Rabah Madjer

Rabah Madjer (born 15 February 1958) is a former Algerian football player. He has played for Algeria national team. Rabah Madjer's style of play was characterized by his versatility, creativity, and goal-scoring ability. He was known for his ability to play in multiple positions and adapt to different roles on the field. Madjer's playing style was often compared to that of Pelé, with his skillful movement, technical prowess, and ability to create space for teammates. His goal-scoring prowess was particularly notable, with his back-heeled goal against Bayern Munich in the 1987 European Cup final being one of the most iconic in football history. Madjer's ability to score from various positions and his ability to find space for teammates made him a formidable player on the field. He is widely regarded as one of the best Algerian football players of all time.

Club career
Madjer began his professional career in 1975 with his hometown club NA Hussein Dey. In 1979, he reached the final of the Algerian Cup with his team. In the final against JE Tizi-Ouzou, the club won 2-1. The year before, they participated in the 1978 African Cup Winners' Cup. Through the teams Al Madina Tripolis, Inter Club Brazzaville and Kadiogo Club Ouagadougou, Hussein Day played his way to the final, which was clearly lost after 1:3 and 1:2 for Horoya AC. After his good performances at the 1982 World Cup, Madjer aroused the interest of European clubs. So in 1983 he moved to Europe, where the attacker initially played for Racing Paris. Via FC Tours, he came to Portugal in 1985 to FC Porto. Here he finally matured into one of the top strikers in Europe. The highlight of his career was in 1987, when he won the European Cup and the Intercontinental Cup with FC Porto. He won the final of the European Cup 2-1 against FC Bayern Munich at Vienna's Prater Stadium, with Madjer scoring the goal to equalise at 1-1 with a backheel from three metres away and setting up the winning goal with a dream cross[1]. In the World Cup final against Peñarol Montevideo from Uruguay, he scored the decisive goal to make it 2-1. In the same year, he was voted African Footballer of the Year.

Shortly afterwards, Madjer was on the verge of a move to FC Bayern. After the transfer was already considered certain, it fell through at the last moment. In 1988, he moved to Valencia FC for six months, but returned to FC Porto after the winter break, where he won the Portuguese football championship again in 1990. In 1992, he ended his playing career with Qatar Sports Club.

International career
The striker Madjer had his international breakthrough at the 1982 World Cup in Spain. Algeria met Germany in the very first preliminary round match and created the biggest sensation of this World Cup. Madjer scored the 1-0 and thus the first World Cup goal for Algeria. Algeria won the match 2-1. The Algerian team was deprived of the chance to advance to the second round by the Gijón Non-Aggression Pact between Germany and Austria. To reach the next round, the German team had to win at all costs, while Austria could afford a narrow defeat. After the 1-0 of the Germans in the 11th minute of the game, both teams were through to the next round. From the beginning of the second half, the players of both teams kicked the ball to each other unmotivated until the end of the game and Madjer's team was eliminated.

Four years later, Rabah Madjer took part in the 1986 World Cup in Mexico with Algeria, but again did not survive the preliminary round. Madjer's greatest success in the national team came at the 1990 Africa Cup of Nations. In the opening match against Nigeria, the team impressed with a 5-1 victory. In the final match on 16 March, the team again faced the Nigerian selection and won 1-0. It was Algeria's first Africa Cup of Nations win. Madjer scored two goals in the entire tournament. At the end of the competition, he was named Player of the Tournament. A year later, Madjer played in the final of the Afro-Asian Cup of Nations against the team from Iran. After a 2-1 defeat, the second leg was decided by a 1-0 win for Algeria.

Madjer was also a member of the Algerian team that took part in the 1980 Olympic football tournament in Moscow, where they were eliminated in the quarter-finals.

Coaching career
As a football coach, Madjer was active several times for the Algerian national football team. In 1994, he made headlines as head coach before his first major tournament, the Africa Cup of Nations. Although the team managed to qualify as group runners-up, they were excluded from the finals because Madjer fielded an ineligible player. He then parted ways with the post of national coach for the first time and briefly became youth coach at FC Porto. In 1997, Madjer took over the head coach position at a league club for the first time at al-Sadd Sports Club. With the Qatari club Al-Wakrah SC, he became league champion for the first time in the club's history in 1999. After this success, Madjer took over the selection of his home country again. But it remained a short intermezzo. It was not until 2001 that he remained national coach for a longer period of time and coached the team at the 2002 Africa Cup of Nations. There, the team survived the preliminary round, but was eliminated in the first round of the knockout phase, which also meant Madjer's farewell again. For the 2005/06 season, he signed on again in Qatar and took over the fortunes of Al-Rayyan Sport Club. This was his last job as a coach so far.

Career statistics

Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational CupLeague CupContinentalOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsHussein Dey1978–79National 1—61–1979–80—43–1980–81——–1981–82——–1982–83——–Total9458001040010462Racing Paris1983–84Ligue 2272050———32201984–85French Division 123352——–285Total5023102——–6025Tours (loan)1984–85French Division 172——–Porto1985–86Primeira Liga191221——2023131986–8720664—631133141987–8811800—441116151988–8924623—31—29101989–90261311—62—33161990–918100—4410135Total108461190023145213871Valencia (loan)1987–88La Liga14400——–144Qatar1991–92Qatar Stars League96——–96Career total282139

International
Scores and results list Algeria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Madjer goal.

+ List of international goals scored by Rabah MadjerMustapha Rabah Madjer – International Appearances; at RSSSFNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1  20 June 1980  19 Juin 1965, Oran, Algeria   3–1 3–1  1982 World Cup qualification2  20 July 1980  Dinamo Stadium, Minsk, Soviet Union   2–0 3–0  1980 Summer Olympics3 10 April 1981 19 Juin 1965, Oran, Algeria  3–0 5–1 1982 African Cup of Nations qualification4 4–05  1 May 1981  17 Juin, Constantine, Algeria   1–0 4–0  1982 World Cup qualification6 30 August 1981 19 Juin 1965, Oran, Algeria  1–0 7–0 1982 African Cup of Nations qualification7 2–08  30 October 1981  17 Juin, Constantine, Algeria   2–1 2–1  1982 World Cup qualification9  25 April 1982  5 Juillet, Algiers, Algeria   1–1 1–1  Friendly10  28 April 1982  5 Juillet 1962, Algiers, Algeria   2–0 2–0  Friendly11  16 June 1982  El Molinón, Gijón, Spain   1–0 2–1  1982 FIFA World Cup12 8 April 1983 5 Juillet 1962, Algiers, Algeria  4–0 6–2 1984 African Cup of Nations qualification13 6–014  26 April 1983  Stade de l'Amitié, Cotonou, Benin   1–1 1–1  1984 African Cup of Nations qualification15  10 June 1983  5 Juillet 1962, Algiers, Algeria   1–0 3–0  Friendly16  28 August 1983  5 Juillet 1962, Algiers, Algeria   1–0 2–0  1984 African Cup of Nations qualification17  17 March 1984  Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Abidjan, Ivory Coast   1–0 3–1  1984 African Cup of Nations18  13 July 1985  5 Juillet 1962, Algiers, Algeria   2–0 2–0  1986 World Cup qualification19  18 August 1985  5 Juillet 1962, Algiers, Algeria   3–0 3–0  1986 African Cup of Nations qualification20  6 October 1985  El Menzah, Tunis, Tunisia   1–1 1–4  1986 World Cup qualification21  18 October 1985  5 Juillet 1962, Algiers, Algeria   1–0 3–0  1986 World Cup qualification22  14 March 1986  Alexandria Stadium, Alexandria, Egypt   1–0 2–3  1986 African Cup of Nations23  27 March 1987  5 Juillet 1962, Algiers, Algeria   1–0 1–0  1988 African Cup of Nations qualification24  7 January 1989  19 Mai 1956, Annaba, Algeria   3–0 3–0  1990 World Cup qualification25  25 June 1989  National Sports Stadium, Harare, Zimbabwe   2–0 2–1  1990 World Cup qualification26  25 August 1989  19 Mai 1956, Annaba, Algeria   1–0 1–0  1990 World Cup qualification27 2 March 1990 5 Juillet 1962, Algiers, Algeria  1–0 5–1 1990 African Cup of Nations28 2–0

Honours
Hussein Dey
Algerian Cup: 1978–79
African Cup Winners' Cup: Runner-up 1978

Porto
Primeira Liga: 1985–86, 1987–88, 1989–90
Taça de Portugal: 1987–88, 1990–91
Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 1986, 1990
European Cup: 1986–87
Intercontinental Cup: 1987

International
Africa Cup of Nations: 1990
Afro-Asian Cup of Nations: 1991
African Games: 1978

Individual
 Best goal scorer of the 1987–88 European Cup with four goals.
Africa Cup of Nations Team of the Tournament: 1982, 1990
African Footballer of the Year: 1987
Intercontinental Cup: Most Valuable Player of the Match Award 1987
Best player of the Africa Cup of Nations: 1990
IFFHS World Player of the Century #62: 2000 
Arab Footballer of the 20th century: 2004
Algerian Footballer of the 20th century: 2009 (with Lakhdar Belloumi)
Algerian Footballer of the Year: Several awards
African Footballer of the 20th century: Fifth place
Golden Foot Legends Award: 2011
IFFHS Legends: 2016

References

Category:1958 births
Category:Living people
Category:Algerian footballers
Category:Algerian football managers
Category:Olympians for Algeria