African Cup Of Nationcoupe d'afrique 2004
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  Youssef Hadji steps out of his brother's shadow


Youssef Hadji has for years lived in the shadow of his older brother Mustapha, the Aston Villa player whose exploits for Morocco in the 1998 World Cup made him a household name back home.
But now it's Youssef who is grabbing all the attention at the African Nations Cup where he has scored three goals ahead of Saturday's final against hosts Tunisia.
"To come after Mustapha has been difficult," the Bastia midfielder conceded.
"When I'm in Morocco everyone's talking about him - he really left his mark after the '98 World Cup."
But now it's the younger Hadji who is the talk of the country, especially after he came on as a substitute to strike a late goal in Morocco's key 1-0 group stage win over Nigeria.
"I guess you could say that the Hadji family has given good service to Morocco," he smiled.
Hadji says he has built up a good striking partnership with his fellow forwards Marouane Chamakh and Jawad Zairi.
"It's true we get on really well, but the important thing is the team as a whole. Each time someone comes on he adds something. Just look at Nabil Baha, who came on against Mali and scored."
Hadji believes the reason for the spirit of unity in this Moroccan team is down to the fact that the players devleoped their skills in France.
"They all establish themselves there - and you can sense the common bond of having developed in France," he says from his hotel here where he can watch Moroccan television and see how his team's path to the final has been celebrated back home.
"Watching people celebrate gives you a huge amount of pleasure. If we can bring the cup back to Morocco - that really would be incredible."
But to do that they first have to overcome a Roger Lemerre-inspired Tunisia.
"Tunisia are a decent side, they take after us a little. They also have the advantage of playing at home."
But the player who after this tournament will never be confused to his older sibling again concluded: "It's been almost 30 years since Morocco has won something - we'll be doing everything possible to try and bring the Cup home to Morocco."

AFP


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Winoo Tunisiemétéo TunisiePetites annonces | VoyagesMétéo Maroc
Hôtel Tunisiemétéo djerba Hôtel Djerba | Tunisie AnnoncesMétéo Marrakech
Derniére mise à jour 30/3/2009