Sami Abdullah Mohammed Al-Jaber (; born 11 December 1972) is a Saudi Arabian

football manager ''Football Manager'', also known as ''Worldwide Soccer Manager'' in North America from 2004 to 2008, is a series of football management simulation video games developed by British developer Sports Interactive and published by Sega. The game beg ...

and former professional

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who i ...

who played as a striker. He spent the entirety of his career with Al-Hilal, apart from a five-month loan to English club

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...

. Al-Jaber is his country's second highest international goal-scorer with 46 goals in 156 internationals from 1992 to 2006. He appeared in four consecutive

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

tournaments, from 1994 to 2006, scoring in three of them. He was also a member of the Saudi squad which won the

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 ...

in 1996. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest Saudi footballers ever.

Club career

Al-Jaber made his Al-Hilal debut in 1989 and spent nearly 20 years at the club. In 2000, he joined

on loan, where he made just five appearances in five months. After the club learned that Al-Jaber's father had been taken seriously ill, he was allowed to join the United Arab Emirates side Al-Ain on loan, and this was to spell the end of his time in England. Even so, to this day Al-Jaber remains one of the very few Saudi footballers to have played outside their homeland. On 21 January 2008, Al-Hilal held a

testimonial In promotion and advertising, a testimonial or show consists of a person's written or spoken statement extolling the virtue of a product. The term "testimonial" most commonly applies to the sales-pitches attributed to ordinary citizens, whe ...

for Al-Jaber against English

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

giants

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

. Al-Jaber scored a penalty en route to a 3–2 victory over the visitors, in his last game for the club.

International career

On 27 May 1998, Al-Jaber made his 100th international appearance in a friendly against Norway. At 25 years, four months and 16 days old, this made him the youngest male footballer to reach 100 caps. After gaining a runners-up medal in the 2000 Asian Cup, he appeared in the

2002 World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea/Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

but only played in one game, a 0–8 hammering by

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. He was ruled out of the rest of the competition when his appendix burst and he had to be rushed to hospital.

Managerial career

Al-Jaber was named as assistant coach of Al-Hilal in 2009, one year after he retired from professional football. He worked under notable coaches like

Eric Gerets Eric Maria Gerets (; born 18 May 1954) is a Belgian association football, football manager (association football), manager and former player. As a Forward (association football), striker, he started his playing career as an amateur for his local ...

, Gabriel Calderon and

Thomas Doll Thomas Jens Uwe Doll (born 9 April 1966) is a German professional Association football, football manager and a former Association football, football player. As a player, he played as an attacking midfielder for F.C. Hansa Rostock, BFC Dynamo, Ha ...

. In 2012, he became assistant coach of

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsorship reasons, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Prof ...

side

Auxerre Auxerre ( , , Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Auchoirre'') is the capital (Prefectures in France, prefecture) of the Yonne Departments of France, department and the fourth-largest city in the Burgundy historical region southeast of Par ...

. On 27 May 2013, Al-Jaber was named the manager of Al-Hilal, replaced former coach

Zlatko Dalić Zlatko Dalić (; born 26 October 1966) is a Croatian people, Croatian professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former Football player, player. He has been the manager of the Croatia national football ...

. He became the first Saudi coach to manage Al-Hilal after 14 years of

Khalil Ibrahim Al-Zayani Khalil Al-Zayani () is a Saudi Arabian former international footballer and football coach. Al-Zayani is part of Al-Zayani family residing in Dammam city in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. Playing career Al-Zayani played for the Al-Ettifa ...

in 1999. After his first season in his new career, he was ranked 19th in Football Coach World ranking, even though Al-Hilal decided to replace him. On 19 July 2014, Al Arabi announced his appointment as technical manager.

Personal life

Al-Jaber is an advocate of football reforms, having criticised the Saudi Football Federation for its protectionist policy that prevented Saudi talents from going abroad to play better football after Saudi Arabia became the first team to be knocked out of

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea/Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

Career statistics

International

:''Scores and results list Saudi Arabia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Al-Jaber goal.''

Honours

Al-Hilal *

Saudi Premier League The Saudi Pro League (SPL), also known as the Roshn Saudi League (RSL) for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Saudi Arabia and the highest level of the Saudi football league system. The SPL is regarded as th ...

: 1989–90, 1995–96, 1997–98, 2001–02, 2004–05 * Crown Prince Cup:

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

, 2004–05, 2005–06 *

Saudi Federation Cup The Prince Faisal bin Fahd Cup, formerly known as the Saudi Federation Cup, was an association football competition organized by the Saudi Arabian Football Federation. History The competition was founded in the 1975–76 season, with Al-Nassr a ...

: 1990, 1993, 1996, 2000 * Saudi Founder's Cup:

AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League Elite (abbreviated as the ACL Elite) is an annual continental club association football, football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's List of top-division football clubs i ...

Asian Cup Winners Cup The Asian Cup Winners' Cup was an Asian football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-Asian club competition organised by Asian Football Confedera ...

: 1996–97, 2001–02 * Asian Super Cup:

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 ...

Arab Champions League The Arab Club Champions Cup (, ) is a club football competition organised by the Union of Arab Football Associations (UAFA) and contested by top clubs from the Arab world. The tournament is contested by a total of 37 teams from Asia and Africa. F ...

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

Arab Super Cup The Arab Super Cup () was an Arab football (soccer), football competition, held between four teams (the winners and runners-up of both the Arab Champions Cup, Arab Club Champions Cup and the Arab Cup Winners' Cup) each year. History The Arab Supe ...

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

* GCC Club Cup:

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

* Saudi-Egyptian Super Cup:

Saudi Arabia *

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

; runner-up:

FIFA Confederations Cup The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships ( AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBO ...

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 ...

Arabian Gulf Cup The Arabian Gulf Cup (, ''Kaʾs al-Khalīj al-ʿArabī''), also referred to simply as the Gulf Cup, is a biennial association football competition governed by the Arab Gulf Cup Football Federation for its eight member nations. The history of ...

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

Individual *AFC Player of the Month: February 1998 *AFC Goal of the Month: April 1998 *

top scorer: 1989–90 (16), 1992–93 (19) *

top scorer:

(7), 2004–05 (9) *

Arab Club Champions Cup The Arab Club Champions Cup (, ) is a club football competition organised by the Union of Arab Football Associations (UAFA) and contested by top clubs from the Arab world. The tournament is contested by a total of 37 teams from Asia and Africa. F ...

Best Player:

Gulf Club Champions Cup The AGCFF Gulf Club Champions League (), formerly known as the GCC Champions League, is a regional football competition governed by the Arab Gulf Cup Football Federation (AGCFF) for clubs from its eight member nations. The tournament was founde ...

top scorer:

All-time top scorer *

top scorer:

* AFC Fans' All-time XI at the FIFA World Cup: 2020

References

External links

sami al jaber injured

at AlHilal.com * * *

Official Website {{DEFAULTSORT:Jaber, Sami 1972 births Living people Footballers from Riyadh Saudi Arabian men's footballers Saudi Arabia men's international footballers Saudi Arabian expatriate men's footballers Al-Hilal Saudi FC players Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Al-Gharafa SC players English Football League players 1992 King Fahd Cup players 1994 FIFA World Cup players 1995 King Fahd Cup players 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup players 1998 FIFA World Cup players 2002 FIFA World Cup players 2006 FIFA World Cup players 1992 AFC Asian Cup players 1996 AFC Asian Cup players 2000 AFC Asian Cup players AFC Asian Cup–winning players AFC Champions League Elite–winning players FIFA Men's Century Club Men's association football forwards Saudi Arabian football managers UAE Pro League managers Al-Hilal Saudi FC managers Al Wahda FC managers Al Shabab FC (Riyadh) managers Saudi Pro League players Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Qatar Saudi Arabian expatriate sportspeople in England Saudi Arabian expatriate sportspeople in Qatar 20th-century Saudi Arabian sportsmen

Club career

International career

Managerial career

Personal life

Career statistics

International

Honours

See also

References

External links