Moroccans are born where they want

Romain Saiss celebrates with Hakim Ziyech after beating Spain. DYLAN MARTINEZ (REUTERS)

In this search for a formula that accelerates Mexico's transformation into the winning team it dreams of becoming, we will focus today on the great surprise of the World Cup in Qatar: Morocco.

You probably know this, but of the 26 called up for the Cup, the executioners of the Spanish tiki taka only have 12 footballers born in their territory.

Morocco disputes the tournament with 14 footballers not born in their country.

Yassine Bounou (the Sevilla goalkeeper, who surprised the world in the penalty shootout), Munir Mohamedi, Romain Saïss, Achraf Hakimi, Noussair Mazraoui, Sofyan Amrabat, Selim Amallah, Amine Harit, Ilias Chair, Bilal El Khannous, Hakim Ziyech, Sofiane Boufal, Zakaria Aboukhlal and Walid Cheddira are the 14 "returnees", but selected loyalists who feel the flag, the colors and the faith.

One example is Achraf Hakimi, who recently explained why he made the decision to play for the Atlas Lions: “I tried with the Spanish team, but I saw that it wasn't my place, I didn't feel at home.

It was not for anything in particular, but for what I felt, because it was not what I had sucked and lived at home, which is the Arab culture, being Moroccan.

I wanted to be in the Moroccan team”.

Another identical case is that of Hakim Ziyech, who in 2015 decided to reject the call of a Clockwork Orange, when he began to stand out with the Dutch Twente.

At the time, Marco van Basten described his decision as "stupid".

And so here is the question, how many similar cases will Mexico have throughout the world?

And I say this because when Guille Franco, Gabriel Caballero, Sinha or Rogelio Funes Mori were called, to name a few of the last naturalized summoned to World Cups by El Tri, they were never fully accepted by the fans.

But when talking about Mexican Americans, like Alex Zendejas, from America, or even Marcelo Flores, born in Canada - who speaks very little Spanish, with English ancestry, but with a Mexican father - the perception changes radically.

In addition, as happens with almost all the top 20 teams, Mexico would also like to open up to the world, to diversity in biotypes, mentality and customs.

And what better, as in the case of Moroccans, for pleasure and not for money.

Benjamín Galdames, Mexican by birth, but who has lived in Chile since he was a child with his father, former Cruz Azul player Pablo Galdames, is another of the young soccer players who have already been tested with the Mexican national team to have them in their portfolio.

Same case of Julián Araujo and Efraín Álvarez, born in the United States, both LA Galaxy players, who have joined the list of footballers that Gerardo Martino was forced to call up once, under pressure from the FMF.

Alejandro Gómez

is director of AS Mexico.

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