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Walid Regragui hails from Corbeil-Essonnes, a large settlement on the Seine River that is in danger of being swallowed up by the urban sprawl of Paris.
A former right back, his playing career was spent predominantly in the French leagues.
For Regragui, her first connection to her Moroccan heritage growing up was school vacations spent visiting relatives there.
Delighted Morocco players throw coach Walid Regragui into the air after their win over Spain
Achraf Hakimi (No. 2) scored the decisive penalty as Morocco beat Spain in the round of 16 shoot-out.
That sparked wild celebrations in Morocco and other Arab countries on Tuesday night.
It turns out, therefore, that Regragui is the perfect man to lead a Moroccan team that is sweeping the World Cup.
For many countries, a tournament team where 14 of the 26 players were born abroad would be very problematic.
Clearly not for Morocco, whose heroic performance in beating Spain on Tuesday has led to an unexpected quarter-final against Portugal this weekend.
Regragui has not been in his post for very long – he was only appointed on August 31 – but he has very deftly handled issues of blurred identity and loyalty that would have tripped up many.
“This is what I have fought for,” he said after the victory over Spain, after receiving a standing ovation from journalists as he entered his press conference.
“Before this World Cup we had a lot of problems with the boys born in Europe and the ones not born in Morocco and many journalists said: ‘Why don’t we only play with boys born in Morocco?’
Regragui was derogatorily ridiculed as ‘avocado head’ when he was given the job in August
But the French-born coach has baffled his critics with a quarter-final run.
‘Today we have shown that every Moroccan is Moroccan. When he gets to the national team, when they come with his passport, he wants to die, he wants to fight for his country.
“As a coach, I was born in France and no one can have my heart for my country.
“The good thing is that the players are born in Germany, Italy, Spain, France, Holland, Belgium. All countries have a football culture and we have created a mix.”
That is certainly true. Right-back Achraf Hakimi, who stood out against Spain, was actually born there, in a southern suburb of the capital Madrid, and played in Real Madrid’s youth system.
Sevilla goalkeeper Yassine ‘Bono’ Bounou, who sparked an avalanche of U2 puns with his two penalty saves, was born in Montreal, Canada, before moving to Morocco.
The team captain, defender Romain Saiss, was also born in France and started out with amateur team Valence. He could continue.
Truly, Regragui is now reaping the rewards of a process nearly a decade in the making.
Moroccan goalkeeper Bono made two saves in the penalty shootout to send Spain packing
Chelsea winger Hakim Ziyech is the biggest success of a campaign to persuade footballers of Moroccan descent to play for the team rather than their country of birth.
Morocco has a diaspora throughout Europe that is close to five million. The majority, more than 1.1 million, settled in France, but there are large Moroccan communities in Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and Belgium.
The country’s football association started a campaign in 2014 to “bring back the talents that belong to the land”. Talented footballers with Moroccan ancestry would be incentivized to represent the country rather than the nation of their birth.
Chelsea winger Hakim Ziyech is undoubtedly the biggest success of this policy to date.
Born in the Dutch town of Dronten, he came close to committing to the Dutch senior team when he was called up for friendlies against the United States and Latvia in May 2015.
But there was something about Ziyech that made him leave that camp and commit to Morocco that same year. He’s probably talented enough to still be at this World Cup with the Netherlands if things had played out differently.
Moroccan fans celebrate in the streets of Paris after their World Cup victory over Spain
Morocco is well supported in Qatar, and many locals support them as well.
But what this team from diverse backgrounds needed was a coach to set them free and Regragui has proven to be that man.
Not that his appointment was universally popular. Disappointed pundits mocked the balding coach derogatoryly calling him ‘avocado head’.
To his credit, Regragui went along with the joke, posing with an avocado in a FIFA interview ahead of the World Cup. Those critics are no doubt stone-faced now.
His predecessor, Bosnian Vahid Halilhodzic, had fallen out with Ziyech over allegedly feigning injury and a ‘bad attitude’. Halilhodzic also favored a negative approach, stifling Morocco’s innate creativity.
Regragui has changed all that, allowing for more attacking expression, and yet also making Morocco incredibly resolute at the back.
Bosnian coach Vahid Halilhodzic had hoped to lead Morocco to the World Cup but was fired in August.
Morocco has become the sensation of the tournament after its victory over Spain
The only goal they have conceded in four World Cup games, and that included a penalty shootout against Spain, was one they scored themselves, an own goal by West Ham defender Nayef Aguerd against Canada.
After drawing 0-0 against Croatia, they stunned Belgium and then secured first place in Group F with a 2-1 win over the Canadians.
They didn’t exactly win an easier round of 16 draw because Spain finished behind Japan in their group. No matter.
Regragui may be a great unknown outside of Morocco, but he has proven to be a winner as a coach. He has won the Botola, the most important league in the country, with both Faith Union Sport and Wydad AC.
Regragui was born in France but embraced his Moroccan heritage, like many of his players.
The Morocco coach sympathizes with Luis Enrique after the expulsion from Spain
Wydad also won the CAF Champions League under his stewardship, beating Egyptian club Al Ahly 2-0 in the 2022 final. In between, he led Al-Duhail to Qatar Stars League success.
Unbeaten in seven games as Morocco manager, he has now become the first African manager to go that far in a World Cup.
And as the first African Arab nation to reach the quarter-finals, Morocco now enjoys the support of all of Africa and the entire Arab world as well.
“I am very proud of my fans, my people and the Arab people, because I think you have Qatari people, maybe Algerian people, Tunisian people, Arab people and African people, you have many countries behind us to make history.” Regragui said.
Whatever happens against Portugal on Saturday, Morocco has been proud. Avocados will be on the menu a lot now.