Interview with Moroccan football star Jawad Zaïri

21/09/2005

The Moroccan national football team will meet its Tunisian counterpart in Tunis on 8 October in the last qualifying game for World Cup 2006. The team needs to win to qualify for the finals in Germany. In an interview with Magharebia.com, player Jawad Zaïri acknowledges the magnitude of the mission in Tunis.

By Hassan Benmehdi for Magharebia in Casablanca- 21/09/05

[File] The success of the Moroccan team is the number one concern for Zaïri

Magharebia: For the majority of observers, the national side's latest performance against Botswana was far from convincing. Do you agree?

Jawad Zaïri: Clearly. We didn't play up to our usual standard for the match against Botswana. The Moroccan public likes to see good goals and a good game. It's true, we lost a bit of that, but we hope to get it back for future matches. It should also be said that the quality of the pitch wasn't favourable for playing such an important football match. Fortunately, Talal Karkouri was there to save the day. His goal gave us something to smile about and he enabled us to snatch the three points. In any case, we did what we needed to do. Now we need to think and prepare seriously for the next match against Tunisia.

Magharebia: Speaking of that, what can you tell us about the upcoming encounter?

Zaïri: Looking at the match against Tunisia, it's clearly the most important game the national side will have played since the qualifiers started. It's a decisive encounter for the Moroccan national side. Now, we need to go and play to win. There's only 90 minutes left to guarantee our qualification for the World Cup in Germany in 2006.We don't have a choice. Either we win or we're sunk. The players are optimistic. We're giving everything we have to try and get a win in Tunisia. We've got to take it right to the line, play offensively and play all out. If we go out with this attitude, we expect to reap a lot of benefits, Allah willing.

Magharebia: Will you be scoring, Jawad?

Zaïri: I really hope so. But the most important thing for me is that my contribution on the pitch will bear fruit. Whether it's scoring or passing, the important thing is that the team wins.

Magharebia: The Tunisian national side is still a good team, isn't it?

Zaïri: Tactically, you have to say that the Tunisian players are at the top of their game. Their coach is a professional who knows how to manage game tactics. It's a team with attacking players who can make a real difference at any moment. And I'm also talking about Francileudo Dos Santos, who scores every time he plays us. As for us, we just have to remain vigilant at all times.

Magharebia: Any final words, Jawad?

Zaïri: We'll do our very best to qualify for the Germany 2006 World Cup and to make the Moroccan people happy.