# 1997–98 USM Alger season

In the 1997–98 season, USM Alger competed in the Division 1 for the 22nd time They competed in Ligue 1, the Algerian Cup, the Algerian League Cup, the African Cup Winners' Cup, and the CAF Champions League. In the 1997–98 season witnessed the return of former coach Younes Ifticène who was behind the rise in the 1994–95 season, in 1997 CAF Champions League USMA participated for the first time a new copy of the competition Where they reached the group stage and in the last match against Primeiro de Agosto USM Alger won with a single goal that was not enough to qualify for the final after a major conflict with Moroccan club Raja Casablanca Which at the same time in South Africa scored the winning goal in the last minute and qualified for the final, In 1997–98 season Algerian Football Federation change league system to the groups USMA signed in the group B with strong teams such as ES Setif, JS Kabylie and MC Alger side managed to qualify for the final 3 points form JS Kabylie Then in the final against USM El Harrach at Stade du 5 Juillet 1962 USM Alger lost the title 2–3 after they advanced (2–0) 20 minutes before the end of the match to receive a full team of three goals, in the final minute USMA get a Penalty kick Its lost by defender Mounir Zeghdoud The Reds and Blacks ends the season without a title.

## Squad list

Players and squad numbers last updated on 8 January 1998. Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| Nat. | Position | Name | Date of Birth (Age) | Signed from |
| Goalkeepers |||||
| | GK | Farid Belmellat | (1970-10-18)18 October 1970 (aged 27) | RC Kouba |
| Defenders |||||
| | RB / CB | Mohamed Hamdoud | (1976-06-09)9 June 1976 (aged 21) | Youth system |
| | CB | Mounir Zeghdoud | (1970-11-18)18 November 1970 (aged 27) | USM Aïn Beïda |
| | LB / CB / RB | Mahieddine Meftah | (1968-09-25)25 September 1968 (aged 29) | JS Kabylie |
| | CB | Fayçal Hamdani (C) | (1970-07-13)13 July 1970 (aged 27) | WA Boufarik |
| | LB | Tarek Ghoul | (1975-01-06)6 January 1975 (aged 22) | USM El Harrach |
| | DF | Abdelouahab Tizarouine | (1971-11-11)11 November 1971 (aged 26) | US Chaouia |
| | LB | Rachid Boumrar | | |
| Midfielders |||||
| | CM | Billel Dziri | (1972-01-21)21 January 1972 (aged 25) | NA Hussein Dey |
| | MF | Sid Ahmed Marcel | | |
| | MF | Mehdi Khelfouni | (1976-02-14)14 February 1976 (aged 21) | |
| | MF | Farid Djahnine | (1976-08-16)16 August 1976 (aged 21) | Youth system |
| | MF | Salaheddine Mehdaoui | | USMM Hadjout |
| | MF | Hamid Aït Belkacem | | |
| Forwards |||||
| | FW | Tarek Hadj Adlane | (1965-01-11)11 January 1965 (aged 32) | JS Kabylie |
| | FW | Nacer Zekri | (1971-08-03)3 August 1971 (aged 26) | NA Hussein Dey |
| | FW | Fouad Smati | (1975-12-02)2 December 1975 (aged 22) | Youth system |
| | FW | Abdelmalek Khouni | (1969-12-23)23 December 1969 (aged 28) | AS Aïn M'lila |
| | FW | Réda Zouani | (1968-05-20)20 May 1968 (aged 29) | USM Blida |
| | FW | Djamel Menad | (1960-07-22)22 July 1960 (aged 37) | JS Kabylie |
| | FW | Mohamed Manga | (1977-03-30)30 March 1977 (aged 20) | |

## Competitions
### Overview

| Competition | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Started round | Final position / round | First match | Last match |
| Competition | G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | Started round | Final position / round | First match | Last match |
| Division 1 | 15 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 18 | 13 | +5 | 040.00 | — | Runners–up | 1 January 1998 | 29 June 1998 |
| Algerian Cup | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 2 | +5 | 066.67 | Round of 64 | Round of 16 | 16 March 1998 | 13 April 1998 |
| League Cup | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 3 | +10 | 050.00 | Round of 64 | Quarter-finals | 2 October 1997 | 16 October 1997 |
| CAF Champions League | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 6 | +3 | 050.00 | Group stage | Group stage | 24 August 1997 | 8 November 1997 |
| African Cup Winners' Cup | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | +2 | 100.00 | First Round | First Round | 26 April 1998 | 8 May 1998 |
| Total | 30 | 15 | 10 | 5 | 49 | 24 | +25 | 050.00 |

### Division 1
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | USM Alger (Q) | 14 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 16 | 10 | +6 | 25 | Qualified for the championship final |
| 2 | JS Kabylie | 14 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 14 | 11 | +3 | 22 | |
| 3 | ES Mostaganem | 14 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 20 | 16 | +4 | 21 | |
| 4 | ES Sétif | 14 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 15 | 15 | 0 | 18 | |
| 5 | MC Alger | 14 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 8 | 11 | −3 | 16 | |
| 6 | AS Aïn M'lila | 14 | 2 | 9 | 3 | 8 | 11 | −3 | 15 | |
| 7 | WA Boufarik | 14 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 11 | 12 | −1 | 12 | |
| 8 | USM Blida | 14 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 9 | 13 | −4 | 12 | |

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 30 January 2016. Source: Competitive matches

#### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
| Ground | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | A | H | A | H | A | H |
| Result | D | W | D | W | D | W | D | W | W | D | D | D | L | W |
| Position | 4 | 2 | 3 | | | | | | | | | 1 | 1 | 1 |

#### Matches

Win  Draw  Loss

#### Championship final
### Champions League
#### Group stage

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Raja Casablanca | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 6 | +4 | 11 | Final |
| 2 | USM Alger | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 6 | +3 | 11 | |
| 3 | Primeiro de Agosto | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 9 | −2 | 10 | |
| 4 | Orlando Pirates | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 10 | −5 | 1 | |

### African Cup Winners' Cup
#### First round
## Squad information
### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos | Player | Nat | Division 1 | Division 1 | Division 1 | Algerian Cup | Algerian Cup | Algerian Cup | Cup Winners' Cup | Cup Winners' Cup | Cup Winners' Cup | Champions League | Champions League | Champions League | Total | Total | Total |
| No. | Pos | Player | Nat | App | St | G | App | St | G | App | St | G | App | St | G | App | St | G |
| Goalkeepers |||||||||||||||||||
| | GK | Farid Belmellat | | 12 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 17 | 17 | 0 |
| | GK | Laïd Belgherbi | | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Defenders |||||||||||||||||||
| | DF | Tarek Ghoul | | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 9 | 2 |
| | DF | Mounir Zeghdoud | | 12 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 15 | 0 |
| | DF | Fayçal Hamdani | | 10 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 17 | 16 | 0 |
| | DF | Mahieddine Meftah | | 10 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 17 | 16 | 1 |
| | DF | Mohamed Hamdoud | | 12 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 19 | 19 | 2 |
| | DF | Abdelouahab Tizarouine | | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| | DF | Mohamed Briki | | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| | DF | Rachid Boumrar | | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 0 |
| Midfielders |||||||||||||||||||
| | MF | Farid Djahnine | | 11 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 17 | 17 | 0 |
| | MF | Salaheddine Mehdaoui | | 8 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 9 | 1 |
| | MF | Mohamed Abacha | | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| | MF | Samir Sloukia | | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 4 | 0 |
| | MF | Saoussaou ??? | | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| | MF | Billel Dziri | | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 8 | 2 |
| | MF | Hamid Aït Belkacem | | 7 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 7 | 1 |
| | MF | Sid Ahmed Marcel | | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 3 | 0 |
| | MF | Mehdi Khelfouni | | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| Forwards |||||||||||||||||||
| | FW | Tarek Hadj Adlane | | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 10 | 9 | 5 |
| | FW | Mohamed Manga | | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 1 |
| | FW | Nacer Zekri | | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 7 | 2 |
| | FW | Réda Zouani | | 11 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 13 | 5 |
| | FW | Abdelmalek Khouni | | 9 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 10 | 2 |
| | FW | Djamel Menad | | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | Fouad Smati | | 11 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 17 | 15 | 0 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 15 | 15 | 18 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 26 | 26 | 40 |

### Goalscorers

Includes all competitive matches. The list is sorted alphabetically by surname when total goals are equal.
| No. | Nat. | Player | Pos. | L 1 | AC | LC | CL1 | C2 | TOTAL |
| | | Tarek Hadj Adlane | FW | 2 | 0 | ? | 4 | 0 | 6 |
| | | Réda Zouani | FW | 4 | 0 | ? | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| | | Tarek Ghoul | DF | 3 | 0 | ? | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| | | Abdelmalek Khouni | MF | 3 | 0 | ? | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| | | Billel Dziri | MF | 0 | 0 | ? | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| | | Mohamed Manga | FW | 1 | 2 | ? | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| | | Nacer Zekri | FW | 2 | 0 | ? | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| | | Hamid Aït Belkacem | MF | 2 | 1 | ? | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| | | Mohamed Hamdoud | DF | 0 | 2 | ? | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| | | Mohamed Abacha | MF | 1 | 0 | ? | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| | | Salaheddine Mehdaoui | FW | 1 | 0 | ? | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| | | Mahieddine Meftah | DF | 0 | 1 | ? | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| | | Farid Djahnine | MF | 0 | 1 | ? | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Own Goals | Own Goals | Own Goals | Own Goals | 0 | 0 | ? | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | 18 | 7 | 13 | 9 | 2 | 49 |