Lakhdar Belloumi
.jpg) Lakhdar Belloumi (1986 WCQ) | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Lakhdar Belloumi | ||
| Date of birth | 29 December 1958 | ||
| Place of birth | Mascara, Algeria | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Playing position | Attacking midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Retired | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1970–1973 | O. Sempac | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1973–1976 | O. Sempac | – | (–) |
| 1976–1977 | SKAF Khemis Miliana | – | (–) |
| 1977–1978 | GCR Mascara | – | (–) |
| 1978–1979 | MP Oran | 25 | (11) |
| 1979–1981 | MP Alger | – | (–) |
| 1981–1987 | GCR Mascara | – | (–) |
| 1987–1988 | Mouloudia d'Oran | – | (–) |
| 1988 | Al-Arabi SC | 12 | (4) |
| 1989–1990 | M. Oran / MC Oran | – | (–) |
| 1990–1991 | GC Mascara | – | (–) |
| 1991–1992 | USM Bel-Abbès | – | (–) |
| 1992–1993 | GC Mascara | – | (–) |
| 1993–1994 | MC Oran | – | (–) |
| 1994–1997 | GC Mascara | – | (–) |
| 1997–1998 | ASM Oran | – | (–) |
| 1998–1999 | GC Mascara | – | (–) |
| National team | |||
| 1974–1977 | Algeria U17 | – | (–) |
| 1977–1978 | Algeria U20 | – | (–) |
| 1979–1980 | Algeria military | – | (–) |
| 1978–1989 | Algeria | 101 | (28) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2001–2002 | MC Oran | ||
| 2002–2003 | USM Bel-Abbès | ||
| 2003 | Al Tadamun SC | ||
| 2004–2005 | Algeria | ||
| 2005–2006 | GC Mascara | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). | |||
Lakhdar Belloumi (Arabic: لخضر بلومي) (born 29 December 1958 in Mascara, Algeria) is a former Algerian football player and manager. He is widely considered as the best Algerian player of all time and one of the best players in Africa. He is said to have invented the "Blind Pass".[1] He is awarded the 4th best African player of the century.[2] He holds the record as the most capped Algerian player (with 147 national caps) and he is the fourth best goalscorer of the Algeria team in all time (with 27 goals) after Abdelhafid Tasfaout (35 goals).
Belloumi's goal against reigning European champions West Germany earned Algeria a stunning 2–1 victory in their World Cup debut in Spain '82.[3]
International career
He participated at 1980 Summer Olympics, at two editions of FIFA World Cup (1982 and 1986), at four editions of Africa Cup of Nations (1980, 1982, 1984 and 1988) and at two editions of Mediterranean Games (1979 and 1983). For Algeria national football team he got 147 caps (FIFA recognize only 101 caps) and scored 28 goals. In 1981, he was awarded African Footballer of the Year. Belloumi scored the winning goal in the 2–1 win over West Germany in 1982 world cup, and was a pivotal player in the Algerian national team throughout the 1980s. His last game for Algeria came in 1989.
Club career
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Belloumi spent almost his entire career at home (apart from a brief spell in Qatar late in his career), most notably with his hometown club GC Mascara, as well as MC Oran. He played also with MC Alger for two years during his military service in Algiers. He won two domestic championships during his career in 1984 with GC Mascara and in 1988 with MC Oran. After returning for another spell in Mascara in 1994, he continued playing until retirement in 1999.
Belloumi had contact with various European clubs, including Barcelona, before Spain '82, but "the law did not allow us to leave the country before the age of 27". In 1985 he caught the eye of Juventus after shining in a friendly against them, only to miss out on a dream transfer after breaking his leg in the African Champions' Cup in Libya against Al-Ittihad. He was understandably disappointed "It was a real shame for me that I couldn't go".[3]
Often overlooked for international recognition due to not joining a major European club, despite the interest of major European clubs (Juventus were reportedly very keen to acquire his services despite the performances of Michel Platini). Belloumi was recognised by any who watched him play, including the great Pele, as a fantastic player.
Honours
Clubs
- Algerian League: Champion 1983–84 (GC Mascara) & 1987–88 (MC Oran)
- Algerian League: Runner-up 1986–87 & 1989–90 (MC Oran)
- African Cup of Champions Clubs: Runner-up 1989 (MC Oran)
Country
- Mediterranean Games: bronze medal 1979
- Africa Cup of Nations: Runner-up 1980; Third 1984, 1988
- Summer Olympics: Quarter final 1980
- FIFA World Cup: Participation 1982, 1986
Individual
- Algerian League goalscorer: 1978–79 with 11 goals
- Mediterranean Games 3rd best player: 1979
- Africa Cup of Nations best forward: 1980
- African Footballer of the Year: 1981; Third 1982
- Africa Cup of Nations goalscorer: 1988 (with R. Milla, A. Traoré & G. Abdelhamid) with 2 goals
- African Footballer of the 20th century: Fourth place
- CAF Merit Award: 2008 (to his career excellence)
- Algerian Footballer of the 20th century: 2009 (with Rabah Madjer)
- Algerian Footballer of the Year: Several awards
Clubs goals
African competition
- Scores and results list Algeria's goal tally first. "Score" column indicates the score after the player's goal.
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 26 April 1980 | Stade 5 Juillet 1962, Algiers | .svg.png){kind=small} Dragons de l'Ouémé | | | 1980 African Cup of Champions Clubs |
| 2. | 24 May 1980 | Stade Robert Champroux, Abidjan |  Stella Adjamé | | | 1980 African Cup of Champions Clubs |
| 3. | 7 June 1980 | Stade 5 Juillet 1962, Algiers | Stella Adjamé | | | 1980 African Cup of Champions Clubs |
| 4. | | |||||
| 5. | 22 September 1989 | Stade Habib Bouakeul, Oran |  Al-Mourada SC | | | 1989 African Cup of Champions Clubs |
| 6. | ... ... 1994 | Stade Akid Lotfi, Tlemcen |  AS Tempête Mocaf | | | 1994 African Cup of Champions Clubs |
International goals
National Team
- Scores and results list Algeria's goal tally first. "Score" column indicates the score after the player's goal.
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Club
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 29 November 1979 | Stade Frères Brakni, Blida |  Bałtyk Gdynia | | | Friendly |
| 2. | 5 January 1982 | Stade Francis-Le Blé, Brest |  Stade Brestois | | | Friendly |
| 3. | 23 May 1982 | Stade Gerland, Lyon | Olympique Lyonnais | | | Friendly |
| 4. | 5 August 1983 | Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir, Paris | Racing Paris | | | Friendly |
| 5. | 5 February 1987 | Stade 5 Juillet 1962, Algiers |  Videoton FC | | | Friendly |
News
Belloumi was a subject of an arrest warrant in Egypt for almost 20 years following an incident in Cairo in 1989 when after a 1990 FIFA World Cup qualifying match a brawl erupted between players of the Algerian squad and Egyptian supporters that left an Egyptian doctor seriously injured in his eye by a broken bottle which was attributed to be thrown by Belloumi. From 2006, he was added among the lists of the accused in Interpol. Belloumi always claimed his innocence and teammates present at the incident had also testified before the Algerian justice that it was goalkeeper Kamel Kadri responsible for inflicting the injury. The warrant was finally rescinded in April 2009 and Belloumi was cleared of all legal proceedings at the initiative of Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika in collaboration of the Algerian and Egyptian authorities.[4][5][6]
References
- ↑ "Les chroniques de Laurent Lasne – ''letierslivre.com''" (in French). Letierslivre.com.
- ↑ Ingo Faulhaber. "Africa's best Player of the Century – IFFHS". Iffhs.de.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Hart, Simon (13 June 2010). "Algeria struggle to match the fame of Belloumi and the shame of Spain '82 – International – Football". The Independent.
- ↑ "Belloumi to Echorouk: "Goalkeeper Kadri was responsible for eye injury suffered by Egyptian doctor in 1989"". Echoroukonline.com. 3 September 2012.
- ↑ "Interpol hands over Belloumi a document rescinding international arrest warrant issued against him". Echoroukonline.com. 3 September 2012.
- ↑ "Belloumi called for the first time to the victim". Lebuteur.com.
External links
- FIFA Player Statistics: Lakhdar BELLOUMI at fifa.com
- Lakhdar Belloumi at National-Football-Teams.com
- Profile at mouloudia.com (MC Oran official site)
- Profile at kazeo.com (MC Alger fansite)
- Lakhdar Belloumi interview at DZFoot.com (French)
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