Clarín in Spain: the day when the pain of another elimination at the World Cup coexisted with the greatest joy of the Moroccan people

The plan was perfect: for Spain to fight in the round of 16 – with Morocco or whoever it was – on December 6, a public holiday due to being Constitution Day, they dedicated the whole day to the World Cup event which the Spaniards have been following on TV since four in the afternoon – except in the Canary Islands, which are an hour less than in mainland Spain – without being able to believe that “la Roja”, as they call their national team, has not taken it.

In the run-up to the match, which began very early, former players and commentators showed strict, textbook caution in front of public television cameras. What was breathed on the street had little to do with it, where victory and passage to the next round were almost silent.

The players of Luis Enrique, who is already one foot off the Spanish national team, had not yet set foot on the field of Doha’s Education City stadium, and it was already expected that the next match would be on Saturday 10 December against the winners of Portugal – Swiss.

With diplomacy and protocol, the Spaniards sat in front of the television almost convinced that Morocco was a challenge that, with more or less sweat, La Roja would have won.

International relations between Spain and Morocco are cordial, though never relaxed. They are not going through their worst moment, especially since Spain changed its mind and supported the Moroccan proposal for Western Sahara -a territory historically coveted by Morocco-, but the unpredictable Moroccan immigration control reveals to the National Police and Spanish Guardia Civil who have no peace on the borders of Ceuta and Melilla, the two Spanish cities in African territory that border only with Morocco.

In the Plaza de España in Melilla, on the day of the match, they said with irony: “Christians against Moors”, they said, alluding to the medieval reconquest of the Iberian peninsula that put an end to more than eight centuries of Muslim domination.

Two steps away, the girls wrapped in Spanish flags and sitting in front of the flat screen of the Dolce Vita bar in the Plaza de las Culturas had waited for the party to start, bubbly and boisterous. But gradually they subsided. While a handful of men sat on the sidelines asking for more beers (beers) to bless the magical gloves of Bono, the Moroccan doorman.

During the match in which Morocco eliminated Spain from the World Cup in Qatar, the goals became a bonfire of vanity, irony and xenophobia.

“They should electrify the fence”, some Spaniards vented their anger on Twitter in reference to the fence that separates the city of Melilla from Morocco, one of the hottest spots for illegal immigration in Spain and where more than 20 people died in June people.

The desperate fervor blinded a good portion of the Spanish fans who were sure that their national team was the favourite. Perhaps they have also lost sight of the fact that one of the strikers who brought a shred of hope to La Roja was Nico Williams, the son of an African woman who managed to cross the fence of Melilla pregnant with Iñaki, Nico’s older brother.

The punishments were daggers. And more than one was affected by the Panenka-style goal by Achraf Hakimi, the defender born in Spain but who chose to play for Morocco and who with that goal transformed the Moroccans into Portugal’s future opponents.

“Spain is only eliminated on penalties. No one beats us in 120 minutes,” said the least pessimistic.

As soon as Argentine referee Fernando Rapallini whistled the penalty that gave Morocco victory, the Moroccan community living in Spain – around 900,000 according to the Institute of Statistics – took to the streets.

In Madrid, it was at the Puerta del Sol where riot police had to intervene due to jostling and brawling.

The El Raval district of Barcelona was lit up with rockets and Moroccan flags.

And in Melilla, a cacerolazo of horns was the soundtrack for more than an hour. A Guardia Civil helicopter monitored from above that the festivities did not overflow.

“Sanseacabó”, “KO Mundial” headlined sports papers in Spain. And this Wednesday, a working day between two holidays – that of the Constitution and that of the Immaculate Conception on December 8 -, it was difficult for the Spaniards to leave the house to go to work.

“If Spain doesn’t win, I would like Argentina to win. It would be unfair for a player of Messi’s stature to retire without winning a World Cup,” said Luis Enrique when Qatar was pure illusion.

Madrid. Corresponding