At InterSnacks in Weesp, the fans roar the Moroccan team to victory

“You did go to school today, didn’t you”, owner Mo Bouhali (38) asks as his cafeteria fills up with boys from the neighborhood. Some are still hiding in their hoods or walk in on slippers. They all receive a box from Mo and find their permanent spot in front of the screen. What the House of Orange in Qatar is to the Orange, the InterSnacks in Weesp is to the Moroccan national team.

“Ziyech is going to pick one anyway”

“We always look at Mo”, explains a boy. The boys do not want to be mentioned by name in the article. “Everyone from the neighborhood is here, completely full!”

These guys see the snack bar as their own living room outside the door. Some have just left school, others from work and a few have to go straight to ‘ballie’ (football training, ed.) after the game. Mo knows exactly what everyone is doing and makes sure they don’t do crazy things.

After the great victory over Belgium, confidence in the snack bar is good, although there is some consternation about the line-up. “It’s full of national coaches here,” someone explains. “Everyone always knows better.” When asked about the predictions, the boys expect at least three goals from Morocco and an easy victory. “Ziyech is going to pick one anyway (score, ed.)!”

And that does. Hakim Ziyech puts the Atlas lions ahead after only four minutes. The snack bar explodes with euphoria.

In his snack bar, Mo is clearly the pater familias of the couple and is only too happy to share his knowledge of Moroccan football with the younger generations. Then he stands in front of the screen, like a teacher in front of his blackboard. Immediately after En-Nesyri’s goal: “The first Moroccan to score at two different World Cups!”

Riot

Morocco’s impressive match against Belgium will be remembered by many. The riots that followed. “Those aren’t football fans, they’re mindless people,” Mo says with one eye fixed on the screen. He likes to have his say on the events in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague. “You shouldn’t ignore something like that.”

He doesn’t understand how things could have gone so wrong. “Then a piece of control is really missing,” he explains. Mo knows all the boys here, and all their parents. “I think that helps.” He argues that it should not only emphasize the riots. Because there was also a very large group on Mercatorplein who cleaned up the mess again. “For me, those are the real Moroccans.”

Order at rest

Due to a goal against and a rejected goal, the match has not yet been played for Morocco. The snack bar falls quieter, all eyes glued to the one screen in the top corner. A boy who just walks in breaks the silence. “Can I order something Mo”, he asks. “No, you can only order at halftime. You know that, don’t you?”

The Canadians fail to tame the Atlas lions. After 36 years, Morocco once again qualified for the eighth finals. “That was a really nice team”, Mo muses. “They still had those shorts back then.”

After the game, some boys are still sitting and snacking. Others go home or take to the streets. A boy with a bright red football under his arm receives a big bag of chips from chef Mo. “Hello home boy!”