"Had it not been for the favor of the Lord of the Worlds, then the tactics and technique would not have achieved all this history in football," several words of Moroccan football legend, the late Arab Ben Mubarak, the first Arab professional player in Europe.
Al-Arabi's childhood, born on June 16, 1916, was very harsh. Hence he began his career in the world of witch round.
"We didn't have the means to buy sneakers and play barefoot in the street," said Ben Moubarak, who died on September 16, 1992, at the age of 78.
Three years later, he was recalled to the national team and played his first match against France. Despite losing the Atlas Lions 4-2, he was named the best player of the match, then became the talk of the French press. French then, to be the first Arab player to enter the world of professionalism.
Al-Arabi's outstanding performance and high level with the French team prompted French officials to try to naturalize him and join him to the "cocks" team.
Then the Second World War caught, and returned to Morocco to play with his former team. When the war ended, he returned to France and signed in 1945 with the Stade de France for 1 million francs, played for three seasons and helped him to the first division. However, the team was in financial distress and sold the "black jewel" to Atletico Madrid in 1948 for 17 million francs.
Ben Mubarak helped lead the Rojeblancos to their first LaLiga title for two consecutive seasons.
He returned in 1953 to Marseille and played with him until 1955 before ending his football career with Algerian Belabbes, and retired from football in 1956.
After the Declaration of Independence in 1956, he returned to Morocco to participate in strengthening the foundations and development of the team, and the FUS Rabat team as a player and coach at the same time.
As his childhood was difficult in his family life, he married twice, one Moroccan who died after three years of marriage, and the second French had a great love story.
Ben Mubarak tells how he decided after the death of his second wife not to marry because he considered it a betrayal against her and spent a lifetime alone.