Rabah Madjer

At 66 years old, Rabah Madjer has this physical status:

Rabah "Mustapha" Madjer (born 15 December 1958) is an Algerian former footballer who competed as a striker. He came to prominence as a Porto footballer in the 1980s, being widely believed to be one of the best Algerian football players of all time.

Madjer played in six major championships during his tenure with the team, including three national championships and the 1987 European Cup.

He took up coaching right after retiring and has had worked with several clubs, as well as several stints with the Algerian team.

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Club career

Born in the Algiers district of Hussein Dey of Kabyle origin (Tigzirt), Madjer started his European career in 1983, moving to Racing Club de France football Colombes 92 from local NA Hussein Dey. He stayed there during one and a half seasons, finishing 1984–85 with another French side, Tours FC.

Madjer arrived at FC Porto in 1985–86 and, the following campaign, entered the club's history books in the final of the European Cup against Bayern Munich, scoring the 1–1 equalizer in a memorable final, which eventually ended 2–1 to the Portuguese, and also setting up the winner of Juary. Pelé is believed to have said of this goal: "It would have been the greatest goal I have ever seen, if he had not looked back at it." He also netted in the club's Intercontinental Cup conquest the same year.

After that stellar 1987, Madjer won the Ballon d'or Africain, but was not allowed to compete for the European Golden Ball as he was not born in the region. In the first part of 1987–88 he scored ten times from only 11 appearances. In the summer 1988 he moved to Inter Milan but the medical exams detected a serious thigh muscle injury that the player had in the past and the contract was never officially signed (despite the initial announcement and the official photos already taken).

After being close to transferring to Bayern Munich, Madjer signed for La Liga's Valencia CF in January 1988, returning to his previous team after only a few months for a further three seasons. Johan Cruyff had also attempted to sign Madjer for AFC Ajax at the time the clubs met in the 1987 European Super Cup. Cruyff was unhappy with his own club's board, believing that they leaked details of the transfer which caused Porto to pull out of the deal.

Madjer retired from the game in 1992 at the age of nearly 34, after a brief stint with Qatar SC.

International career

Madjer played for the Algeria national team for 19 years, and was present at the 1982 and 1986 FIFA World Cup finals. He retired as the nation's top goalscorer at 28, in 87 caps, having also won the Africa Cup of Nations in 1990 as the hosts incidentally beat Nigeria twice, in the opening match 5–1 and the final 1–0.

Madjer's most famous goal came in Algeria's 2–1 win over Germany in the 1982 World Cup, when he opened the scoring in the 53rd minute.

Post-playing career

In 1993, Madjer began coaching the Algeria national team but after failing to qualify for two 1994 major competitions, the World Cup and the CAN, he resigned, returning to Porto as a youth coordinator.

He subsequently managed Qatari clubs Al Sadd SC (1997–1998) and Al-Wakrah Sport Club (1998–1999).

After a quick spell with the Algeria national team in 1999, Madjer returned two years later, only to resign with aggravation in the 2002 summer.

In 2005 he was appointed coach of Qatari club Al Rayyan SC.

He controversially returned to the post of Algeria national team coach in October 2017, his first managerial work for over a decade, after Lucas Alcaraz failed to take the team to the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The following June he was dismissed, having won twice in seven games of which six were friendlies.

After his coaching spells, Madjer started a career as a professional analyst in Qatar, for Al-Jazeera Sports (beIN Sports now).

In 2011 he became a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador.

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