Former Morocco football coach Jose Faria dies

Rabat (Morocco) - Jose Faria, the Brazilian football coach who led Morocco during the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico, died here due to a chronic disease.

Faria made history in Morocco where he succeeded in advancing the national team to the second round of the 1986 World Cup to become the first African team ever to do so, reports Xinhua. He passed away Tuesday.

He also helped Morocco to qualify for the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.

Born in Rio de Janeiro in 1933, Faria also coached several local teams in Morocco, including the FAR of Rabat with whom he won Africa’s Champions League — FAR thus became the first Moroccan team to win the continental trophy.

Faria is also among a handful of foreign personalities who were granted Moroccan citizenship in gratitude of their exceptional achievement under the Moroccan flag.