On Monday afternoon, the Spanish team qualified for the final of Paris 2024 in a duel that transcends football.
Juanlu Sánchez celebrates scoring Spain’s second goal against Morocco in the semi-final of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games (Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
Spain defeated Morocco in the semi-final of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and qualified for the grand final, thus securing a medal. This match had the added bonus of the historical rivalry that exists between both countries and dates back more than 100 years.
Political conflicts between the two countries date back to the beginning of the 7th century, when the Muslims invaded the territory of the Iberian Peninsula and took possession of those lands until the 11th century, when the Spanish Reconquista began, which ended in 1492, when the Europeans recovered those areas.
For hundreds of years, there was friction between these nations, but in 1912 there was a turning point in the relationship: Spain and France invaded Moroccan territory and the Spanish took over the northern part of the African nation, which sowed anger and resentment among the citizens of Morocco.
Between 1956 and 1958, Morocco achieved independence from European countries, but for several years political disputes continued over certain territories, such as the cities of Ceuta and Melilla. Added to all this, the fact that the countries are divided by the Strait of Gibraltar, approximately 60 kilometres long, has recently led many Moroccans to emigrate to Spain in search of new opportunities.
Currently, it is estimated that more than 700,000 Moroccans live in Spain, and among them are a large number of footballers who were born in Europe but their parents in Morocco, or who were born in Africa but obtained Spanish citizenship.
Spain and Morocco will face each other for a place in the Olympic final. (Doug Zimmerman/ISI Photos/Getty Images)
The most emblematic case of a footballer who could have played for both national teams is that of Achraf Hakimi, right-back for Paris Saint-Germain, who was born in Madrid in 1998 but decided to represent Morocco because of his family legacy and his failed experience with the Spanish youth teams.
“I was in Las Rozas (the Spanish national team’s training centre) for a few days and I realised that it wasn’t the place for me, I didn’t feel at home. There was no specific reason, just what I felt. It wasn’t what I had grown up with at home, which was the Arab, Moroccan culture. I wanted to be here,” Hakimi told Marca years ago.
In the same note, he said that throughout his life he suffered racist acts because of his name or simply because he looked Moroccan. “Even with a Spanish passport it didn’t matter. They saw an Arab name, a Moroccan face. Whether they wanted it or not, they have racist attitudes, even without realising it. I noticed it and I still notice it because the police stop you. They think we are stealing cars. I can understand it but it always happens to the same people, to foreigners. They never stop a white and Spanish person,” he said.
Hakimi was one of Morocco’s standout players at Qatar 2022. (Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images)
The right-back was part of the Qatar 2022 squad that reached the semi-finals of the World Cup, beating out powerhouses such as Spain and Portugal, and he is also doing so in Paris 2024, where he will seek to continue making history with his country by reaching the grand final and repeating what he did in the last World Cup.
On December 6, 2022, in the round of 16 of the 2022 World Cup, the match between Spain and Morocco had an extra touch that was experienced both on the field and in the stands, where the Moroccans were the vast majority, made themselves felt and ended up celebrating their qualification to fourth place in the penalty shoot-out. In the 120 minutes of play, no different results were drawn, and in the penalty shoot-out the Moroccan team won 3-0, where Hakimi himself sentenced the penalty shoot-out.
Hakimi’s penalty to eliminate Spain from the 2022 World Cup
A similar situation is experienced by Lamine Yamal, the star of the Spanish national team at Euro 2024 who was unable to participate in the Olympic Games. The 16-year-old winger was born in Esplugas de Llobregat, Catalonia, and is of Moroccan descent, but unlike Hakimi he chose to defend the colours of the Furia Roja where he already won the continental title.
On the other hand, Brahim Díaz, current Real Madrid player, is originally from Málaga but chose to represent Morocco because of his roots, mainly because of his grandmother. “Málaga is my city, but I have Moroccan roots. I have decided this way because they have given me an opportunity, they have given me love and affection,” he said in a press conference after his decision was announced.
Yamal, Euro champion and winner of the tournament’s best young player award. (Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images)
Now, with different teams, they met again in an official competition after a year and a half, and the victory went to the Europeans, who took revenge and won a medal. Morocco reached the semi-finals as a result of winning Group B, which they shared with Argentina, Iraq and Ukraine, with the scandalous ending that took place in the duel against the Albiceleste. In the quarter-finals, they crushed the United States 4-0 and got into the top four of the tournament. For its part, Spain qualified as second in Group D behind Egypt after beating Uzbekistan and Puerto Rico, and losing to the Egyptians, while in the quarter-finals they beat Japan 3-0.
Fermin Lopez, the Barcelona gem who shines in Paris 2024. (Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)
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