Rabat – Nostalgia never felt this good. Youssef Hadji, Jawad Zairi, Abdeslam Ouaddou, and Walid Regragui on the same field again? It is happening!
All the Moroccan supporters who experienced rollercoaster emotions during the 2004 Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) will be excited to know that a Gala game between the Moroccan football players of the 2004 CAN and Brazilian stars is expected to take place in Larache’s municipal stadium on July 27 at 5 PM.
The unforgettable Moroccan team will be coached by Badou Zaki, who led the Atlas Lions to the final where they were defeated 2-1 by Tunisia.
Retrouvailles avec mes anciens camarades de l’épopée de la CAN 2004, le 27 juillet prochain à Larache pour un match de Gala face aux stars du Brésil! ? #MAROC #CAN2004 #BRESIL pic.twitter.com/xNqZUzLpTA
— Walid Regragui (@WalidRegraguiof) July 9, 2018
Former Atlas Lion Walid Regragui joyfully announced the news on his twitter account. “Reunion with my old teammates of the epic 2004 CAN on July 27 in Larache for a Gala match against the stars of Brazil,” he wrote.
According to le Matin, this football game will benefit the children of the Wifaq Center, an organization that cares for people with special needs. It is organized by Wifaq Center in collaboration with Amruk Association of Moroccan Residents in the United Kingdom.
Tickets for the match are available at Khay Ahmed Restaurant, Ibn Khaldoun Pharmacy, Makram Mobil, Café Paloma, and Ahram Bookshop.
February 14, 2004 will always be a special date for Morocco. It was the first time ever that Moroccans inside and outside the country gathered in huge crowds to express their love and admiration, a love of a different kind:their passion for football.
Despite Morocco’s defeat that in the African Nations’ Cup that day,. Moroccans went out in massive crowds in the main streets whistling and screaming with joy, “We lost the cup, but we won a young prosperous team and a great coach.”
To Moroccans, this wasn’t a defeat. They agreed that the team’s qualification to the CAN 2004 finals was itself a source of pride for all Moroccans and a reincarnation of Moroccan football after their 1976 CAN Cup Championship victory.
