In the 2020–21 season, USM Alger is competing in the Ligue 1 for the 43rd season, as well as the Algerian Cup. It is their 26th consecutive season in the top flight of Algerian football. They competing in Ligue 1, League Cup and the Super Cup.
Summary season On 13 May, Achour Djelloul announced that he signed with Antar Yahia to be the new sports director for three years and Abdelghani Haddi as a new general manager. Yahia said that he had offers from France, but he preferred the Reds and Blacks project, especially the ideas he wanted to implement are the same as Achour Djelloul. On 6 July, USM Alger singe a two-year contract with Aïn Benian École supérieure d'hôtellerie et restauration d'Alger until the completion of the work of the training center, The contract will allow USM Alger to use the stadium, the swimming pool, the weight room, the hotel, the sports hall, the offices and the recovery and massage room.
On July 20, 2020 FIFA prohibiting USM Alger from any recruitment of Algerian or foreign players during the next three transfer window until the payment of 200,000 euros to the former player Prince Ibara. The next day General Manager Abdelghani Haddi spoke about this problem, and also the problem of the former player Mohamed Yekhlef and the Derby case, Where did Haddi say that he asked the Algerian Football Federation to pay Ibara's money from 2019–20 CAF Champions League prize money.
On 25 July, Mohamed Rabie Meftah stated that he is going to leave USM Alger after Sporting director Antar Yahia told him that the new coach of USM Alger does not want him. Meftah, said he spent nine wonderful years with the club and he played with all of his heart. On 31 July, Abdelghani Haddi spoke about some newspapers and responded to them and the fake news about the value of buying USM Alger's shares, where he said that the amount was 2 billion dinars about 13 million euros, for information SERPORT is a holding company which manages the State's holdings in Algerian port services. It generates a turnover of nearly 500 million euros per year, for a net profit which oscillates between 25 and 40 million euros. On August 5, USM Alger officially announced François Ciccolini as the club's new coach, and his technical staff will be Benaraibi Bouziane as first assistant, the former international Mohamed Benhamou as goalkeepers coach, Nicolas Baup as physical trainer and Sylvain Matrisciano as head of the training center and trainer of the under 21.
On 8 September, USM Alger announced that they had signed a three-year contract with the Italian brand Kappa, they have been the first Algerian club to sign with an original brand company. On 17 September, USM Alger sent a special plane to France to bring the technical staff and five players Guendouz, Beneddine, Akkal, Soula and Abdeldjelil after obtaining a special license from the Algerian authorities. On 30 October, Groupe SERPORT decided to merge the position of Sports Director and General Manager give all powers to Antar Yahia. Djelloul said "We want to avoid mixing things up".
On October 4, The Federal Bureau decided to play Algerian Super Cup Final before the kick-off of the 2020–21 season on 21 November. After a long wait due to the closure of the borders, Zakaria Benchaâ returned to Algeria, Antar Yahia declared that Benchaâ had good abilities and that he would train with the Reserve team, and if his mentality did not align with the team philosophy, he would not be in the club’s squad. After losing the Super Cup final, USM Alger decided to sack François Ciccolini from his post because he did not rise to the podium to receive the medal, which was considered an insult to an official body who was the Prime Minister Abdelaziz Djerad.
On 5 December, USMA agreed with former club coach Thierry Froger to lead the first team for one season after a consultation with Yahia and some lead players. The sports company with shares (SSPA) and the amateur sports club (CSA) signed a partnership agreement on January 31, 2021, this agreement that allows the two parties to comply with Algerian legislative texts, and the amateur club will receive 30 million dinars annually in exchange for carrying the logo and name of the club. On 7 March, due to the poor results Froger and his assistant Bouziane were sacked and replaced by the former coach last season Mounir Zeghdoud. On April 1, USM Alger gets a makeover, the official website of the Italian equipment manufacturer "Kappa" has unveiled the new jerseys that the Usmists will wear this year 2021, This new Kappa jersey is dressed in a dominant white and black, and uses the graphics of the Casbah of Algiers with shades of gray on the front of the jersey. For reasons of comfort and aesthetics, a semi-open round neck is present, just like the iconic Banda Kappa on the shoulders. Four rounds before the end of the season SERPORT decided to dismiss Antar Yahia from his position, Yahia said that all powers were removed and they agreed with a new sports director a while ago. This season witnessed the death of the former player of the sixties Hamid Bernaoui as well as Kamel Tchalabi who played with the club in the seventies and the former coach on four occasions Noureddine Saâdi the last two due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Algeria.
Squad list Players and squad numbers last updated on 24 August 2021.Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
No. Name Nat. Position Date of Birth (Age) Signedin Contractends Signed from Apps Goals Transfer fees Goalkeepers1 Lamine Zemmamouche (C.) GK 2012 2022 MC Alger4001 Free transfer16 Alexis Guendouz GK 2020 2022 AS Saint-Étienne140 15,000 €27 Abdelmoumen Sifour GK 2019 2023 Reserve team90 Youth system Defenders2 Houari Baouche LB 2021 2023 USM Bel Abbès50 Free transfer3 Abderrahim Hamra CB 2016 2023 Reserve team673 Youth system4 Zineddine Belaïd CB 2020 2024 NA Hussein Dey361 20,000,000 DA5 Mustapha Bouchina CB 2020 2022 Paradou AC351 11,000,000 DA12 Haithem Loucif RB 2021 2023 Paradou AC60 Undisclosed19 Saâdi Radouani RB 2020 2022 ES Sétif221 Free transfer20 Mehdi Beneddine LB 2020 2022 Quevilly-Rouen341 Free transfer21 Adam Alilet CB 2019 2024 Reserve team241 Youth system22 Fateh Achour RB 2020 2022 USM Bel Abbès160 Free transfer24 Anis Khemaissia LB 2019 2024 USM Annaba201 Free transferNA Wassim Ouhab CB 2020 2023 Reserve team00 Youth system Midfielders6 Oussama Chita DM 2017 2023 MC Alger852 Free transfer8 Kamel Belarbi DM 2018 2022 USM El Harrach300 Free transfer10 Mohamed Reda Boumechra AM 2019 2023 USM El Harrach432 Loan return15 Mazire Soula AM 2020 2022 Angers SCO B252 Free transfer17 Taher Benkhelifa DM 2020 2023 Paradou AC632 30,000,000 DA23 Hamza Koudri (V.C.) DM 2012 2022 MC Alger27115 Free transfer26 Billel Benhammouda AM 2016 2023 USMM Hadjout795 Youth system28 Salim Akkal AM 2020 2022 Angers SCO B00 Free transfer31 Mohamed Djenidi DM 2020 2023 Reserve team00 Youth system Forwards7 Ismail Belkacemi LW 2020 2023 CS Constantine4117 Free transfer9 Zakaria Benchaâ ST 2020 2021 CS Sfaxien4410 Loan return11 Abdelkrim Zouari RW 2018 2021 USM Bel Abbès7218 Free transfer13 Hamed Belem RW 2021 2023 Rahimo FC81 75,000 €14 Yacine Aliane RW / LW 2020 2024 Reserve team222 Youth system18 Aymen Mahious ST 2018 2023 AS Aïn M'lila6018 Loan return25 Kwame Opoku ST 2021 2025 Asante Kotoko175 350,000 €25 Oussama Abdeldjelil CF 2020 2023 SO Cholet40 Free transfer28 Zakaria Naidji ST 2021 2021 Paradou AC175 Loan29 Abdelkrim Louanchi FW 2020 2022 Reserve team30 Youth system71 Abderraouf Othmani FW 2020 2023 Reserve team52 Youth system
Transfers In DatePlayerFrom clubTransfer feeSource 18 June 2020 CF Oussama Abdeldjelil SO Cholet Free transfer 10 July 2020 LB Mehdi Beneddine Quevilly-Rouen Free transfer 10 July 2020 MF Salim Akkal Angers SCO B Free transfer 10 July 2020 FW Mazire Soula Angers SCO B Free transfer 17 August 2020 RB Saâdi Radouani ES Sétif Free transfer 17 August 2020 RB Fateh Achour USM Bel Abbès Free transfer 5 September 2020 RW / LW Yacine Aliane Reserve team First Professional Contract 5 September 2020 RW / LW Ahmed Bedjaoui Reserve team First Professional Contract 5 September 2020 GK Zinedine Abassi Reserve team First Professional Contract 5 September 2020 FW Abdelkrim Louanchi Reserve team First Professional Contract 5 September 2020 DM Mohamed Djenidi Reserve team First Professional Contract 5 September 2020 CB Wassim Ouhab Reserve team First Professional Contract 16 September 2020 FW Ismail Belkacemi CS Constantine Free transfer 19 September 2020 DM Taher Benkhelifa Paradou AC 30,000,000 DA 22 September 2020 GK Alexis Guendouz AS Saint-Étienne 15,000 € 29 September 2020 CB Mustapha Bouchina Paradou AC 11,000,000 DA 1 October 2020 ST Zakaria Benchaâ CS Sfaxien Loan Return 11 October 2020 CB Zineddine Belaïd NA Hussein Dey Undisclosed 31 January 2021 RB Haithem Loucif Paradou AC Undisclosed 31 January 2021 ST Zakaria Naidji Paradou AC Loan for six months 31 January 2021 RW Hamed Belem Rahimo FC 75,000 € 15 March 2021 ST Kwame Opoku Asante Kotoko 350,000 € 3 April 2021 LB Houari Baouche USM Bel Abbès Free transfer
Out DatePlayerTo clubTransfer feeSource 30 June 2020 DM Taher Benkhelifa Paradou AC Loan Return 25 July 2020 RB Mohamed Rabie Meftah Unattached Free transfer 2 September 2020 AM / LW Ilyes Yaiche Unattached Free transfer (Released) 20 September 2020 GK Ismaïl Mansouri Unattached Free transfer (Released) 20 September 2020 CB Hicham Belkaroui Unattached Free transfer (Released) 21 September 2020 AM / LW Muaid Ellafi Unattached Free transfer (Released) 23 September 2020 RB Mohamed Tiboutine Unattached Free transfer (Released) 24 September 2020 CB Mustapha Kheiraoui Unattached Free transfer (Released) 30 September 2020 LB Redouane Cherifi Unattached Free transfer (Released) 4 October 2020 LW / LB Oualid Ardji Unattached Free transfer (Released) 4 October 2020 LW Adem Redjehimi Unattached Free transfer (Released) 18 October 2020 CB Lyes Oukkal Unattached Free transfer (Released) 27 October 2020 FW Ahmed Bedjaoui RC Kouba Loan for one year 1 November 2020 GK Zinedine Abassi RC Arbaâ Loan for one year 28 January 2021 CF Oussama Abdeldjelil Unattached Free transfer (Released)
New contracts PlayerContract lengthContract endDateSource3 23 18 1 6 21 10 14 27 26 24
Pre-season and friendlies
Competitions Overview
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center" |- !rowspan=2|Competition !colspan=8|Record !rowspan=2|Started round !rowspan=2|Final position / round !rowspan=2|First match !rowspan=2|Last match |- ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! |- | Ligue 1
| 4th | 28 November 2020 | 24 August 2021 |- | Super Cup
| Final | style="background:silver;"| Runners–up | colspan=2| 21 November 2020 |- | League Cup
| Round of 16 | Semi-finals | 8 May 2021 | 8 June 2021 |- ! Total
Ligue 1
League table
Results summary
Results by round
Matches On 22 October 2020, the Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 fixtures were announced.
Algerian Super Cup
Algerian League Cup
Squad information Appearances and goals {| class="wikitable mw-datatable sortable nowrap" style="text-align:center; font-size:96%;" ! rowspan="2"style="background:white; color:black; text-align:center;" |No. ! rowspan="2" style="background:white; color:black; text-align:center;"| ! rowspan="2" style="background:white; color:black; text-align:center;"|Player ! rowspan="2" style="background:white; color:black; text-align:center;"| ! colspan="3" style="background:white; color:black; text-align:center;"| ! colspan="3" style="background:white; color:black; text-align:center;"| ! colspan="3" style="background:white; color:black; text-align:center;"| ! colspan="3" style="background:white; color:black; text-align:center;"|Total |- !!!!!style="border-right: 1pt black solid"| !!!!!style="border-right: 1pt black solid"| !!!!!style="border-right: 1pt black solid"| !!!!! |-bgcolor=efefef class="sortbottom"