They never took their eyes off the screen, until the explosion of joy, at the moment of victory.
"We made history", shouted the very young Moroccans - but also Tunisians, Egyptians and Africans in general -
who gathered in the private Khalifa Shisha Lounge club in via Stalingrado, on the outskirts of Bologna, at the time of the 1-0 victory against Portugal quarter finals.
An historic result - an African team has never arrived so far at the World Cup - to make one of those present shout, amidst the fumes of a hookah, "for me this victory is everything". Then the celebrations exploded, as in many cities in Italy where there are half a million Moroccans.
A joyous celebration, marred by what happened in Milan, where during the celebrations a Moroccan was seriously wounded in the neck by a stab wound: the attacker would be a man from Eastern Europe who then fled.
In Bologna, many gathered in the club on the outskirts of the city here also because the Gran Reno shopping center in Casalecchio, a favorite meeting point for many members of the local community, unlike other matches, did not screen the match, officially due to a live Christmas show, but perhaps also in
light of the tensions of last summer and autumn, when the baby gangs converged right on the Gran Reno
, causing moments of tension between patrons and exhibitors.
At least one of the Gran Reno's regulars is in fact at the Khalifa. Here, the atmosphere is tense, until the first explosion of joy with En-Neshyri's header.
Nothing comparable, however, at the moment of victory, when the fifty young people between 15 and 25 really let themselves go, at the end of the eight minutes of extra time: "Yalla!", "Alhamdulilah!", "Victory! ", the cries, to then pour into the streets of Bologna and reach the rest of the community in Piazza Maggiore where waiting for them there is a riot of celebrations, red flags with the green star, fireworks on the illuminated Two Towers.
Along the way, the older kids carry the little ones on their shoulders, throw firecrackers, sing and dance, while the cars driven by their compatriots, but also by many Italians, honk their horns to share the satisfaction.
"
In these World Cups in which Italy does not participate, I am happy with this performance by Morocco", Nicola told ANSA
.
"I share this joy - adds Fabio - and if the next match is France against Morocco, then I share even more", and he winks.
"This victory - he concludes - is the revenge of the small ones against the big ones, of David against Goliath".
Meanwhile, in Piazza del Nettuno, up to Via dell'Indipendenza and under the Two Towers, many are celebrating and Bologna looks a bit like the day when Italy won the European Championships in the summer of 2021, only that at
the instead of the tricolor flags there are those of Morocco
.
Welcomed by a jubilation of fireworks, some young people get excited and get on the traffic lights and on a van to stir up the crowd which sings and cheers partly in Italian and partly in Arabic.
Meanwhile, several armored vehicles and police officers in riot gear are lined up all along the square.