Moroccan coach, Walid Regragui, has made history by becoming the first African coach to lead his national team to the quarter finals of the FIFA World Cup.
After a 0-0 stalemate against favorites Spain in Round of 16, The Atlas Lions shocked the world by beating the Spaniards 3-0 on penalties.
In the past, African nations led by foreigners reached the quarter finals of the World Cup three times. The first African team to go beyond the group of 16 was Cameroon in 1990. The Indomitable Lions coached by Russian Valeri Nepomniach had talented players such as Francois Oman-Biyik, Roger Milla and Cyrille Makanaky.
The feat was repeated by Frenchman, Bruno Metsu, with Senegal’s Lions of Teranga in 2002 when the team had at its disposal a classy player, El Hadji Diouf.
Ghana’s Black Stars had the best chance to qualify to the semifinals under Serbian Coach Milovan Rajevac, but Uruguayan Luis Suarez’s goal line handball in the last seconds of extra time and a missed penalty by Asamoah Gyan saw Africa failing to break the semi-finals jinx.
For the first time in the history of the World Cup, the five African teams in Qatar were all coached by locals and a lot was expected from them for a continent yet to win or reach the semifinals of the football showcase. The question though is: Has this experiment with local talent worked for Africa at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar?
Zimbabwean sports commentator and former football star, More Moyo, says Moroccan coach, Walid Regragui is the most outstanding with his tactical abilities that saw his side defeat one the tournament’s favorite and highly fancied Spain.
“For me Morocco has been the most outstanding, as they are not conceding.” He added, “Ghana lacked luck and Senegal lacked the finishing touch. The loss of star forward Sadio Mane was telling. Cameroon never showed up.”
The first African coach to reach the Round of 16 is the late Nigerian Stephen Keshi in 2014. Regragui also made history by becoming the fourth coach in Africa and second in his country’s history to go to the Round of 16 without tasting defeat. The feat was accomplished by Cameroon in 2002, Morocco in 1986 and Senegal in 2002.
This year, of the five local coaches at Qatar, three coaches failed to equal Keshi’s record as Cameroon’s Rigobert Song, Ghana’s Otto Addo and Tunisia’s Jalel Kadri were sent packing in the first round.
Addo has already stepped down after his team failed to beat sworn enemy, Uruguay needing a draw to qualify to the last 16.
Said Addo, “I said before, it was clear I would stop after the World Cup. At the moment, me and my family see our future in Germany, I like my role at Dortmund,” he told reporters.
He said, “I said I would resign after the World Cup even if we were world champions,” he added.
Kadri told reporters after his side’s elimination despite beating France-1-0 that, “It’s a historic win for us over the defending champions, but we wanted to qualify for the next round,”
He added, “Unfortunately, we exited the tournament, but we also left the game with a lot of honor and pride,”
Two coaches Cisse and Regragui managed to reach the knockout stages of the competition. Senegal was completely outclassed by a surging England and lost 3-0. Morocco and Senegal repeated the 2014 FIFA World Cup achievement when two Africa teams reached the Round of 16.
There were notably victories for African coaches who bowed out early though as Cameroon became the first team to beat 5-time winners, Brazil, in the FIFA World Cup. The match was decided by a header by the impressive Vincent Aboubakar.
The last time and African team had beaten a South American side was in 1990 when Cameroon beat Diego Maradona’s Argentina. Song called the latest achievemrnt a “historic victory.” Tunisia beat defending champions France 1-0 another major achievement for Africa.