Lakhdar Belloumi ( ar, لخضر بلومي; born on 29 December 1958) is an Algerian former

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

player and manager. He is widely considered as the best Algerian player of all time and one of the best players in Africa. He is said to have invented the "Blind Pass". He is awarded the 4th best African player of the century. He holds the record as the most capped Algerian player with 100 national caps (147 caps not recognized by

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

) 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 West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 ...

earned

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

a stunning 2–1 victory in their World Cup debut in Spain '82.

Club career

Lakhdar Belloumi (champion d'Algérie 1984 - GC Mascara)

Belloumi spent almost his entire career at home (apart from a brief spell in

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

late in his career), most notably with his hometown club

GC Mascara Ghali Club de Mascara ( ar, نادي غالي معسكر) or simply GC Mascara or simply GCM for short, is an Algerian football club located in Mascara, Algeria. The club was founded in 1925 and its colours are green and white. Their home stadium ...

, as well as

MC Oran ( ar, نادي مولودية وهران), known as , commonly referred to as MC Oran for short, is a football club based in Oran, Algeria. Founded on 1 January 1917 and formed again on 14 May 1946, the club was known as Mouloudia Chaâbia Ouah ...

. He played also with

MC Alger Mouloudia Club d'Alger ( ar, نادي مولودية الجزائر), referred to as MC Alger or MCA for short, is an Algerian football club based in Algiers. The club was founded in 1921 and its colours are red, green and white. Their home st ...

for two years during his military service in Algiers. He won two domestic championships during his career in 1984 with

and in 1988 with

. 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 Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, 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 Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football league system. Founded in ...

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 Al-Ittihad (Arabic language, Arabic: الاتحاد "The Union"), sometimes transliterated as Al-Etihad or Al-Ettihad may refer to: Sports Football Libya *Al-Ittihad Club (Tripoli), a football club based in Bab Ben Gashier *Al Ittihad Gheryan, a f ...

. 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 by any who watched him play, including the great

Pelé Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; born 23 October 1940), known as Pelé (), is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and labelled "the greatest" by FIFA ...

, as a fantastic player. Image:MC Oran (saison 1978-79).jpg, Belloumi with

in 1978-79 Image:GC Mascara (Champion d'Algérie 1984).jpg, Belloumi with

in 1984

International career

Belloumi has a total of 147 caps and 34 goals for Algeria national team but only 100 caps and 28 goals are recognized by

. He participated at

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...

, at two editions of

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament has ...

(

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C ...

and

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal en ...

), at four editions of

Africa Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations referred to as AFCON (french: Coupe d'Afrique des Nations, sometimes referred to as CAN, or TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons), and sometimes as African Cup of Nations, is the main internat ...

(

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – In ...

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

and

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

) and at two editions of

Mediterranean Games The Mediterranean Games is a multi-sport event organised by the International Committee of Mediterranean Games (CIJM). It is held every four years among athletes from countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea in Africa, Asia and Europe. The ...

(1979 and 1983). In 1981, he was awarded African Footballer of the Year. Belloumi scored the winning goal in the 2–1 win over

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.

Career statistics

Clubs

Club statistics

African competition

:''Scores and results list Algeria's goal tally first. "Score" column indicates the score after the player's goal.''

International statistics

National team statistics

International goals

:''Scores and results list Algeria's goal tally first. "Score" column indicates the score after the player's goal.''

International goals (vs clubs)

Honours

Clubs

;GC Mascara * Algerian Championship: 1983–84 ;MC Oran * Algerian Championship: 1987–88; Runner-up 1989–90 *

African Cup of Champions Clubs The CAF Champions League, known for sponsorship purposes as the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League and formerly the African Cup of Champions Clubs, is an annual football club competition organized by the Confederation of African Football and cont ...

: Runner-up

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

Arab Club Champions Cup The Arab Club Champions Cup ( ar, كأس العرب للأندية الأبطال, french: Ligue des Champions Arabe) is an annual regional club football competition organised by the Union of Arab Football Associations (UAFA) and contested by elit ...

: Runner-up

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanist ...

''(as a manager)''

International

: Bronze medal 1979 *

: Runner-up 1980; Third 1984, 1988 *

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The ina ...

: Quarter final 1980 *

: Participation 1982, 1986

Individual

;Awards *

3rd best player: 1979 *

best forward: 1980 * African Footballer of the Year: 1981; Third 1982 *

Team of the Tournament:

* African Footballer of the 20th century: Fourth place * IFFHS World Player of the Century #62: 2000 * 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 *

goalscorer: 1988 (with R. Milla, A. Traoré & G. Abdelhamid) with 2 goals

Controversy

Belloumi was a subject of an arrest warrant in Egypt for almost 20 years following an incident in

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metr ...

in 1989 when after a

1990 FIFA World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second time (the first being ...

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, doctor by profession, 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 International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cr ...

. 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 Kamel Kadri (born 19 November 1963) is an Algerian footballer. He played in nine matches for the Algeria national football team in 1987 and 1992. He was also named in Algeria's squad for the 1988 African Cup of Nations The 1988 African Cup of ...

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 Abdelaziz Bouteflika (; ar, عبد العزيز بوتفليقة, ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz Būtaflīqa ; 2 March 1937 – 17 September 2021) was an Algerian politician and diplomat who served as President of Algeria from 1999 to his resignation in 2019 ...

in collaboration of the Algerian and Egyptian authorities.

References

External links

* * *
Profile
at kazeo.com (MC Alger fansite) *
Lakhdar Belloumi: The Wizard of Maghreb
at A Halftime Report {{DEFAULTSORT:Belloumi, Lakhdar 1958 births Living people People from Mascara, Algeria Algerian footballers Algerian expatriate footballers Algeria international footballers Olympic footballers of Algeria Qatar Stars League players Association football midfielders FIFA Century Club Footballers at the 1980 Summer Olympics 1982 FIFA World Cup players 1986 FIFA World Cup players 1980 African Cup of Nations players 1982 African Cup of Nations players 1984 African Cup of Nations players 1988 African Cup of Nations players Mediterranean Games bronze medalists for Algeria Competitors at the 1979 Mediterranean Games Competitors at the 1983 Mediterranean Games GC Mascara players MC Oran players MC Alger players USM Bel Abbès players ASM Oran players Al-Arabi SC (Qatar) players Algerian football managers Algeria national football team managers MC Oran managers Umm Salal SC managers Expatriate footballers in Qatar Expatriate football managers in Qatar Algerian expatriate sportspeople in Qatar Algeria youth international footballers African Footballer of the Year winners Mediterranean Games medalists in football 21st-century Algerian people

Club career

International career

Career statistics

Clubs

Club statistics

African competition

International statistics

National team statistics

International goals

International goals (vs clubs)

Honours

Clubs

International

Individual

Controversy

Further reading

See also

References

External links