Moroccan champions Raja Casablanca were the toast of the nation on Wednesday after they became only the second African club to reach the final of the Club World Cup.
The unfancied side, coached by Tunisian Faouzi Benzarti, struck two late goals in Marrakech on Tuesday to knock out favoured South American champions Atletico Mineiro 3-1 and reach Saturday’s final against Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich.
The win meant that Raja equalled Congolese club TP Mazembe who lost the 2010 final against Inter Milan
However, unlike Mazembe, Raja did not even qualify for the tournament, taking part only because they are the champions of the host country – making their achievement all the more unlikely.
Casablanca-born midfielder Mouhssine Moutouali struck a pressure penalty in the 84th minute to give Benzarti’s men a crucial 2-1 lead before Central African Republic international Vianney Madibe capped a glorious night in Raja’s history with their third goal deep into stoppage time.
It was another feather in the cap for their 63 year old coach, who has enjoyed three spells at the helm of his national team and also won the African Champions League in 1994 with Esperance and only took over on the eve of the tournament.
“I have believed in my team since the start of the tournament because they’re extremely talented. It was an excellent performance today (Wednesday) in all areas against a strong Brazilian team with fantastic players,” Benzarti told Fifa.com.
“It’s no accident that we’re in the final - it’s the product of hard work. My thanks go to our unbelievable fans, their support is immensely valuable to us and we aim to make them happy in return,” added the technician who only took over as Raja coach, two weeks ahead of the tournament when Mohamed Fakhir was fired.
“Now we have to recover as quickly as possible before our final preparations for the final against Bayern Munich.
“They’re a fantastic team who won three titles last season, and in Pep Guardiola they have a great coach who has already embedded his football philosophy in the team.
“But we’ll go into the final with confidence too, believe in ourselves and give our all once more.” he added.
For his Brazilian counterpart Cuca, it was a blow for the Copa Libertadores champions, who are playing at the tournament for the first time but must now settle for a third place play-off against Asian champions Guangzhou Evergrande on Saturday.
“We didn’t perform well and we never gained control of the match in the way we would have liked,” explained the former striker.
“We came back after going behind and pushed for the winning goal in the second half but unfortunately we then made a mistake and conceded an unnecessary goal.
“We threw everything forward at the end and got caught by a decisive counter-attack. We have to accept this defeat and apologise to our fans, who we have disappointed after they made this long journey to support us.” concluded Cuca.
For Raja, an unexpected chance to defeat European champions Bayern Munich awaits them on Saturday in Marrakech and a chance to become the first African team to win the year ending showpiece tournament.
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Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
'The Batman'
Stars:Robert Pattinson
Director:Matt Reeves
Rating: 5/5
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
The drill
Recharge as needed, says Mat Dryden: “We try to make it a rule that every two to three months, even if it’s for four days, we get away, get some time together, recharge, refresh.” The couple take an hour a day to check into their businesses and that’s it.
Stick to the schedule, says Mike Addo: “We have an entire wall known as ‘The Lab,’ covered with colour-coded Post-it notes dedicated to our joint weekly planner, content board, marketing strategy, trends, ideas and upcoming meetings.”
Be a team, suggests Addo: “When training together, you have to trust in each other’s abilities. Otherwise working out together very quickly becomes one person training the other.”
Pull your weight, says Thuymi Do: “To do what we do, there definitely can be no lazy member of the team.”
