Sami Al-Jaber

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Sami Al-Jaber
Image:SAMI 4343.jpg
Personal information
Full name	Sami Abdullah Al-Jaber, سامي عبدالله الجابر
Date of birth	December 11, 1972 (age 34)
Place of birth	Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Height	1.76m
Nickname	Mr.Goal, The Wolf, Sam 6
Position	Striker
Club information
Current club	Al-Hilal
Professional clubs*
Years	Club	Apps (goals)
1988-2000 2000 2001-present	Al-Hilal Wolverhampton Wanderers Al-Hilal
National team**
1992-present	Saudi Arabia	163 (44)
* Professional club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 13 June 2006. ** National team caps and goals correct as of 23 June 2006.

Sami Al-Jaber (Arabic: سامي الجابر‎, born December 11, 1972 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia) is a football (soccer) striker from Saudi Arabia.

Contents 1 Al-Jaber in Al-Hilal Club 2 Al-Jaber in the National team 3 World Cup career 4 Trivia

[edit] Al-Jaber in Al-Hilal Club

Al-Hilal

[edit] Al-Jaber in the National team

He received his first cap for the national football team in 1992 and as of June 13 2006 he has played 161 international matches and scored 44 goals.

Following a rapid rise to prominence in his club career at Al-Hilal, he was called up for the full national side in January 1990 and featured highly in their World Cup appearances.

Following injuries and the disastrous World Cup 2002 placing of the team, Al Jaber decided to retire from international football but he was tempted back by Saudi Arabia’s Argentine coach Gabriel Calderon in early 2005 for their World Cup 2006 campaign.

Aged 33 years as-of June 2006, Al Jaber is still active with the Sons of Deserts, having spent half of his life steering the team to four consecutive FIFA World Cup finals.

Like striking legend Saeed Owairan, Al Jaber is regarded as one of the best strikers Saudi Arabia has produced.

[edit] World Cup career

He is a veteran of the 1994 World Cup, the 1998 World Cup, the 2002 World Cup and the 2006 World Cup.

Al Jaber made his first real mark as a national player during Saudi Arabia's qualifying campaign for the USA 94, finding the net three times in their crucial 4-3 victory over Iran to book their debut World Cup appearance. The team made history by reaching the second round and Al Jaber made his contribution by scoring a crucial goal from the penalty spot in the opening round 2-1 win over Morocco.

Al Jaber also played in Saudi Arabia’s three matches at France 98 and his goal in the 2-2 draw with South Africa made him the first Asian player to score in two consecutive FIFA World Cup finals.

He was struggling with injuries by the time of Saudi Arabia’s disastrous campaign in Korea/Japan 2002, where they exited after three group defeats, including an 8-0 rout at the hands of Germany.

He retired but returned to the national team for the Germany 2006 campaign. He scored in the 1-1 draw with Uzbekistan in the opening match of the FIFA World Cup qualifying round and got another two in the return fixture as Saudi Arabia booked an early spot in the finals.

He made his first 2006 World Cup appearance coming on as a substitute after 80 minutes of Saudi Arabia's opening game of the tournament against Tunisia. The game was tied 1-1, but only 90 seconds after entering the game, he scored for Saudi Arabia. However Tunisia snatched a late equaliser and the match finished 2-2.

[edit] Trivia

• By scoring his goal in the 2006 World Cup he became the first Asian footballer ever to score in 3 different World Cups, as well as the fifth player ever to score in World Cups 12 years apart, joining Uwe Seeler, Pelé, Maradona and Michael Laudrup. Henrik Larsson, who scored a goal in the same tournament six days later, joined this list as the sixth player.

• At the age of 15, Al Jaber was already being pursued by many of the country’s top clubs and he joined Al-Hilal in 1988.

• In his second season he finished top scorer for the club's youth championship-winning team.

• Al Jaber was to break further ground on the club front in August 2000 when he spent five months on loan with Wolverhampton Wanderers to become the first Saudi player to feature in English football.

• Al Jaber is recognized as the greatest football player in Asia. He showed his skill when he put the ball between Ronaldinho's legs.

	Saudi Arabia squad - 1994 World Cup
1 Al-Deayea | 2 Al-Dosari | 3 Al-Khilaiwi | 4 Zubromawi | 5 Madani | 6 Amin | 7 Al-Ghesheyan | 8 Al-Bishi | 9 Abdullah | 10 Al-Owairan | 11 Al-Mehallel | 12 Al-Jaber | 13 Al-Jawad | 14 Al-Muwallid | 15 Al-Dawod | 16 Jebreen | 17 Al-Taifi | 18 Al-Anazi | 19 Saleh | 20 Falatah | 21 Al-Sadiq | 22 Al-Helwah | Coach: Solari

	Saudi Arabia squad - 1998 FIFA World Cup
1 Al‑Deayea | 2 Al‑Jahani | 3 Al‑Khilaiwi | 4 Zubromawi | 5 Madani | 6 Amin | 7 Al‑Shahrani | 8 Al‑Dosari | 9 Al‑Jaber | 10 S. Al‑Owairan | 11 Al‑Mehallel | 12 Al‑Harbi | 13 Sulaimani | 14 Al‑Muwallid | 15 Al‑Thunayan | 16 K. Al‑Owairan | 17 Dokhi | 18 Al‑Temyat | 19 Al‑Janoubi | 20 Saleh | 21 Al‑Sadiq | 22 Al‑Antaif | Coach: Parreira

	Saudi Arabia squad - 2002 FIFA World Cup
1 Al‑Deayea | 2 Al‑Jahani | 3 Tukar | 4 Zubromawi | 5 Harthi | 6 Al‑Shehri | 7 Al‑Shahrani | 8 Noor | 9 Al‑Jaber | 10 Al‑Shalhoub | 11 O. Al‑Dosari | 12 Dokhi | 13 Sulaimani | 14 Khathran | 15 A. Al‑Dosari | 16 Al‑Owairan | 17 Al‑Waked | 18 Al‑Temyat | 19 Al‑Ghamdi | 20 Al‑Yami | 21 Zaid | 22 Al‑Khojali | 23 Al‑Thagafi | Coach: Al‑Johar

	Saudi Arabia squad - 2006 FIFA World Cup
1 Al‑Deayea | 2 Dokhi | 3 Tukar | 4 Al‑Montashari | 5 Al‑Qadi | 6 Al‑Ghamdi | 7 Ameen | 8 Noor | 9 Al‑Jaber | 10 Al‑Shalhoub | 11 Al‑Harthi | 12 Khathran | 13 Sulaimani | 14 Khariri | 15 Al‑Bahri | 16 Aziz | 17 Al‑Bishi | 18 Al‑Temyat | 19 Massad | 20 Al‑Qahtani | 21 Zaid | 22 Khouja | 23 Mouath | Coach: Paquetá