Some people say that the French team in the World Cup in Qatar is a "fake" European team, obviously from a predominantly white Europe, but there are more blacks than whites in the team. Coincidentally, there is also a "fake" African team at the World Cup in Qatar, obviously from black-dominated Africa, but the vast majority of the players in the team are white.
Their name is Morocco!
When we think of the name Morocco, many of us easily think of the place where "F1" cars are played. But in fact these are two different countries, the latter of which is actually called "Monaco". Although the names of the two countries are only one word different, the reality is very different.
First of all, in terms of economy, Monaco is one of the richest countries in the world, with a per capita GDP of $190,000 in 2021, and a random person on the street can be a millionaire. Morocco, on the other hand, is a developing country that has not yet completely lifted itself out of poverty, with a per capita of just over $3,400 in 2021, not even a fraction of Monaco's.
Secondly, in terms of national scale, Monaco is one of the smallest countries in the world, with a land area of only 2.08 square kilometers and a population of less than 40,000. Morocco, on the other hand, currently covers an area of about 460,000 square kilometers and has a population of more than 36 million, which is obviously much larger than Monaco.
Finally, geographically, Monaco is located in the south of France and is a proper European country. Morocco, on the other hand, is located at the northwestern tip of Africa and belongs to African countries. So Morocco and Monaco are two completely different places, so don't get confused.
Like the World Cup squad, Morocco is an African country, but it doesn't feel African at all. Because in this country, not as hot and barren as our impression of Africa, the comfortable and pleasant Mediterranean climate occupies most of Morocco, at a glance, lush flowers and picturesque.
And because of this comfortable environment, Morocco is also known as the "back garden of Africa". Of course, more importantly, in Morocco you can see white people on the streets, and there are rich European-style buildings everywhere, and people who don't know think they are in Europe.
The reason why Morocco, an African country, is so "not African" is mainly due to its special location.
Morocco is located in the northwest corner of North Africa, with the vast Sahara Desert to the south, and the Atlas Mountains in between. The remoteness of Morocco combined with the natural geographical barrier of desert and mountains has left Morocco far from the core civilization circle of the African continent, and it is difficult for sub-Saharan blacks to penetrate into it.
Morocco, meanwhile, is north by the Mediterranean Sea and continental Europe, just a water away from the Iberian Peninsula, where Spain is located. So compared to the black Africans on the same continent, those white Europeans are actually more likely to land on this land. So from the beginning, the land of Morocco was where white people lived. For example, the earliest Berbers who settled here in history are actually a branch of the white race.
In fact, this is true not only for Morocco, but for the entire North African region. This is due to the location of North Africa bordering the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Sahara to the south.
Of course, in addition to the whites from Europe, Arabs are also the majority ethnic group in Morocco. As early as the 7th century BC, the Arabs who were adept at business and exploration began to infiltrate Morocco and successfully established an Arab state of Islam in the 8th century.
However, because Morocco is so remote, the Arab Empire did not exercise long-term de facto rule like other North African countries, and for a long time it was the Moroccans themselves who played again, and the Berbers and Arabs took turns. The Ottoman Empire, which later fought invincible throughout the Arab world, was also unable to include it in the territory because it was beyond its reach.
Morocco was able to develop steadily without the threat of external powers. By the 16th century, Morocco had become a powerful man in North Africa and the entire African continent. Even the Songhai Empire, known as the ceiling of ancient African black civilization, had a bit of a hard time with Morocco. Even in the end, the Songhai Empire collapsed under the invasion of the Moroccan army, thus announcing the end of black civilization.
The Qingshan Building outside the mountain has its own strong hand. At a time when European powers were already on the rise, Morocco could dominate the continent, but it could not avoid colonization.
In August 1415, the Portuguese landed in Port Ceuta, beginning the first steps of European colonization of Morocco. In the decades that followed, the Portuguese encroached on Moroccan lands, and many Moroccan port cities, including Tangier and Azizila, became Portuguese strongholds.
Of course, as Africa's top power, Morocco is not a soft persimmon, and the local nobles have always insisted on resisting. On the Portuguese side, with the expansion of territory, supplies and troops became more and more tense, and the colonial process began to become more and more difficult.
Portugal is just a small country on the Iberian Peninsula, and its own strength is not strong. The reason why it can become the hegemon of the sea, with colonies all over the world, is only because it stepped on the wind of the times. It is naturally fine to let him bully the uncivilized natives of Asia, Africa or the Americas, but when facing Morocco, which has long dealt with Europeans, the advantage is not so great.
In 1578, the Portuguese suffered a crushing defeat at Fort Kebil in Morocco, and King Sebastian died in the chaos. The defeat of this war was undoubtedly a declaration of Portuguese defeat in Morocco. But for Morocco, its own crisis is not over.
After all, Portugal was only a small player, inconspicuous among the many colonial powers in Europe, and the fact that Morocco could resist their colonization did not mean that they had the strength to resist Europe. In fact, even against Portugal, Morocco does not have much advantage, more because of the support of the Ottoman Empire.
It was precisely because the Ottoman Empire monopolized Europe's trade routes to the East that the Portuguese had to choose to open a new shipping route in the Atlantic, thus opening the colonial era. The opening of this new route made it impossible for the Ottoman Empire to collect tolls as before. Therefore, the Ottoman Empire has never been very interested in Portugal, and Morocco itself is an Arab partner attached to him, so it is naturally reasonable to make a move.
You must know that the Ottoman Empire at that time was very fierce, almost dominating the entire Mediterranean, and Europeans really did not have much temper in front of them. So with the protection of the Ottoman Empire, let alone the Portuguese could not eat Morocco, even the Spaniards and French did not dare to think too much about it.
However, the good times did not last long, and in the 18th century, with the decline of the Ottoman Empire, North Africa was gradually exposed to European guns. The Spaniards, British, and Dutch arrived one after another, establishing one colonial stronghold after another in Morocco. Fortunately, at this time, Morocco was under the rule of the "great sultan" Mula, and its national strength was at its peak, and it was also a good fight with the colonizers. But the long war conflict is also constantly depleting Morocco's strength. So as time went by, Morocco became more and more weak.
In the 19th century, Spain and France, the closest places to the area, began to invade. Spain crossed the Strait of Gibraltar and established colonial rule in northern Morocco, while France landed in Algeria in the east and gradually encroached on Morocco along the coastline.
In 1912, Morocco signed the Treaty of Fez with France, which became a vassal of France. With the exception of the northern and southern parts of Morocco, which were assigned to Spain, most of Morocco became part of the French colonies of West Africa, along with Algeria and Tunisia.
Morocco disappeared from the map for almost half a century until independence from the French in 1956. During this period, Morocco was inevitably infected with exotic flavors due to its long-term acceptance of cultural exports from France. So in Morocco today, you can find a lot of French style from the language to the construction roads. In northern Morocco, which has been ruled by Spain for many years, there is a large number of bullfighters.
All in all, in Morocco, an African country, you can not only see Islamic elements, but also full of European painting, but you can't see much black Africa. This is unique among the many African countries in the world today.
Of course, it is easy to change the nature of the rivers and mountains, although Morocco is not African at all in appearance, but in its bones it is not much different from Africa. As a colonial country that completed its independence after World War II, Morocco has a poor foundation and a weak foundation, even if it has the natural geographical advantage of backing the Mediterranean Sea and being close to the European continent, its economic development is still very slow. To this day, Morocco is still a backward agricultural country lacking an industrial base, relying only on resource exports and tourism to earn income, and the national economy is relatively low.
In this regard, the GDP per capita data listed above is the best embodiment. The per capita figure of more than $3,400 may be good in Africa, where poor countries are clustered, but it is very average in the world.
Of course, poverty is poor, Moroccan football is still playing very well, known as the "Atlas lion", the Moroccan men's football team has been dominating Africa all year round and is also a frequent visitor to the World Cup. If you count the World Cup in Qatar, Morocco has reached the World Cup finals for the fifth time.
Morocco's football has been able to achieve much thanks to its Europeanized development model. Due to the natural geographical proximity and the foundation of communication established during the colonial era, the development of football in Morocco has always been closely related to Europe. For those football seedlings, Morocco will send them to Spain or France at a very young age, using the local advanced football youth training system to develop football talents for themselves.
You know, this is not simply sent to a summer camp on our side, but the same long-term experience as those local players. This will not only allow their players to receive more systematic training, but also lay the groundwork for future European League play. After all, as the old saying goes, the near water building platform gets the moon first. For those European football clubs, these talents cultivated by their own youth training will undoubtedly be prioritized.
As a result, Morocco is able to have a large number of players from Europe's top leagues. For example, in this Qatar World Cup, the Moroccan team has 17 players playing in the five major leagues, as well as some main players from the Belgian and Turkish leagues, while only 3 players are really from the Moroccan home league. This squad is worth 240 million euros, which is absolutely luxurious for an African team like Morocco.
Perhaps Morocco's success can become a reference for our men's team!