There are hints of a person named Gianluigi Buffon. The Morocco goalkeeper, who needs just one more of his already legendary performances to propel the Atlas Lions into the World Cup final, isn't quite Buffon's twin, but they could easily be. The mop of dark hair, the chiselled profile, the facial skin tone, identical height and their big, rangy frames evoke outdoorsmen who could, back in the day, have built a cabin, fenced a ranch and wrangled horses.
They are tough.
There will be news and features at the World Cup.
It's true that the last team to reach a World Cup semifinal having conceded just once in five tournament matches was Italy in 2006 and they had Buffon in goal.
The fact that Italy played France in Berlin 16 years ago, having conceded only an own goal on their way to the final, is somewhat spooky. The first Arabic and first African nation to compete in a World Cup semifinal have seen Bono beaten by a teammate.
You can decide which of the quirky story elements make a surprise World Cup semifinalist more interesting: the fact that his name isn't Bono, but Bounou, or that he speaks Spanish with a very distinct Argentine accent.
He learned to play football on the uphill slope of a Casablanca supermarket parking lot when he and his friends pulled huge garbage containers together to make goal posts. Even though he had already won the Europa League, Bono was worried that the new Sevilla forward wouldn't do well.
I was told by Bono that Youssef was like his younger brother. "Anything that makes him happy is something that bother me and also something that makes him happy." I looked on it as a great honor to be playing with a wonderful footballer, but the day he arrived, I was a bit nervous. I didn't know if we would get along or if he would get along with the rest of the squad.
You need to get an anecdote or see behind his flawless poker face when interviewing this likeable, talented, low-key man. I was 10 feet away from him in the Education City stadium when he was told he'd been named Player of the Match for his solid performance and two penalty saves that knocked Spain out of the World Cup.
The event was low key. It looked like an old post match interview because players from Muslim countries don't pose with the backdrop of a beer. When Bono responded to the first question with "I'm so happy for the team..." it was delivered with a blank face and a flat voice that was reminiscent of K-Billy's Super Sounds of the '70s.
The time when Portugal was eliminated by Morocco. Things were not the same. Bono was the player of the match for the third time. The moment was drenched in the impact of what he and his team had accomplished.
The player grabbed Bono so that he could kiss him on the cheek. The keeper's demeanor was unruffled, but his look appeared to say "Oh, you big galoot". It will be allowed this time. When he was asked who he would give his award to, he nominated his club teammate En- Nesyri and then gave him the trophy so that they could pose together.
It was a classic Bono thing to do; eventually, he stepped back in to conclude the interview, but this time with his son. The kid thought the microphone was a lollipop and tried to eat it.
The theme of family has been a huge hit in the country. There have been pictures of players looking for their loved ones and their mothers in the stands.
Imagine if the kid looked back on those images and what he would owe his dad. Imagine being in that shared moment of ecstasy. It's incalculable.
Gab praised Morocco for their win but criticized Luis for his tactical decisions in the loss.
"We had a strategy meeting about whether or not to bring families with us," said coach Regragui. We decided to bring the families based on our experience. Some players prefer to have their parents with them, while others prefer to have their children with them. We did a great job in that area.
Everyone is happy if you win, but if you lose, people will question why you brought the families. The power of family spirit is something we want to bring onto the field.
There were happy scenes. If Regragui's team win at Al Bayt Stadium on Wednesday, it will be the greatest World Cup story of all time.
Bono's goals- against record has been aided by the fact that the men in front of him have allowed only 11 attempts on target. The availability of first-choice central defenders Romain Saiss and Aguerd might be very important in which team progresses to meet Argentina or Croatia.
This is the first competitive meeting between the two countries. The Atlas Lions beat France on penalties in the warm-up for the 1998 World Cup in Casablanca.
Bono will be praying for an inspired performance and a victory. He wants the final to be him and Morocco against Argentina, a country and a football culture that he loves.
Bono's parents gave him a Gabriel Batistuta shirt when he was a kid, and his all-time favourite player is the Little Donkey, after whom the family's dog is named.
Bono was able to get two tickets for the Superclasico when it was relocated to Madrid. The fiesta is cueing the river's win on a 5-2 aggregate.
Bono and his friends traveled to Japan for the World Club Cup final dressed in River Plate shirts. Last week's elimination of that same coach's Spain side was revenge for the fact that Los Millionarios were humiliated by Barcelona.
Papu Gomez, a Sevilla teammate and potential opponent of Messi, has been heard to tell people in Lionel Scaloni's squad: "Bono?" I think he's more Argentine than me. That could be the reason for the anecdote.
The Albiceleste won the World Cup in 1986. Bilardo hated to see a fan named Kiricocho in the stadium because he thought the fan brought bad luck. " Kiricocho!" became a word because of Bilardo's extreme hatred for the name.
The keeper yelled'Kiricocho!' three times at Haaland as the giant Norwegian ran up to take a Penalty. The referee ruled that it had to be re-do. Haaland ran up to Bono to mock and provoke the Sevilla keeper who had been beaten. After the match, the two men buried the hatchet, with Haaland admitting he had no idea what the word meant, or why Bono had yelled at him.
It was Bono's most famous penalty. Portugal arrived at the weekend. It's France's turn now.
Bono is a Casablanca boy for all the talk about being born in Canada, his love for Argentina and a career in Spain. If you beat France in the semifinals, any street with no name will carry Bono's.
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