FEATURE: Larbi Ben Mubarak - a Moroccan legend with a French flavour

Published on: 14 December 2022

He is one of the legends of Moroccan football, and French too. And if Al-Arabi Bin Mubarak sees his legend affected by the war and collapses with the passage of time, then the semi-final of the Qatar World Cup 2022 between Morocco and France is an opportunity to recall the “imprint” that he left on the two shores of the Mediterranean.

Why? This is because while records are being broken in Qatar with the elements of the defending champion, from 143 international matches for goalkeeper Hugo Lloris and 53 goals for Olivier Giroud, there is a number that is still resisting, the length of service in the French national team (15 years and 10 months) registered in the name of Al-Arabi bin Mubarak Ibn Casablanca and the legend of the round ball, as once described by the Brazilian "king" Pele himself.

In the beginning, it was the thirties. When Europe was on the brink of sinking back into the madness of war, the first players from North Africa were turning their anchors to the lands of the old continent. Among them is their pioneer, Larbi Ben Mubarak, "the first to infiltrate the ranks of the elite," according to what the Algerian Ahmed Bassoul, who specializes in Maghreb football and author of several books on its history, confirms to AFP.

Until the mid-1950s, this top-class striker with "extraordinary technique", as well as his liveliness and strength, "marked the era with his mark. Fans from all over France would go to see him play, he was extraordinary. There are many stories about him". adds this 76-year-old expert.

It is a "complete history" as described by a young sports journalist named Thierry Roland, who later became the most famous French commentator, in a special report on Larbi Ben Mubarak for "ORTF" radio in 1963, when he considered him "one of the two big names in French sports in Morocco." With (boxer) Marcel Cerdan.

In that documentary, Larbi Ben Mubarak, who had retired 6 years at the time, talks about the pride of wearing the blue shirt 17 times. "If I have a great international reputation, it is thanks to France," he says.

And he adds in that rare interview: “It was wonderful.”

Unfortunately, the most rare thing is the pictures of the Arab player Ben Mubarak, who charmed European stadiums, at a time when television had not yet imposed itself in homes.

Larbi Ben Mubarak, who was born in 1917, hit his first ball in Casablanca, the economic capital of the Kingdom of Morocco, where he ended up catching the attention of European officials at the Moroccan Sports Union Club.

Then came Marseille, the Stade Francais club, and the Spanish club Atletico Madrid, in which he starred in the fifties, scoring more than 60 goals in 120 matches.

And with the French national team? "The star was not only talented, but he was also brilliant!" says Basoul.

In response to popular demand, Larbi Ben Mubarak started with "The Blues" at the end of the year 1938 in Rome, during a defeat (0-1) on hostile soil in Italy.

He postponed his big display until the start of the new year at the Parc des Princes when they beat Poland 4-0.

At that time, he gained the nickname "The Black Jewel", but his fiery rise was interrupted by the war that prompted him to return to Morocco.

“We will think about him a little.”

After 1945, his talent reopened the door of the French to him again, until his departure to Spain in 1948, after a bad experience in France.

Then for the last time, in October 1954, against Federal Germany when he was 38 and a half years old.

There, he left the stadium injured, but he lived his "greatest memories", according to what he said in the documentary report.

What next? He participated as a free player for one year in the sports club of the city of Bel Abbes, in Algeria, which was launched in the war of liberation, then some training experience, especially at the head of the “Atlas Lions” in Morocco, which was independent since 1956 and was unable to play with its colours.

Gradually, Larbi Ben Mubarak fell into oblivion, on both sides of the Mediterranean, until he died almost alone in Casablanca in 1992 at the age of 75.

However, in 2011, Moroccan director Driss El-Marini devoted a documentary to him entitled "The Arab, or the Fate of a Great Football Player", and then the Institute of the Arab World organized an exhibition for him in 2019 in Paris.

Ahmed Bassoul says, "In the Maghreb, I was happy to see people talking about him. He died without the honour he deserved. Perhaps now, with France and Morocco facing off, we will think about him a little."

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