008.
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Giroud went crazy at the 2022 World Cup scoring 4 goals so far. Photo: Getty Images/Catherine Ivill
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But at that moment there was a contrast between Giroud and Reragugui. The former is still 22 and building a career, while the latter is 32 and at the end of his career.
Together both did not last long i.e. only two months. They also only played together once, namely for 45 minutes in the pre-season match against Strasbourg. Subsequently, Giroud was released in Tours for about 150 thousand euros.
Meanwhile, Reragui remained at Grenoble, coached by Mehmed Bazdarevic, and led his team to 13th place in the final standings of the 2008-09 French championship. Later, he moved to the Moroccan club Moghreb Tetouan and finished his career there.
 Walid Reragui led Morocco to the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup for the first time. Photo: Getty Images/Alexander Hassenstein |
14 years later, the two will meet again. Giroud, now 36, has full experience and is earning trophies playing for clubs like Montpellier, Arsenal, Chelsea, and is currently defending Milan. He also led France to win the 2018 World Cup.
Whereas Reragugui, now 47, may have had an average playing career, but at management level he is a capable coach. In his hands, Wydad AC won the African Champions League last season.
He was then recruited by the Moroccan national team, and successfully led Hakim Ziyech et al to the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup, the best result ever achieved by representatives of the black continent in history.
Check out the 2022 World Cup information collection here!
(adp/pur)
