PETALING JAYA: The date was October 24, 1980 in the Merdeka Tournament.
Malaysia led by the mercurial Datuk Mokhtar Dahari, stunned Morocco in the group stage.
And now 42 year on, the Atlas Lions are roaring their way into the semi-finals against France tomorrow.
At the Merdeka Stadium, the late Mokhtar or Super Mokh scored a brace as the Harimau Malaya won 2-0.
It was not an easy match as the north Africans kept goalkeeper Chow Chee Keong, who was in imperious form, busy between the posts.
The duo were ably assisted by household names like Datuk Soh Chin Aun, Bakri Ibni, Datuk Hassan Sani, Datuk Shukor Salleh, Datuk Santokh Singh and Datuk Zainal Abidin Hassan.
During that era, Morocco were third in the African Nations Cup and paraded top players and among them are their elegant playmaker Abdelaziz Bouderbala and mercurial winger Abdelmajid Dolmy.
Both teams clashed again in the final of the 1980 edition and Morocco got their revenge winning 2-1 with Hamid Khourrag and Khalifa Labd as the scorers while Chin Aun replied for Malaysia.
Santokh, who had the privilege of assisting Mokhtar’s first goal, still has fond memories of the game.
“That was such a long time. I can’t recall every moment but it was a good win, one that was hard-fought,” said Santokh.
“They were a top African side at the time. After 42 years, we are now seeing them in the semi-finals of the World Cup.
“That’s a fantastic feat, they have come a long way.
“It shows that they have a good football programme and not only that, they have players plying their trade in Europe.
“To be honest, I’ve never expected Morocco to be where they are today.”
Santokh said he has watched several good games and expects it to get better.
“Some games have been really good like the England-France game and I’m sure it’ll get better in the semi-finals onwards,” added Santokh.
“Who will become champions? I believe that any of these four semi-finalists (Morocco, Croatia, Argentina, France) have what it takes to lift the Cup.”
