Khaberni - Mohammed Wahbi does not have a distinguished football career, nor photos of him lifting a trophy as a player, as he never played football professionally; however, the man who grew up in Belgium led Morocco to its greatest achievement in history at the youth level by winning the Under-20 World Cup after he left teaching to enter the coaching world.
Morocco thus became the first Arab team and the second African team to win the World Cup Under-20 after defeating Argentina 2-0 on Monday morning in the final of the tournament held in Chile.
So who is this coach?
Wahbi started his professional life in teaching, before joining "Maccabi Foot," which was his gateway into football and his new life, before moving to Anderlecht, the largest club in Belgium.
He entered the famous Neerpede center of Anderlecht in 2003, beginning a journey that lasted 17 years within the club, during which he coached all age groups, from under 9 to under 21 years.
With Anderlecht's youth team, he experienced a golden period when he led the team to the semi-finals of the UEFA Youth League in 2015, having defeated giants such as Barcelona and Porto.
That period also saw the rise of a new Belgian generation under his guidance, including players like Youri Tielemans, Adnan Januzaj, Charly Musonda Junior, and Leander Dendoncker, before he was promoted to work as an assistant to the Albanian coach Besnik Hasi with the first team.
But after nearly two decades in Belgium, Wahbi decided to leave; in 2020, he joined Belgian Yannick Ferreira as an assistant at Saudi club Al Fath, but he quickly returned to Morocco.
Widespread Criticism
In March 2022, Wahbi was appointed coach of the Moroccan Under-20 national team, where he faced widespread criticism after failing to qualify for the 2023 African Nations Cup, but he continued in his position.
At the World Cup in Chile, Morocco under Wahbi's leadership had a difficult journey, having defeated Spain and Brazil in the group stages while losing to Mexico, then eliminating South Korea, the USA, and France in the knockout rounds, before finally clinching the title against Argentina.
