Wonder Workers from Morocco: FUS Rabat’s Road to Botola

Written by Subhajit Sengupta on April 26, 2018

2015-16 was the season of fairy tales. Leicester City won the English Premier League. Iceland went to the last eight of the European Championship. Yet far from the limelight of the twittering media, the most incredible season of football was played in the “not so popular” league of Morocco. Subhajit Sengupta at Goalden Times takes us to the land of the “Lions of the Atlas” where a modern drama was staged on football romanticism.

The 1986’s edition of the FIFA World Cup saw Morocco, the first African country to qualify for the second round of the biggest sporting event on the planet. Since then, international success hasn’t blessed the Moroccans. But that never really affected the high intensity of the football loving country. Botola, the top division league of the country is the most watched football league in the continent. In the 2010-11 season, the average attendance during the league matches was the highest in any professional football league in Africa. The popularity of the game rose to unforeseen heights and Botola ranked second [1] in the CAF 5-Zaers of leagues based on performances in African competitions over the last five years. Keeping the 92% attendance in the stadiums during matches aside, the number of eyes that remain glued to the television screen to watch their favorite team in action is astonishing as well. According to the television broadcaster’s statistics, Botola is broadcasted in 153 territories to 54 m homes and a potential audience of 2 bn people. Yet the question remains. How many people outside Africa even know about Botola? There’s hardly any football lover who doesn’t know about the El Clásico or Superclásico but how many of them are familiar with the ’Casablanca derby’? On 15th January, 2016, an article featured in copa90.com was titled “The Casablanca Derby: The World’s Best Atmosphere!” [2] In 2014, the Raja Casablanca ultras fan group aka “Green Boy Ultras” were named third in the list of world’s most fanatical supporters by “Ultras World” [3]. This is just a glimpse of the atmosphere that prevails in Morocco from September to June every year during the league season. However, the following story isn’t about the Casablanca derby but about the extraordinary journey of a team that didn’t give up dreaming and piped the superior contenders of the league on the road to win their maiden premier league trophy of the country.

FUS Rabat
Scenes from Casablanca derby

Since the inception of the league in 1956-57, it was mostly dominated by two clubs, Wydad Casablanca from the largest city of Morocco and FAR Rabat from the capital town Rabat. The two clubs share 26 league trophies between them. During the mid-90’s, the football scene in Morocco changed dramatically. Olympique de Casablanca, another local rival was dissolved right after winning the Botola in 1993-94 and in order to save their existence, they merged with another local club from Casablanca known by the name Raja Casablanca. Though Olympique de Casablanca’s financial destabilization forced to dissolve the club, their home grown talents became a treat to Raja. Their long term thirst for glory finally touched reality as they rose to become a super power and since then, the Casablanca derby became the most intense event of every season. Outside this rivalry, another club from the capital town was creeping into the three way horse race. That was Fath Union Sport aka FUS Rabat. Although they’re not as successful as their local rival FAR Rabat in terms of success in the top division league, FUS Rabat’s popularity follows a legacy that had been set up by Prince Moulay Abdallah. The son of King Mohammed V of Morocco used to be an out and out follower of FUS Rabat. Helping the club financially to land brilliant talents, attending training sessions and organizing friendly matches to boost the team mentality, Abdallah did everything in his power to make FUS Rabat a superior force in the league. Until 2015, FUS Rabat’s trophy cabinet consisted of six Coupe du Trône titles and four GNF 2 Moroccan Championship. Their biggest achievement came in 2010 as they lifted their maiden CAF Confederation Cup under Houssine Amouta’s management. But when it came to the highest achievement of the home league, they had to stay satisfied with their underdog stature. Amouta’s term had brought FUS Rabat their biggest achievement till then but the hunger still remained unsatisfied as he failed to maneuver his squad to Botola’s glory. A change was in the process and Jamal Sellami, the former Moroccan International was appointed to do the job. His three years term brought another Coupe du Trône and took FUS Rabat close to their ultimate dream of winning their maiden Botola in the 2011-12 season as they eventually had to settle as runners-up. But finishing second is just as good as finishing last and FUS Rabat board members were tired of coming home empty handed. Hence in the summer of 2014, the vastly experienced former Moroccan international Hoalid Regragui was appointed as the new manager of the club. Everyone in the club including the board members counted on his decorated club career experience in France and Spain as a player. But being an experienced player doesn’t make an experienced coach (always) and this was his first appointment as a manager, independently in charge of a team and that quickly shifted the air of expectations onto Regragui’s head.

Regragui’s opening season became a regular story of what FUS Rabat had been enduring until now. They finished fifth in the table, far from what had been expected from him. His innovative 4-2-2-1-1 formation turned out to be an absolute blunder. Playing with two wide midfielders kept the central no. 10 position void which was exploited by every opponent. Moreover deploying his key attacker Mourad Batna in left wing kept him busy overlapping up and down the ground and the lack of playmaker at the center of the field turned the forward line obtuse as spraying of defense splitting balls were totally absent.

If morning shows the day then this was more like dusk to Regragui. But much to everyone’s surprise Regragui got another opportunity and he knew this was probably his final chance to prove his worth. He needed a revamp in his strategy as well as squad depth. Unlike Europe, transfer windows don’t have a tremendous impact (more often than not) on teams in Morocco. The homegrown stars are mostly captured by either the bigger clubs from Casablanca or they move to other countries for a better career; hence free agents become the only feasible option to improve squad depth. Little could anyone foresee that the free agent duo Abderahmane El Houasli (Goalkeeper) from KAC Kénitra and playmaker Ayoub Skouma from IZK Khémisset would turn out to be the two most important signings and would play pivotal roles in Regragui’s upcoming season.

FUS Rabat’s opening fixture of 2015-16 was something no team would have welcomed. Eleven times winner Raja Casablanca came as the visiting side at the start of Regragui’s new campaign. Raja Casablanca’s last season went unexpectedly bad as they finished eighth in the table after finishing second in the table in the previous season. They too were looking  to start afresh on  a winning note but Regragui’s men showed them that they had to wait a little longer. A new 4-2-3-1 formation with Saadane, Skouma at the heart of the midfield along with Youssef El Gnaoui who was in the more advanced role played a very high pressing football that provided Mohammed Fouzair, Mourad Batna and Abdessalam Benjelloun a continuous flow of lucrative balls in the attacking third. Benjelloun assisted Fouzair just at the stroke of the half time to open the scoring. Then again in the dying seconds of injury time after 90 minutes Benjelloun provided another beautiful ball to the unmarked Batna to make it 2-0. It was just the start that Regragui wanted. Meanwhile the defending champion Wydad Casablanca started their campaign with a 4-2 victory over the other major contenders of the league FAR Rabat. After 4 weeks FUS was yet to lose a game and keeping pace with the defending champion Wydad Casablanca. Their winning run first got disrupted in the fifth week as Stade de FUS lined up for the capital derby. The match started with the perfect derby temperament as FUS took an early lead in the second minute from Adam Ennaffati’s goal. FAR had the perfect answer as Abderrahim Achchakir equalized in the sixteenth minute by converting a spot kick. FUS wanted to respond as quickly as possible but instead they lost the temper and composure. FUS’s key center back Ass Mandaw SY received a second yellow and marching orders in the 31st minute and suddenly FUS was down to ten men. FAR capitalized on the opportunity and pressed FUS even higher up the field. The result came in the 53rd minute as Achchakir scored for the second time in the match to make it 1-2. Five minutes later Mehdi Naghmi made it 1-3. The match was slowly going out of hands of FUS but they refused to sit back and defend. Nabil Baha scored in the 77th minute to make it 2-3. It seemed far from over when Baha’s goal boosted the entire FUS squad and suddenly the ten men side looked like they were twelve in number. FUS continued to launch series of attacks to the FAR half but one man advantage in a football match is a huge advantage to say the least. FAR sat back tight and closed their door efficiently and took the all important three point. Wydad Casablanca after their win over KAC Kenitra was at thirteen points leading the table. FUS was down in the fifth place with eight points trailing two places behind the newly promoted IR Tanger who were at third place with ten points.

FUS came back strong after the derby defeat as they continued their undefeated run for three consecutive weeks. Then in the ninth game week, they were up against the defending champion Wydad Casablanca. Wydad Casablanca’s victory run was recently halted by the surprise package of the season, IR Tanger after they were held in a 2-2 draw in the eighth week.  Perhaps this was the opening that Regrarui was eyeing against the defending champions. FUS was tied at 15 points with IR Tanger but were ahead of them in goal difference. So a victory against Wydad Casablanca became all the more important. This would not only state their clear dominance early in the season but also will help them to keep pace with IR Tanger who were up against OCS Safi, a weaker opponent and thereby more likely to get an easy three  points. One mistake could put IR Tanger ahead of them that in turn would make their grip on the championship slippery.

Regragui’s perfectly organized backline frustrated John Toshack’s men as they failed to make any notable inroads into FUS Rabat’s defensive half. Until the 69th minute, the match was poised for a goalless draw as both team’s organized defending cancelled each other out. Then in the 70th minute Ennaffati took advantage of Wydad Casablanca’s tired legs and opened the scoring  just ten minutes after coming on. Elsewhere IR Tanger’s sloppy defending and inconsistency became their own worst enemy as OCS Safi defeated them in their own backyard. Though it was too early to call but FUS Rabat were no longer the underdogs of Botola. The bubbles of hope were forming slowly with the eternal question looming on Hoalid Regragui’s mind…was this going to be another “so near yet so far” story?

The first Casablanca derby was in line in the twelfth game week. Both Wydad Casablanca and FUS Rabat were at 24 points and at identical goal difference of ten. Raja Casablanca had had a painful season so far having already been far away from anywhere near the top. Yet on a derby day, they were often impossible to beat and that’s all Regragui wanted. FUS too had a very difficult fixture as they travelled to Tangier for a faceoff with IR Tanger, another underdog that had not only already surprised everyone in the league but were running toe to toe with FUS and Wydad Casablanca for glory. Regragui was expecting a hard fought game at Grand Stade de Tanger. He clearly knew that victory wouldn’t come easy for them so their league position was now dependent on the Casablanca derby. A victory for Raja would ensure that even if they fail to register the 3 points, they would still be on top.

Mourad Batna in action for FUS Rabat.

There was not a single drop of sweat left to spare as Regragui’s men earned a hard fought victory over IR Tanger. Their star performer Mourad Batna rose once again to the occasion as his only goal decided their fate. As the Casablanca derby ended in a goalless draw, FUS Rabat picked the pole position in the table for the first time in twelve weeks. More than half the season was still left to play so there was hardly any space for a sigh of relief. Persistently maintaining continuity is the most challenging thing for an underdog team in any league and now Regragui’s men were the number one contenders to make it their reality. However, FUS suffered a shock defeat against KAC Kenitra in the thirteenth game week. As Wydad Casablanca failed to capitalize on the opportunity after yet another goal less draw against relegation threatened MAS Fes  FUS remained on top with only one point difference. Things became even more dramatic in the fifteenth week when FUS yet again suffered a defeat against MCO Oujda. Wydad Casablanca’s disappointing form continued as they had to endure goal less draw  in three consecutive matches. After fifteen weeks, both FUS and Wydad Casablanca were tied on 28 points. A superior goal difference kept Wydad Casablanca on top as IR Tanger were lurking just behind with 26 points. With half the season gone, Botola became interesting as ever. The most viewed league in Africa reached the pole of TRP as it was fastened into a Gordian knot.

The second half of the season started in a usual three way horse race. The unusual part was two of those three horses were the most unlikely pick. Before the start of the season, even the best of the bookies would not have picked FUS and the newly promoted IR Tanger as the contenders of Botola. And now all this had turned into reality. With fifteen games left, it could have been any of the three team’s season.

Wydad Casablanca started their second half journey in their usual manner- composed and determined to defend their title. They beat FAR Rabat in their own backyard quite convincingly while FUS and IR Tanger failed to register a win and had to be satisfied with only one point each. As the season progressed, FUS and IR Tanger seemed to lose their balance and started losing points. After the end of the eighteenth week, Wydad Casablanca were back at the top of the table with 35 points. Their closest contender FUS was at 30 points with RS Berkane, with Moghreb Tétouan and IR Tanger lurking just behind.

This was the time when the fairytale was being written with its usual manner of unthinkable events. With twelve weeks left to complete the season, Regragui had only one thing to tell his men. They were not going lose anymore points. They would give their 200% to every match and take whatever point was there to take. If they still fall short of the glory, it would be on him but they would not allow their opponents any loose ends. The inspirational speech did boost the confidence of the team but deep down Regragui knew that the FUS management was frustrated enough to let go of the glory having finished as the runner-up five times already. There was no way that FUS management would accept a similar fate again.

The great king of Scotland, Robert Bruce had to hide in a cave for his life on Rathlin Island after his six failed attempts against the mighty English force. When he was about to surrender to the enemies, he observed a spider spinning its web trying to make a connection from one end of the roof to the other. It failed six times in the process just like King Robert but refused to give up and tried its luck for the seventh time and succeeded. This little incident inspired King Robert massively and instead of surrendering, he decided to fight against the English army for the seventh time and won. FUS Rabat had finished as league runner up five times till then. This could be a similar story for the sixth time again but giving up wasn’t an option for them either. So they decided to go for it. They remained unbeaten for twelve consecutive games, won eight of them and drew four. They took 28 points from the available 36 and defeated both Wydad Casablanca and IR Tanger in the process. IR Tanger did their best too but their inexperience led to inconsistency. Defeat against OCK Khouribga and OCS Safi doomed their chances of winning their maiden Botola. On the other hand, Wydad Casablanca lost their firm grip on the trophy after four consecutive defeats in their last nine games. On 4th June, 2016, 15,000 people came with drums and vuvuzelas and flares at Stade du FUS to celebrate the magical moment of glory as Hoalid Regragui’s men defeated MCO Oujda 4-2 to lift their maiden Botola trophy.

The team behind the fairytale

Gone were the days when individual brilliance used to bring trophies in football. With time, the game’s evolution has time and again proved why it is so important to perform as a unit. In modern form of football, only a lethal goal scorer isn’t the only important part of a team. While Mourad Batna became the joint second highest goal scorer of the season with eleven goals, Abderahmane El Houasli kept fifteen clean sheets to give assurance to the back line. That’s not all. To be precise, there were twelve different goal scorers in the FUS’s league winning side. They won the key moments throughout the season. They did a double over both of their closest rivals – Wydad Casablanca and IR Tanger who finished in the second and third positions respectively. In a league where loyalty towards club is least expected, it becomes difficult for a manager to form a squad with little budget and fewer resources. This adds all the more reason to praise Hoalid Regragui’s contribution as he maneuvered his best XI forming impeccable coordination on and off the field that led to FUS Rabat’s unachievable dream come true.

Though Hoalid Regragui stayed back in the hope of rewriting few more fairy tales, the departure of his key attacker destabilized the backbone of the attacking third. His star forward Mourad Batna left to join Emirates Club and the ever growing injury of Abdessalam Benjelloun and Mohammed Fouzair continuously forced them to drop from the starting XI. Thus the creativity above the field was gone from Regragui’s team. The following season FUS finished in the seventh place in Botola. Despite an unstable team FUS went to the semifinals of the CAF Confederation Cup 2016 where they got knocked out by MO Béjaïa of Algeria with the help of away goal advantage rule. In the current edition of CAF Confederation Cup, they went to the last eight and will be up against CS Sfaxien of Tunisia, which is due in September. Though most of his winning team players are slowly moving to other clubs, the fighting spirit that he had injected into his boys made FUS a decent force in Morocco once again and thus Regragui’s hope of fairy tales continue to live.

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Subhajit Sengupta

About Subhajit Sengupta

Subhajit is a die hard Chelsea fan who loves to follow, study, discuss and analyze the beautiful game. He can be reached at @subhajitcfc