Rabah Madjer


Rabah "Mustapha" Madjer is an Algerian former footballer who played as a striker.
He reached stardom as a Porto player during the 1980s, being widely regarded as one of the best Algerian football players of all time. With that club he won nine major titles during his six-year spell, including three national championships and the 1987 European Cup.
One of the most prolific Algerian internationals in number of games and goals, Madjer played in two World Cups with his national team, helping it to its first ever participation in 1982. Having taken up coaching immediately after retiring, he managed several clubs, and also had several spells with the Algerian team.

Club career

Born in the Algiers district of Hussein Dey of Kabyle background, Madjer started his European career in 1983, moving to Racing Club de France football Colombes 92 from local NA Hussein Dey. He stayed there during one and a half seasons, finishing 1984–85 with another French side, Tours FC.
Madjer arrived at FC Porto in 1985–86 and, the following campaign, entered the club's history books in the final of the European Cup against Bayern Munich, scoring the 1–1 equalizer in a memorable final, which eventually ended 2–1 to the Portuguese, and also setting up the winner of Juary. Pelé is believed to have said of this goal: "It would have been the greatest goal I have ever seen, if he had not looked back at it." He also netted in the club's Intercontinental Cup conquest the same year.
After that stellar 1987, Madjer won the Ballon
d'or Africain, but was not allowed to compete for the European Golden Ball as he was not born in the region. In the first part of 1987–88 he scored ten times from only 11 appearances. In the summer 1988 he moved to Inter Milan but the medical exams detected a serious thigh muscle injury that the player had in the past and the contract was never officially signed.
After being close to transferring to Bayern Munich, Madjer signed for La Liga's Valencia CF in January 1988, returning to his previous team after only a few months for a further three seasons. Johan Cruyff had also attempted to sign Madjer for AFC Ajax at the time the clubs met in the 1987 European Super Cup. Cruyff was unhappy with his own club's board, believing that they leaked details of the transfer which caused Porto to pull out of the deal.
Madjer retired from the game in 1992 at the age of nearly 34, after a brief stint with Qatar SC. Also in that country, he managed Al Sadd SC, Al-Wakrah Sport Club and Al Rayyan SC.

International career

Madjer played for the Algerian national team for 19 years, and was present at the 1982 and 1986 FIFA World Cup finals. He retired as the nation's top goalscorer at 28, in 87 caps, having also won the Africa Cup of Nations in 1990 as the hosts incidentally beat Nigeria twice, in the opening match 5–1 and the final 1–0.
Madjer's most famous goal came in Algeria's 2–1 win over Germany in the 1982 World Cup, when he opened the scoring in the 53rd minute. In 1993, he began coaching the national team but, after failing to qualify for two 1994 major competitions, the World Cup and the CAN, resigned, returning to Porto as a youth coordinator.
After a quick spell in 1999, Madjer returned two years later, only to resign with aggravation in the 2002 summer. He controversially returned to the post in October 2017, his first managerial work for over a decade, after Lucas Alcaraz failed to take the team to the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The following June he was dismissed, having won twice in seven games of which six were friendlies.

Post-retirement

After his coaching spells, Madjer started a career as a professional analyst in Qatar, for Al-Jazeera Sports.
In 2011 he became a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador.

Career statistics

Club

International goals

#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.20 June 198019 Juin 1965, Oran, Algeria3–13–11982 World Cup qualification
2.20 July 1980Dinamo Stadium, Minsk, Soviet Union2–03–01980 Summer Olympics
3.10 April 198119 Juin 1965, Oran, Algeria3–05–11982 African Cup of Nations qualification
4.10 April 198119 Juin 1965, Oran, Algeria4–05–11982 African Cup of Nations qualification
5.1 May 198117 Juin, Constantine, Algeria1–04–01982 World Cup qualification
6.30 August 198119 Juin 1965, Oran, Algeria1–07–01982 African Cup of Nations qualification
7.30 August 198119 Juin 1965, Oran, Algeria2–07–01982 African Cup of Nations qualification
8.30 October 198117 Juin, Constantine, Algeria2–12–11982 World Cup qualification
9.25 April 19825 Juillet, Algiers, Algeria1–11–1Friendly
10.28 April 19825 Juillet 1962, Algiers, Algeria2–02–0Friendly
11.16 June 1982El Molinón, Gijón, Spain1–02–11982 FIFA World Cup
12.8 April 19835 Juillet 1962, Algiers, Algeria4–06–21984 African Cup of Nations qualification
13.8 April 19835 Juillet 1962, Algiers, Algeria6–06–21984 African Cup of Nations qualification
14.26 April 1983Stade de l'Amitié, Cotonou, Benin1–11–11984 African Cup of Nations qualification
15.10 June 19835 Juillet 1962, Algiers, Algeria1–03–0Friendly
16.28 August 19835 Juillet 1962, Algiers, Algeria1–02–01984 African Cup of Nations qualification
17.17 March 1984Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Abidjan, Ivory Coast1–03–11984 African Cup of Nations
18.13 July 19855 Juillet 1962, Algiers, Algeria2–02–01986 World Cup qualification
19.18 August 19855 Juillet 1962, Algiers, Algeria3–03–01986 African Cup of Nations qualification
20.6 October 1985El Menzah, Tunis, Tunisia1–11–41986 World Cup qualification
21.18 October 19855 Juillet 1962, Algiers, Algeria1–03–01986 World Cup qualification
22.14 March 1986Alexandria Stadium, Alexandria, Egypt0–13–21986 African Cup of Nations
23.27 March 19875 Juillet 1962, Algiers, Algeria1–01–01988 African Cup of Nations qualification
24.7 January 198919 Mai 1956, Annaba, Algeria3–03–01990 World Cup qualification
25.25 June 1989National Sports Stadium, Harare, Zimbabwe0–21–21990 World Cup qualification
26.25 August 198919 Mai 1956, Annaba, Algeria1–01–01990 World Cup qualification
27.2 March 19905 Juillet 1962, Algiers, Algeria1–05–11990 African Cup of Nations
28.2 March 19905 Juillet 1962, Algiers, Algeria2–05–11990 African Cup of Nations

Honours

Hussein Dey
Porto
International
Individual