2024-01-01 08:31:06
A few days before the start of the African Cup (January 13-February 11), OM midfielder Amine Harit talks to RMC Sport about his recovery after his serious injury last year, the progress of African football, Morocco’s status as favorite at the CAN or even the work of its coach Walid Regragui.
How do you manage physically when your injury of November 13, 2022 is not that far away?
I had prepared myself for this eventuality, I was well equipped in terms of recovery machine etc… It’s not a lie. I think that, although I didn’t really believe in this kind of thing, I realize that it can help on a physical level. I don’t have any muscle pain, thank goodness, and I hope it continues like this. But I’m very happy. It’s one of the big satisfactions of my start to the season, my ability to recover and continue the matches. Before my injury, when I was still well, I couldn’t keep going like I’ve been able to keep going lately.
How did you receive your selection with Morocco in September?
It was a goal for me to return to the selection as soon as possible, to be able to find this group again after having lost sight of it for some time. It’s something that pushed me to work harder to be ready for the Africa Cup because I didn’t want to miss two competitions in a row with my country, especially since the World Cup, that went really well, so it left me with a little pang in my heart. It was a big source of motivation for me to hold on to this dream of returning to the selection.
Was the objective therefore to arrive in good shape with Morocco?
Of course, it’s clear I have two objectives in mind: to be available for the resumption of the championship in August with OM and to participate in the African Cup in Ivory Coast. I was on time even though the doctors and surgeons were skeptical about my recovery in August and I gave myself the means to achieve my goals.
“We feel that people are more and more interested in African football”
Who is the favorite for CAN 2024?
It was Senegal who won the last African Cup so they are favorites. Afterwards I think we have a very, very good team too. There is also Ivory Coast which is organizing the competition so we will have to take them seriously. There are a lot of countries with quality, but a CAN is not only won with quality, there is self-sacrifice, determination and mentality. These are the things that will make the difference and I think it’s worth it.
As a Moroccan, you don’t have the right to mention Algeria?
Algeria is a team to be reckoned with. There are a lot of people who don’t take them seriously because they weren’t good at the last CAN (elimination in the group stage, editor’s note) and weren’t qualified for the World Cup. . When we see the names of the players they have available… People have forgotten a little, but that won’t hurt them. I think it’s more of a strength when people don’t talk about you a lot. I think it could be a very nice surprise in this African Cup.
Do you measure the progress made by African football?
We feel that people are more and more interested in African football. This is due to performances in the World Cup, and not just Morocco. Ghana showed a very good face, Tunisia too, which won against the France team. It is beneficial for Africa, for the CAN, to attract a little more attention to us, to show the beautiful face of Africa, not just the few concerns that can be pointed out at times. . It’s going to be a very good CAN in a country like Ivory Coast where the infrastructure has been worked on to be able to give this standing to the African Cup and no longer take this competition lightly. It’s going to be a very, very good competition, even one of the best CANs in history.
“Regragui, it’s like he’s our big brother”
For Morocco, what should we keep and change in relation to the World Cup?
It’s been a long time since Morocco went very far like this in a major international competition. Especially since it was a World Cup so even more effort, pressure, enthusiasm. It’s mentally and physically tiring. I think that the thing that will help us the most is to have learned to manage a group, to manage a workforce. We ended up with almost 13-14 players (available) out of the 23 selected. From a tactical point of view, the coach has learned a lot about managing the group. We have a squad that is even stronger with many more players of very, very high quality. Getting to the semi-final of the World Cup is never easy, but the hardest part is repeating it. What matters in the end is the titles, it’s what remains written. It will always be written that Morocco was the first African country to reach the last four of a World Cup but it is even more beautiful to write history and remain engraved in a trophy. Whether we say we were African champions or world champions in the future, I hope, we will learn to manage our emotions and work as a team. It was done very well during the World Cup but not to rely on the past because the past is forgotten and there is only the present and the future that count.
What does Walid Regragui bring as Moroccan coach?
It was important to find a Moroccan coach, someone who has the same vision, this love for the country. I’m not saying that coaches who are not Moroccan don’t have this love, but it is different. It’s not a love of the homeland, it’s a love of their work, of wanting to give a good image of Morocco, but there is no this patriotic love. He came with a lot of determination, Walid. The fact that he was young, that he was a former international, played a huge role. He knew the ropes, what to do and what not to do, and above all he spoke to us as if we were his friends. It creates a relationship where you say “for this person, I can leave my leg on the field”. He managed to create a homogeneous team, (there is) no status, no people who are not happy to be on the bench, no headaches. For a group that lives together for a month, a month and a half, when you manage to have that peace of mind, to have a group that gets along well no matter what, I think that for him it’s Magnificent. Our relationship with him, before being professional, is family. It’s like he’s our big brother.
“We have a lot of things to gain, even more than football. Reconciling people, these are things that matter to us”
How much does the Moroccan community push you?
The beautiful thing, which puts a lot of pressure, is the World Cup. When you come out of a World Cup like that, people expect you to win from behind and we feel it. We feel it when we are in Morocco, when people talk to us, we feel that they are thirsty for victories and that they are waiting for us. You shouldn’t miss it. We are mentally ready to respond to the fight and restore pride to this people. When we experienced what we were able to experience during the World Cup, this enthusiasm, the post-World Cup where there are crazy emotions… I also think of Algeria when they won the African Cup, images of the party. I think we have a lot to gain even more than football by doing something good at this African Cup. Reconciling people is something that matters to us. We know that football has a huge impact in Africa, in Europe, everywhere. It’s a sport but it’s also political, football. It’s up to us to do everything in our power to make all these people proud.
Do you know in what position you will play with Morocco?
With OM at the moment, I am not “ten” despite what people may think, I am more of a relay, “eight” who starts from lower down. That’s what I prefer, being able to come and look for balls a little lower, breaking lines by dribbling or passing. Afterwards I know that he may need me on the side, inside the selection coach. I’m ready to play anywhere but I’m going to say it again because this question has been following me for months: yes I prefer to play in midfield!
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