Finals Maestro: Tariq Skitioui Eyes Historic Arab Cup Triumph

Meet the Finals Maestro

Skitioui doesn’t lose finals... yet.

Tariq Skitioui is the finals maestro of Moroccan football, having reached three finals in his coaching career and winning them all.

Tomorrow, Thursday, he will coach the second consecutive final with the Morocco B side, facing Jordan in the Arab Cup, after guiding them four months earlier to the CHAN title against Madagascar (3-2).

His first final as a coach came in 2016 when he led Maghreb de Fès to the Throne Cup, beating Olympique Safi 2-1.

His second trophy arrived with RS Berkane in the 2020 Confederation Cup final, a 1-0 win over Pyramids of Egypt.

If he wins the Arab Cup, Skitioui will become the first Moroccan coach to lift this trophy, a feat the Belgian Eric Gerets achieved with the Atlas Lions in 2012 in Saudi Arabia.

Arab Cup Countdown and Legacy

The Arab Cup represents his third bet in just a year and a half with a Moroccan side, after guiding the Olympic team in 2024 to a historic bronze in Paris.

The coach had already won the Africa Cup of Nations for youths as a player in 1997 on home soil, before beginning his European career, with Porto among his notable stops.

Punchline 1: if finals were weather, he’d be the forecast that always says “trophy showers.”

Punchline 2: he chases titles like a cat chases a laser—always sharp, always in the final blink of the buzzer.