Lakhdar Belloumi

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

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

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 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".

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 as a fantastic player by anyone who watched him play, including the great Pelé.

International career Belloumi has a total of 147 caps and 34 goals for the Algeria national team but only 100 caps and 28 goals are recognized by FIFA. He participated in the 1980 Summer Olympics, in two editions of FIFA World Cup (1982 and 1986), in four editions of Africa Cup of Nations (1980, 1982, 1984 and 1988) and 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 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 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.

Seven months before the 1982 World Cup, it was reported in European newspapers that Belloumi had died from a heart attack. After a few days, it turned out that it was his team-mate Hocine Benmiloudi who died.Rossi makes it rosy for Italy, Sportstar, May 31, 1986, p.61

During the 2026 FIFA World Cup, ahead of the group stage match between Algeria and Austria, Belloumi publicly called on the national team to secure a victory as a sporting revenge for the 1982 "Disgrace of Gijón" scandal. The highly anticipated match ultimately ended in a dramatic 3–3 draw.

Career statistics

Club + Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupContinentalTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsOS Mascara1974–75Division H ––1975–76 ––SKAF El-Khemis1976–77Algerian Division 2 ––GCB Mascara1977–78Algerian Division 2 ––MP Oran1978–79Algerian Division 12511 –– MP Alger1979–80Algerian Division 110400–441591980–819320–10123GCR Mascara1981–82Algerian Division 1 31––1982–83153 ––1983–84 ?1––1984–85 ?1–201985–86 ?0––1986–8730811––309Mouloudia d'Oran1987–88Algerian Division 130 42––35 Al-Arabi1988Qatar Stars League22 ––Mouloudia d'Oran1988–89Algerian Division 1 ?2–20MC Oran1989–90Algerian Division 1?6––617GC Mascara1990–91Algerian Division 2 ––USM Bel-Abbès1991–92Algerian Division 1 ?1 GC Mascara1992–93Algerian Division 2 –––MC Oran1993–94Algerian Division 1 ?1–45GC Mascara1994–95Algerian Division 1 ––1995–96Algerian Division 2 ––MC Oran1996Algerian Division 111200––112GC Mascara1997Algerian Division 2133?1––4ASM Oran1997–98Algerian Division 2179 –GC Mascara1998–99Algerian Division 1255?0––5Career total

International Lakhdar Belloumi scored 28 goals in 100 games 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, Stade Brestois and Olympique Lyonnais in 1982, Racing Paris in 1983, FC Carl Zeiss Jena in 1984 and Videoton FC in 1987.

+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsAlgeria19784 11979115198011419819 619821021983102198410319853 119866 1198710119887 219899 0Total10028

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

+ List of international goals scored by Lakhdar BelloumiNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1 17 October 1978 Stade du 17 Juin, Constantine, Algeria 1–0 3–0 Friendly2 5 April 1979 Stade du 5 Juillet, Algiers, Algeria 1–0 1–0 1980 Summer Olympics qualification3 24 June 1979 Stade du 5 Juillet, Algiers, Algeria 1–0 3–1 1980 African Cup of Nations qualification4 27 September 1979 Stadion Rade Končar, Šibenik, Yugoslavia 1–0 2–3 1979 Mediterranean Games5 29 September 1979 Stadion Poljud, Split, Yugoslavia 1–0 2–1 1979 Mediterranean Games6 21 December 1979 Stade du 5 Juillet, Algiers, Algeria 1–0 3–0 1980 Summer Olympics qualification7 13 March 1980 Liberty Stadium, Ibadan, Nigeria 1–0 1–0 1980 African Cup of Nations8 16 March 1980 Liberty Stadium, Ibadan, Nigeria 2–0 3–2 1980 African Cup of Nations9 20 July 1980 Dinamo Stadium, Minsk, Soviet Union 1–0 3–0 1980 Summer Olympics10 24 July 1980 Dinamo Stadium, Minsk, Soviet Union 1–1 1–1 1980 Summer Olympics11 1 May 1981 Stade du 17 Juin, Constantine, Algeria 2–0 4–0 1982 FIFA World Cup qualification12 4–013 30 August 1981 Stade du 19 Juin, Oran, Algeria 3–0 7–0 1982 African Cup of Nations qualification14 4–015 10 October 1981 Surulere Stadium, Lagos, Nigeria 1–0 2–0 1982 FIFA World Cup qualification16 30 October 1981 Stade du 17 Juin, Constantine, Algeria 1–0 2–1 1982 FIFA World Cup qualification17 11 February 1982 El Molinón, Gijón, Spain Spain Ol. 1–0 2–0 Friendly18 16 June 1982 El Molinón, Gijón, Spain 2–1 2–1 1982 FIFA World Cup19 11 September 1983 Stade El Abdi, El Jadida 1–2 2–3 1983 Mediterranean Games20 28 October 1983 Stade du 5 Juillet, Algiers, Algeria 1–0 2–0 1984 Summer Olympics qualification21 5 March 1984 Stade Bouaké, Bouaké, Ivory Coast 2–0 3–0 1984 African Cup of Nations22 17 March 1984 Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Abidjan, Ivory Coast 2–0 3–1 1984 African Cup of Nations23 10 October 1984 Otto-Grotewohl-Stadion, Aue, East Germany 1–4 2–5 Friendly24 8 March 1985 Stade du 5 Juillet, Algiers, Algeria 1–0 4–0 1986 African Cup of Nations qualification25 14 December 1986 Stade du 5 Juillet, Algiers, Algeria 1–0 2–1 Friendly26 11 January 1987 Stade El Menzah, Tunis, Tunisia 1–0 2–0 1987 All-Africa Games qualification27 13 March 1988 Stade Mohamed V, Casablanca, Morocco 1–0 1–1 1988 African Cup of Nations28 26 March 1988 Stade Mohamed V, Casablanca, Morocco 1–1 4–3 1988 African Cup of Nations

Honours

Player GC Mascara Algerian Championship: 1983–84

MC Oran Algerian Championship: 1987–88; Runner-up 1989–90 African Cup of Champions Clubs: Runner-up 1989 Arab Club Champions Cup: Runner-up 2001 (as a manager)

Algeria Mediterranean Games: Bronze medal 1979 Africa Cup of Nations: Runner-up 1980; Third 1984, 1988 Summer Olympics: Quarter final 1980 FIFA World Cup: Participation 1982, 1986

Individual Awards Mediterranean Games 3rd best player: 1979 Africa Cup of Nations best forward: 1980 African Footballer of the Year: 1981; Third 1982 Africa Cup of Nations Team of the Tournament: 1980, 1984 African Footballer of the 20th century: Fourth place IFFHS World Player of the Century: 62nd IFFHS All Time Algeria Men's Dream Team CAF Merit Award: 2008 (to his career excellence) Algerian Footballer of the 20th century: 2009 (with Rabah Madjer) Algerian Footballer of the Year: Several awards

Performances Algerian League goalscorer: 1978–79 with 11 goals Africa Cup of Nations goalscorer: 1988 (with R. Milla, A. Traoré & G. Abdelhamid) with 2 goals

Personal life Belloumi's son, Mohamed El Bachir, is also a professional footballer who plays for Premier League club Hull City.

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

Lakhdar Belloumi

Bron en licentie