Why have Morocco been so successful this World Cup

DOHA, Dec 7 (Reuters) – Thanks to Walid Regragui, the coach who has made Morocco the first Arab nation to reach the World Cup quarter-finals, avocados may just be the nation’s favourite fruit.

When the appointment of Regragui following the departure of Bosnian Vahid Halilhodzic was announced in August, underwhelmed pundits branded him “avocado head” as a belittling term of derision.

But the shaved-headed coach, who teased those critics at the tournament in Qatar by holding an avocado with a soccer ball inside it and pointing his finger at his head, has more than proved his credentials.