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Lakhdar Belloumi

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Lakhdar Belloumi
Belloumi in 2017
Personal information
Date of birth (1958-12-29) 29 December 1958 (age 65)
Place of birth Mascara, Algeria
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Attacking midfielder
Youth career
1973–1974 OS Mascara
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1974–1976 OS Mascara
1976–1977 SKAF El-Khemis
1977–1978 GCB Mascara 26 (29)
1978–1979 MP Oran 25 (11)
1979–1981 MP Alger 30 (10)
1981–1987 GCR Mascara 60 (27)
1987–1988 Mouloudia d'Oran 56 (36)
1988 Al-Arabi SC 6 (5)
1989–1990 M. Oran / MC Oran 27 (12)
1990–1991 GC Mascara 4 (4)
1991–1992 USM Bel Abbès 40 (20)
1992–1993 GC Mascara 12 (7)
1993–1994 MC Oran 27 (6)
1994–1996 GC Mascara 38 (19)
1996 MC Oran 11 (2)
1997 GC Mascara 13 (3)
1997–1998 ASM Oran 17 (9)
1998–1999 GC Mascara 25 (4)
Total 417 (204)
International career
1974–1977 Algeria U17 – (–)
1977–1978 Algeria U20 4 (2)
1979–1980 Algeria military – (–)
1978–1989 Algeria 147 (34)
1989 Algeria futsal 3 (1)
Managerial career
2001–2002 MC Oran
2002–2003 USM Bel-Abbès
2003 Al Tadamun SC
2004–2005 Algeria
2005–2006 GC Mascara
2011 Algeria (beach soccer)
2015 Algeria (beach soccer)
Medal record
Player
MC Oran
Third place Algerian Championship 1979
Winner Algerian Championship 1988
Runner-up African Cup 1989
Runner-up Algerian Championship 1990
GC Mascara
Winner Algerian Championship 1984
 Algeria
Third place Mediterranean Games 1979
Runner-up African Cup of Nations 1980
Third place African Cup of Nations 1984
Third place African Cup of Nations 1988
Manager
MC Oran
Runner-up Arab Cup 2001
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Lakhdar Belloumi (Arabic: لخضر بلومي; born on 29 December 1958) is an Algerian former football player and manager. A former attacking midfielder, he is widely considered the best Algerian player of all time and one of the best players in Africa.[1][2] He is said to have invented the "Blind Pass".[3] He was named the fourth-best African player of the century by IFFHS.[4] He holds the record as the most capped Algerian player with 100 national caps[5] (147 caps not recognized by FIFA)[6] and is also the third best goalscorer of the Algerian national team in all time with 28 goals[7] (34 goals not recognized by FIFA).[8]

Belloumi's goal against reigning European champions West Germany earned Algeria a stunning 2–1 victory in their World Cup debut in Spain '82.[9]

Club career

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Lakhdar Belloumi, Algerian champion with GC Mascara 1984

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".[9]

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 Pelé, as a fantastic player.

International career

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Belloumi has a total of 147 caps and 34 goals for Algeria national team but only 100 caps and 28 goals are recognized by FIFA.[6][8] 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). In 1981, he was awarded African Footballer of the Year. Belloumi scored the winning goal in the 2–1 win over West Germany in the 1982 World Cup, and was a pivotal player in the Algerian national team throughout the 1980s. His last game for Algeria came in 1989.

Controversy

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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 to the hostel residence of the Algeria team, between players of the Algerian squad and Egyptian supporters that left an Egyptian fan, doctor by profession, 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.

The Algerian authorities accused Egypt of wanting deliberately to accuse Belloumi who was the biggest star of the country, to make diversion against hostile events that Algeria team has suffered during the qualifying match in Cairo. 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.[10][11][12]

Career statistics

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Club

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Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
OS Mascara 1974–75 Division H – –
1975–76 – –
SKAF El-Khemis 1976–77 Algerian Division 2 – –
GCB Mascara 1977–78 Algerian Division 2 – –
MP Oran 1978–79 Algerian Division 1 25 11 – –
MP Alger 1979–80 Algerian Division 1 10 4 0 0 – 4 !15 9
1980–81 9 3 2 0 – 1 !12 3
GCR Mascara 1981–82 Algerian Division 1 3 1 – –
1982–83 15 3 – –
1983–84 ? 1 – –
1984–85 ? 1 – 2 0
1985–86 ? 0 – –
1986–87 30 8 1 1 – – 30 9
Mouloudia d'Oran 1987–88 Algerian Division 1 30 4 2 – – 35
Al-Arabi 1988 Qatar Stars League 2 2 – –
Mouloudia d'Oran 1988–89 Algerian Division 1 ? 2 – 2 0
MC Oran 1989–90 Algerian Division 1 ? 6 – – 6 1 7
GC Mascara 1990–91 Algerian Division 2 – –
USM Bel-Abbès 1991–92 Algerian Division 1 ? 1
GC Mascara 1992–93 Algerian Division 2 – – –
MC Oran 1993–94 Algerian Division 1 ? 1 – 4 5
GC Mascara 1994–95 Algerian Division 1 – –
1995–96 Algerian Division 2 – –
MC Oran 1996 Algerian Division 1 11 2 0 0 – – 11 2
GC Mascara 1997 Algerian Division 2 13 3 ? 1 – – 4
ASM Oran 1997–98 Algerian Division 2 17 9 –
GC Mascara 1998–99 Algerian Division 1 25 5 ? 0 – – 5
Career total
  1. ^ Includes Algerian Cup, Qatar Emir Cup
  2. ^ Includes Algerian League Cup, Qatari Super Cup

International

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Lakhdar Belloumi scored 28 goals in 100 capes with the national team. He scored too six more goals with 47 more caps that are not recognized by FIFA because matches played and goals scored against clubs or against not a full national teams. He scored against Bałtyk Gdynia in 1979,[13] Stade Brestois and Olympique Lyonnais in 1982,[14] Racing Paris in 1983,[15] FC Carl Zeiss Jena in 1984[16] and Videoton FC in 1987.[17]

Appearances and goals by national team and year[18]
National team Year Apps Goals
Algeria 1978 4 1
1979 11 5
1980 11 4
1981 9 6
1982 10 2
1983 10 2
1984 10 3
1985 3 1
1986 6 1
1987 10 1
1988 7 2
1989 9 0
Total 100 28
Scores and results list Algeria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Belloumi goal.
List of international goals scored by Lakhdar Belloumi[19]
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 17 October 1978 Stade du 17 Juin, Constantine, Algeria  Congo 1–0 3–0 Friendly
2 5 April 1979 Stade du 5 Juillet, Algiers, Algeria  Mali 1–0 1–0 1980 Summer Olympics qualification
3 24 June 1979 Stade du 5 Juillet, Algiers, Algeria  Libya 1–0 3–1 1980 African Cup of Nations qualification
4 27 September 1979 Stadion Rade Končar, Šibenik, Yugoslavia  Yugoslavia 1–0 2–3 1979 Mediterranean Games
5 29 September 1979 Stadion Poljud, Split, Yugoslavia  Greece 1–0 2–1 1979 Mediterranean Games
6 21 December 1979 Stade du 5 Juillet, Algiers, Algeria  Morocco 1–0 3–0 1980 Summer Olympics qualification
7 13 March 1980 Liberty Stadium, Ibadan, Nigeria  Morocco 1–0 1–0 1980 African Cup of Nations
8 16 March 1980 Liberty Stadium, Ibadan, Nigeria  Guinea 2–0 3–2 1980 African Cup of Nations
9 20 July 1980 Dinamo Stadium, Minsk, Soviet Union  Syria 1–0 3–0 1980 Summer Olympics
10 24 July 1980 Dinamo Stadium, Minsk, Soviet Union  Spain 1–1 1–1 1980 Summer Olympics
11 1 May 1981 Stade du 17 Juin, Constantine, Algeria  Niger 2–0 4–0 1982 FIFA World Cup qualification
12 4–0
13 30 August 1981 Stade du 19 Juin, Oran, Algeria  Upper Volta 3–0 7–0 1982 African Cup of Nations qualification
14 4–0
15 10 October 1981 Surulere Stadium, Lagos, Nigeria  Nigeria 1–0 2–0 1982 FIFA World Cup qualification
16 30 October 1981 Stade du 17 Juin, Constantine, Algeria  Nigeria 1–0 2–1 1982 FIFA World Cup qualification
17 11 February 1982 El Molinón, Gijón, Spain Spain Spain Ol. 1–0 2–0 Friendly
18 16 June 1982 El Molinón, Gijón, Spain  West Germany 2–1 2–1 1982 FIFA World Cup
19 11 September 1983 Stade El Abdi, El Jadida  Tunisia 1–2 2–3 1983 Mediterranean Games
20 28 October 1983 Stade du 5 Juillet, Algiers, Algeria  Libya 1–0 2–0 1984 Summer Olympics qualification
21 5 March 1984 Stade Bouaké, Bouaké, Ivory Coast  Malawi 2–0 3–0 1984 African Cup of Nations
22 17 March 1984 Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Abidjan, Ivory Coast  Egypt 2–0 3–1 1984 African Cup of Nations
23 10 October 1984 Otto-Grotewohl-Stadion, Aue, East Germany  East Germany 1–4 2–5 Friendly
24 8 March 1985 Stade du 5 Juillet, Algiers, Algeria  Mauritania 1–0 4–0 1986 African Cup of Nations qualification
25 14 December 1986 Stade du 5 Juillet, Algiers, Algeria  Ivory Coast 1–0 2–1 Friendly
26 11 January 1987 Stade El Menzah, Tunis, Tunisia  Tunisia 1–0 2–0 1987 All-Africa Games qualification
27 13 March 1988 Stade Mohamed V, Casablanca, Morocco  Ivory Coast 1–0 1–1 1988 African Cup of Nations
28 26 March 1988 Stade Mohamed V, Casablanca, Morocco  Morocco 1–1 4–3 1988 African Cup of Nations

Honours

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Player

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GC Mascara
MC Oran

Algeria

Individual

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Awards
Performances

Personal

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Belloumi is the father of footballer Bachir Belloumi.

Further reading

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  • Grine, Hamid. (1986) Lakhdar Belloumi, un footballeur algérien, Algiers, Entreprise Nationale du Livre (Enal).

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Lakhdar Belloumi: The Wizard of Maghreb". A Halftime Report. Alfiepottsharmer. 24 May 2015. Archived from the original on 3 March 2023. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
  2. ^ "Golden Goal: Lakhdar Belloumi for Algeria v West Germany (1982)". The Guardian. Simon Burnton. 22 September 2020. Archived from the original on 8 March 2023. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
  3. ^ "Les chroniques de Laurent Lasne – "letierslivre.com"" (in French). Letierslivre.com. Archived from the original on 31 March 2012. Retrieved 22 August 2011.
  4. ^ Ingo Faulhaber. "Africa's best Player of the Century – IFFHS". Iffhs.de. Archived from the original on 18 June 2018. Retrieved 8 November 2010.
  5. ^ "Lakhdar Belloumi - Century of International Appearances". Archived from the original on 18 April 2023. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  6. ^ a b "Football - Lakhdar Belloumi". Le Soir d'Algérie. H. B. 11 April 2011. Archived from the original on 7 December 2022. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  7. ^ "Goalscoring for Algeria National Team". Archived from the original on 2 June 2023. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  8. ^ a b "Top 10 - Les légendes de l'Algérie". TF1. Rédaction. 15 January 2013. Archived from the original on 7 December 2022. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  9. ^ a b Hart, Simon (13 June 2010). "Algeria struggle to match the fame of Belloumi and the shame of Spain '82 – International – Football". The Independent. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  10. ^ "Belloumi to Echorouk: "Goalkeeper Kadri was responsible for eye injury suffered by Egyptian doctor in 1989"". Echoroukonline.com. 3 September 2012. Archived from the original on 18 November 2009. Retrieved 15 October 2009.
  11. ^ "Interpol hands over Belloumi a document rescinding international arrest warrant issued against him". Echoroukonline.com. 3 September 2012. Archived from the original on 19 November 2009. Retrieved 15 October 2009.
  12. ^ "Belloumi called for the first time to the victim". Lebuteur.com. Archived from the original on 6 February 2010. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
  13. ^ "Liste des matchs de l'équipe d'Algérie de football 1979". dzfootball (in French). Archived from the original on 12 July 2023. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  14. ^ "Liste des matchs de l'équipe d'Algérie de football 1982". dzfootball (in French). Archived from the original on 12 July 2023. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  15. ^ "Liste des matchs de l'équipe d'Algérie de football 1983". dzfootball (in French). Archived from the original on 12 July 2023. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  16. ^ "Liste des matchs de l'équipe d'Algérie de football 1984". dzfootball (in French). Archived from the original on 12 July 2023. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  17. ^ "Liste des matchs de l'équipe d'Algérie de football 1987". dzfootball (in French). Archived from the original on 12 July 2023. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  18. ^ Lakhdar Belloumi at National-Football-Teams.com
  19. ^ "Lakhdar Belloumi - Century of International Appearances". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 18 April 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
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