Regragui: "I would love for Cristiano not to play, he is one of the best in history"

DOHA, 9 Dic. (STATS Perform/dpa/EP) -

The Morocco coach, Walid Regragui, admitted that he personally would prefer that this Saturday, in his World Cup quarterfinal duel in Qatar, "Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the best in history, not play", and made it clear that they want to show that his team and Africa "deserve to be here"-

"I don't know if Ronaldo will start, I hope not. As a coach, I know he is one of the best players in history and that's why I would love him not to play," Walid Regragui stressed at the press conference prior to the duel with the by Fernando Santos.

In any case, the coach does not want to focus on his rival. "They are hungry because they also want to go down in the history books. Our players are hungry and we are still not satisfied with what we have done so far," stressed the Franco-Moroccan.

"Everyone thought they knew who was going to win the World Cup and now we are here too. It's a positive feeling for us, we know we can make history and, yes, we want to show that Morocco deserves to be here, that Africa deserves to be here, that football it is global", added Regragui, who also did not forget that they will have "more followers in the stadium". "We can get it," he admitted.

On the other hand, the Morocco coach does not know why there are not more Arab coaches in clubs in Europe. "Better ask them, I think it's a cultural thing. I want to change that mentality, I think a lot of African coaches could coach European clubs," he said.

"Throughout history, people change their minds. African coaches with great results can show that it's possible. At the end of the day, the only yardstick is the skills of a coach," he continued.