Majed Ahmed Abdullah (; born 11 January 1959) is a Saudi Arabian former professional footballer who played as a striker for Al-Nassr and the Saudi Arabia national team. He is the all-time leading goal scorer for Saudi Arabia with 72 goals in 117 games. At the club level, he is the record goal scorer for Al-Nassr and the all-time top scorer of the Saudi Pro League. He was often referred to by his nickname "The Arabian Pelé". Majed Abdullah is regarded as one of the greatest

Western Asia West Asia (also called Western Asia or Southwest Asia) is the westernmost region of Asia. As defined by most academics, UN bodies and other institutions, the subregion consists of Anatolia, the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Mesopotamia, the Armenian ...

n strikers of all time. He was nominated for IFFHS Asia's Player of the Century, finishing third place. He spent his entire club career at Al-Nassr, and scored 189 league goals in a twenty-one-year career. During this time, Al-Nassr established themselves as one of the dominant forces in Saudi and Asian football. With Abdullah leading the attack, Al-Nassr won five League titles and four King Cup titles as well as the 1997–98 Asian Cup Winners' Cup. Abdullah also finished as the Saudi League top scorer six times throughout his career. Majed Abdullah retired from football in 1998, after Al-Nassr's Asian Cup Winners' Cup Final victory over Suwon Samsung Bluewings. His success was not limited to the domestic stage. In 1984 Saudi Arabia qualified for their first-ever global international tournament at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Abdullah scored their only goal as Saudi Arabia lost all three group games. International success did come in 1984, however, in the Asian Cup in Singapore. Saudi Arabia beat China 2–0 in the final to take the title for the first time, with Abdullah scoring the second goal. Four years later in 1988, he would score twice in the tournament in Qatar as the Saudi team retained the title by beating South Korea on penalties.

Early life

Majed was born in the Al-Baghdadia District in

Jeddah Jeddah ( ), alternatively transliterated as Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; , ), is a List of governorates of Saudi Arabia, governorate and the largest city in Mecca Province, Saudi Arabia, and the country's second largest city after Riyadh, located ...

. Majed is the second son of Ahmed Abdullah. Living close to a sports club alongside being the son of a football manager piqued Majed's interest in football. In the mid-1960s, Abdullah and his family moved to

Riyadh Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the Riyadh Governorate. Located on the eastern bank of Wadi Hanifa, the current form of the metropolis largely emerged in th ...

where his father got a job as the manager of Al-Nassr's youth team. Abdullah enrolled in Al-Jazaeria Elementary School and he passionately watched the older kids play football. A couple of years later, Majed joined the school football team as well as the neighborhood team. He used to play as a goalkeeper. One day the team's striker was absent and Majed had to replace him. This position change proved to be successful as Majed guided his team to a 3–1 victory. Abdullah's family moved to Hotat Khaled District and the young Abdullah joined Al-Motawasta Al-Thania high school. Majed and his neighbors formed a team they called "Al-Ittifaq". They tried to participate in a tournament but their request was rejected due to their young age. They did not give up and challenged one of Riyadh's best neighborhood teams for a place in that tournament. Al-Ittifaq won the match 3–1 with Abdullah scoring twice. Al-Ittifaq participated in the tournament and they went on to win the championship.

Club career

Mohammed Al-Hudayan, a teammate at Al-Ittifaq, recommended Abdullah to Al-Nassr president Prince Abdulrahman Bin Saud, as did Al-Ittifaq's coach Nasseb Awad to Khaled Al-Turki and Al-Nassr coach Ljubiša Broćić. Broćić went to see Abdullah unannounced at Al-Ittifaq's training field in Al-Batha and requested that the club sign him. Abdullah officially joined Al-Nassr on 10 November 1975. Abdullah spent 2 years playing for the youth teams before being promoted to the senior team. He made his senior debut in a friendly against Moroccan side Al-Fath in January 1977. He made his competitive debut on 20 January 1977 by coming off the bench in the league match against Al-Shabab replacing Ibrahim Al-Hamoud. Abdullah once again came off the bench in the 2–1 defeat to Al-Qadsiah on 14 March 1977 to make his second appearance for Al-Nassr. On 18 March, Abdullah made his first start as well as score his first goal for Al-Nassr, when he headed in

Nasser Al-Johar Nasser Hamad Al-Johar (; born 6 January 1946) is a Saudi Arabian former football coach and former player. Club career Al-Johar played for Al Nassr FC. Managerial career Al-Johar coached the Saudi Arabia national team for both the 2000 AFC ...

's cross, in the league match against Al-Wehda. Following an injury to first-choice striker Mohammad Al-Abdeli, Abdullah was given a chance to prove himself. He repaid that trust by scoring three goals in the final three rounds of the league against Al-Shabab, Al-Ahli and derby rivals Al-Hilal. On 5 May 1977, Abdullah scored twice in the 4–0 against Hajer in the 1977 King Cup. He then scored twice against Al-Nahda in the Round of 16 and scored the opener in the 2–1 win against Al-Qadsiah in the quarter-finals. Al-Nassr were eventually eliminated in the semi-finals by Al-Hilal. He ended his first season at Al-Nassr scoring nine goals in ten appearances. Abdullah started his second season with Al-Nassr poorly, failing to score in his first three matches. On 4 November 1977, Abdullah scored a brace against Al-Nahda to score his first goals of the 1977–78 season. He then scored the only goal in a 1–0 win against Al-Qadsiah on 10 November. Abdullah scored his fourth goal of the season in a 1–0 win against Al-Ittihad. On 29 December, Abdullah was injured and forced to leave the pitch in the derby against Al-Hilal. He made his return on 12 January 1978 and scored in the 2–1 win against Al-Ettifaq. On 17 February, Abdullah scored the only goal in a 1–0 away win against Al-Nahda, his sixth of the season. On 2 March, Abdullah scored his first hattrick for Al-Nassr in the 4–0 win against Ohod. On 10 March, he scored his second hattrick in the 3–1 away win against Al-Ittihad. On 30 March, Abdullah scored twice against Al-Shate'e in the Round of 32 of the 1978 King Cup. Al-Nassr were eliminated by eventual champions Al-Ahli in the Round of 16. Majed ended the 1977–78 season scoring 14 goals in 19 appearances. Majed Abdullah finished as the Saudi League top scorer 6 times in his career. He also won the League 4 times as well as the King Cup 4 times. Majed is the all-time top scorer of the Saudi League with 189 goals and is also Al-Nassr's all-time top scorer with 260 goals. Majed Abdullah announced his retirement on 12 April 1998 following Al-Nassr's win in the 1998 Asian Cup Winner's Cup in front of 70,000 fans in Riyadh.

International career

Majed made his senior team debut in 1978 in an unofficial friendly against Portuguese giants Benfica where he scored 2 goals. His official debut was against

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

on 10 December 1978. Majed represented Saudi national team in 2 Asian Cups, 5 Arabian Gulf Cups, the 1984 Olympic Games and the 1994 FIFA World Cup. He retired from the National Team shortly after the 1994 World Cup.

Career statistics

Club

Source:

International

:''Statistics accurate as of match played 29 June 1994''

International goals

Firsts in Majed's life

* First training camp with Al-Nassr was in London in 1976. * First training camp with the National Team (under 17) was also in London in 1977. * First coach with Al-Nassr was Ljubiša Broćić * First coach with the National Team (under 17) was Jeff Faundon. * First shirt number with Al-Nassr was 14. * First shirt number with the National Team was 17. * First match with Al-Nassr was against Al-Fath from

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

in a friendly in 15-1-1977. * First official match with Al-Nassr was against Al-Shabab in 22-1-1977. * First goal with Al-Nassr was against Al-Wehda in 18-3-1977. * First international goal was against Iran under 17 in 15-8-1977. * First goal with the Saudi Senior Team was in a friendly against Benfica in January 1978. * First official goal with the Saudi Senior Team was against

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

in January 1978. * First official Globally goal with the Saudi Senior Team was against

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

Los Angeles 1984. * First "League Top Scorer" Trophy was in 1978–1979 season.

Lasts in Majed's life

* Last local match was against Al-Hilal in 1996–1997 season. * Last local goal was against Al-Ittifaq in January 1997. * Last local trophy was the Saudi Premier League 1994–1995 season. * Last International match was against

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

during 1994 FIFA World Cup in 29-6-1994. * Last International goal was against

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

during 1994 FIFA World Cup qualifications. * Last Globally goal with the Saudi Senior Team was against

in Golden Cup Confederations in Australia 1988. * Last goal with Al-Nassr was against Kopetdag of

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...

in 11-4-1998. * Last match with Al-Nassr was against

Suwon Samsung Bluewings The Suwon Samsung Bluewings () are a South Korean Association football, football club based in Suwon that competes in the K League 2, the second tier of South Korean football. Founded in December 1995, they have won the K League on four occas ...

in the Asian Cup Winners Cup final on 13-4-1998. * Last "League Top Scorer" Trophy was in 1988–1989 season.

Honours

Player

Al-Nassr * Saudi Premier League: 1979–80, 1980–81, 1988–89, 1994–95 * King's Cup:

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

, 1986,

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

, 1990 * GCC Club Championship: 1996,

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

* Asian Cup Winners' Cup: 1997–98 Saudi Arabia *

AFC Asian Cup The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), determining the continental champion of Asia. It is the second-oldest c ...

: 1984, 1988 *

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years for athletes of Asia. The Games were regulated by Asian Games Federation from the 1951 Asian Games, first Games in New Delhi, India in 1951, until ...

silver medal: 1986 * Arab Nations Cup runner-up:

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

Individual * Saudi Premier League top scorer: 1978–79, 1979–80, 1980–81, 1982–83, 1985–86, 1988–89 * King's Cup top scorer: 1979, 1987, 1989, 1990 * Arabian Golden Boot: 1981, 1989 * Arabian Gulf Cup top scorer: 1982 * Asia-Oceania Soccer Handbook Player of the Year: 1984 * Pan Arab Games top scorer:

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

* Asian All Stars: 1985 *

Team of the Tournament: 1988 * Saudi Crown Prince Cup top scorer: 1991 * GCC Club Cup top scorer: 1991, 1996 * MasterCard Asian/Oceanian Team of the 20th Century: 1998 * IFFHS Asia's Player of the 20th Century third place: 1999 * IFFHS World's Player of the 20th Century 64th place: 2000 * IFFHS Asian Men's Team of the 20th Century: 2021 * IFFHS Asian Men's Team of All Time: 2021

Retirement match

On 20 May 2008, 10 years after Abdullah's last match, a testimonial match was held between Al-Nassr and

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

, who were just crowned with their 31st

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

title. The match was held at Al-Nassr's home ground, the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh. Al-Nassr won the match 4–1 with 70,000 fans in attendance. The match saw players from other clubs such as Mohamed Al-Deayea, Malek Mouath and Nashat Akram represent Al-Nassr. Arjen Robben broke the deadlock at the 50th before Mouath and Akram scored in quick succession. Saud Kariri then added a third in the 61st before Mouath scored the fourth goal in the first minute of stoppage time.

Match details

References

External links

Majed9 website
A Fan's tribute to Majed Abdullah

at

RSSSF The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (''RSSSF'') is an international organisation dedicated to collecting statistics about association football. The foundation aims to build an exhaustive archive of football-related information from around ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abdullah, Majed 1959 births Living people Footballers from Jeddah Men's association football forwards Saudi Arabia men's international footballers Saudi Arabian men's footballers Olympic footballers for Saudi Arabia Footballers at the 1984 Summer Olympics Al-Nassr FC players 1984 AFC Asian Cup players 1988 AFC Asian Cup players 1994 FIFA World Cup players AFC Asian Cup–winning players FIFA Men's Century Club Saudi Pro League players Asian Games silver medalists for Saudi Arabia Asian Games bronze medalists for Saudi Arabia Asian Games medalists in football Footballers at the 1978 Asian Games Footballers at the 1982 Asian Games Footballers at the 1986 Asian Games Footballers at the 1990 Asian Games Medalists at the 1982 Asian Games Medalists at the 1986 Asian Games 20th-century Saudi Arabian sportsmen