Morocco’s Amine Harit Praises Coach Regragui, Discusses AFCON Prospects

"It was important to find a Moroccan coach, someone who has the same vision, this love for the country. I’m not saying that non-Moroccan coaches don’t have this love, but it’s 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’s no patriotic love. He came with a lot of determination, Walid," comments Amine Harit in an interview with RMC Sport. The work of the national coach allowed Morocco to reach the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, thus becoming the first African country to reach this stage of the competition. According to the 26-year-old player, Walid Regragui knew the ins and outs. "The fact that he was young, that he was a former international, that played a huge role. He knew the ins and outs, what to do or not, and above all he talks 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." He also praises the atmosphere prevailing in the den of the Atlas Lions: "For a group that lives together for a month, a month and a half, when you manage to have this peace of mind, to have a group that gets along well no matter what, I think for him it’s wonderful. Our relationship with him, before being professional, it’s family. It’s as if he was our big brother."

Amine Harit also spoke about his recovery after his serious injury on November 13, 2022. After missing the World Cup, he will participate in the 2024 AFCON in Côte d’Ivoire. "I had prepared for this eventuality, I was well equipped in terms of recovery machines, etc. It’s not a lie. I think that, I who didn’t believe much in this kind of thing, I realize that it can help physically. I have no muscle pain, thank God, and I hope it will continue like this. But I’m very happy. It’s one of the big satisfactions of the start of my season, my ability to recover and to chain the matches. Before my injury, when I was still doing well, I couldn’t chain like I’ve been able to chain lately," he confides. The Moroccan international says he has worked harder to be ready for the AFCON because he did not want to miss two competitions in a row with his country. "(...) especially since at the World Cup, it went super well, so it left me a little heartache. It was a big source of motivation for me to cling to this dream of returning to the national team."

According to the attacking midfielder of Olympique de Marseille, Senegal, the defending champion, is the outright favorite for the next edition of the AFCON. "It’s Senegal who won the last Africa Cup of Nations so they are the favorites. After I think we also have a very, very good team. There is also Côte d’Ivoire who is hosting the competition, so we will have to take them seriously. There are a lot of countries with quality, but an AFCON is not won just with quality, there is self-denial, determination and mental strength," he analyzes, noting that "these are the things that will make the difference and I think it’s even." He did not mention the Fennecs, but he still thinks that "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 in the last AFCON (eliminated in the group stage, editor’s note) and didn’t qualify for the World Cup. When you see the names of the players they have... People have forgotten a bit, but it won’t do them any harm. I think it’s rather a strength when people don’t talk about you much. I think it can be a very nice surprise in this Africa Cup of Nations."