BarcelonaAt just three years old, Fatima Gharbi left her native Morocco in search of a better life in Europe. He and his family settled in Sabadell, a town he considers “wonderful” and where he grew up and lives. Almost 20 years after leaving her country behind and growing up in Catalonia, she is now smiling from ear to ear as she celebrates being called up to the Moroccan team that will compete for the first time in the Women’s World Cup, which will be played between Australia and New Zealand. His national team will make its debut against Germany on Monday. “Representing Morocco is a matter of pride, of a national feeling. I will stand on behalf of all citizens. But it also makes me very happy to know that I will represent my clubs, which have accompanied me throughout my career,” Fati, as she is called by her friends, told ARA.
This season is a dream for the 22-year-old youngster. With EC Europa, she managed to get promoted to the Primera RFEF – the second-highest competition in national women’s football – and only a few weeks ago she made her debut in a friendly with Morocco. Their invitation to the World Cup is a historic milestone for the Vila de Gràcia club: it is the first time they have had a representative in national team football’s top competition. “I have known Fati for many years. This is the second season I’ve coached her, but I’ve been following her for a long time. She had a very complicated family life, but he surrounded himself with very good people. And now it’s the World Cup. He deserves it, it fills me with pride and satisfaction. Not only for her as a player, but also as a person,” says her coach at the Gracienc Club, Joan Bacardit.
With Fatima Gharbi, Morocco has called “a footballer who has no substitute players” to Europe, according to his coach. “It’s very difficult to find left-handers. We play with a 3-5-2 and Fati plays on the wing. She was one of the best assistants of our team and very dedicated: when we finish the games she is one of the ones who covered the most kilometers. She plays every minute,” explains Bacardit. “La Fati has grown with the club. She arrived in Europe after a difficult year for her at Espanyol because she had played very little. She just blew up with us and that’s what got her into the World Cup as the first men’s team in the Second RFEF, the fourth state football competition.
Fatima Gharbi ‘is a treasure’
“The rise of Europe is the result of great work from the entire women’s base, the addition of a great group of people, very good leadership and an inexplicable amount of work,” explains Valentina Berr, Fati’s former dressing room companion. “Before I was in Europe I played for Llevant les Plaines, who also managed two consecutive promotions in these categories and although they are two different clubs I always thought if any team could repeat that milestone it would be the Europe of Nany Haces and Joan Bacardit,” adds Berr. Both her ex-companion, Bacardit and Colell highlight Fati’s human quality. “She’s a darling. It’s hard to find players with so much talent, who are so young and so simple at the same time. When the little girls came to greet me or ask for photos, they also asked me about her, she is a very admired player. I think that was the last time I played professional football, I felt like ‘I want to go play because I’m going to do it with her’. We jumped in the air to score goals! And against teams with a lot more organization (and budget) than ours!” emphasizes Berr.
After a very successful season – the original goal was to retain the category – which Gharbi attributes to the “dedication and courage” of the entire team and the “great support of the fans in Europe”, Gharbi is now awaiting his debut in an official game against Morocco. Before that, he made his debut in a friendly against Italy. “The World Cup is a competition at the highest level and I am very happy to share a unique experience like this with the best in the world. I will be able to experience the best talent up close: observing the skill, technique and strategy of the best will motivate me to give even more,” he explains.
The definitive message that he was going to the World Cup came from Bacardit. “It was a day when we had to train. He came and said to me: “Congratulations, huh!”. I didn’t understand what was going on and then he showed me the call. I started to cry. Lu, our fitness trainer, also came and the three of us hugged. Then I celebrated in the dressing room with my teammates. Everyone was very happy for me,” she recalls. Fati is living a dream and Europa and her family celebrate it with pride. “When I was little and my mother asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, she said: ‘A football player like Messi’. At first my family might find it strange that a girl wanted to play football, but seeing that it was a passion they never banned me from doing it.”
All his life he combined football with studies
Fati has always associated football with studying. “This year has been very tough. I started studying social integration and doing internships throughout the year. Internships, lunches, studying, going to classes… and going to training. Otherwise I am independent and often have to do everything on my own. I arrived at night and had to prepare dinner and lunch for the next day because I was away from 6am until a quarter to 11pm many days.” He’s now on the road too, particularly in Australia and New Zealand, where his eyes light up as he envisions his World Cup debut.
