Lakhdar Belloumi

Lakhdar Belloumi
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Personal information
Date of birth	December 29, 1958 (1958-12-29) (age 50)
Place of birth	Mascara, Algeria
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Retired
Youth career
1974–1975 1975–1976	Olympique SEMPAC SCAF El-Khemis
Senior career1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1976–1977 1977–1979 1979–1981 1981–1986 1986–1990 1990–1993 1993–1994 1994–1999 1999–2000	GC Mascara MC Oran MC Alger GC Mascara MC Oran GC Mascara MC Oran GC Mascara Al-Arabi SC Doha (Qatar)
National team
1978–1989	Algeria	147 (32)
Teams managed
	MC Oran ASM Oran USM Bel-Abbès Umm-Salal SC (Qatar) GC Mascara
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. * Appearances (Goals)

Lakhdar Belloumi (Arabic: لخضر بلومي‎) (born December 29, 1958 in Mascara, Algeria) is a former Algerian football (soccer) player and manager. He is widely considered the best Algerian player of all time.

International career

He participated at 1980 Summer Olympics and at two edition of FIFA World Cup, in 1982 and 1986. For Algeria national football team he got 87 caps and scored 40 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, and was a pivotal player in the Algerian national team throughout the 1980s. His last game for Algeria came in 1989.

Club career

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 Alger and MC Oran. 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.

Often overlooked for international recognition due to his refusal to ever join a major European club (Juventus were reportedly very keen to acquire his services despite the performances of Michel Platini), Lakhdar Belloumi was recognised by any who watched him play, including the great Pele, as a fantastic player. He was not out of place as an international playmaker during the time of Diego Maradona and Michel Platini, starring for the great Algerian side of the 1982 World Cup.

Honours

Personnel

• Best forward in 1980 African Cup of Nations
• Ballon d'or africain 1981 (african golden ball) : for best african player
• Best scorer in 1988 African Cup of Nations with Roger Milla, Gamal Abdel Hamid & Abdoulaye Traoré with 2 goals
• 4th best african player of the century

With clubs

• Champion in Algerian Championnat National in 1984 with GC Mascara and in 1988 with MC Oran
• 2nd in Algerian Championnat National in 1987 & 1990 with MC Oran
• 2nd in the final of the African Champions League in 1989 with MC Oran

With the Algerian national team

• Bronze medal in the 1979 Mediterranean Games in Split
• 2nd in the final of the 1980 African Cup of Nations in Nigeria
• Quarter final round in the 1980 Summer Olympics Games in Moscow
• 2 participations in FIFA World Cup of 1982 in Spain & 1986 in Mexico
• 3nd in the African Cup of Nations of 1984 in Côte d'Ivoire & 1988 in Morocco

News

Belloumi was a subject of an international arrest warrant issued by Interpol 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. 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.^[1][2]

References

External links

• Career Stats (National Football Teams)
• (MC Oran official site)
• Profile (MC Alger fansite)
• Lakhdar Belloumi interview at DZ Foot (French)

v • d • e Algeria squad – 1982 FIFA World Cup 1 Cerbah • 2 Guendouz • 3 Kouici • 4 Kourichi • 5 Merzekane • 6 Bencheikh • 7 Assad • 8 Fergani • 9 Bensaoula • 10 Belloumi • 11 Madjer • 12 Larbes • 13 Yahi • 14 Zidane • 15 Dahleb • 16 Mansouri • 17 Horr • 18 Maroc • 19 Tlemçani • 20 Bourebbou • 21 Amara • 22 Bentaala • Coach: Khalef & Mekloufi

v • d • e Algeria squad – 1986 FIFA World Cup 1 Drid • 2 Guendouz • 3 Chebal • 4 Kourichi • 5 Liegeon • 6 Kaci Said • 7 Assad • 8 Maroc • 9 Menad • 10 Belloumi • 11 Madjer • 12 Bensaoula • 13 Harkouk • 14 Zidane • 15 Sadmi • 16 Mansouri • 17 Ben Khalidi • 18 Benmabrouk • 19 Chaib • 20 Megharia • 21 El Hadi • 22 Amara • Coach: Saadane

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