Rabah Madjer – Algeria’s Wonder Boy
The name rings a bell in the heads of many football diehards in Africa in the world. The former Algerian striker made a name for his country during his heydays. No one could talk about Algerian football in the 80s and 90s without mentioning Rabah Madjer.
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.
Madjer played for the Algerian national team for 19 years, and was present at the 1986 FIFA World Cup finals. He retired as the nation’s top goal scorer 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. Gifted with unbelievable speed, he won several titles both with the Algerian national team and with other clubs like NA Hussien Dey, FC Porto and Qatar SC. He was since nominated best player of the year at least once in each championship where he played. According IFFHS he is one of the 100 best players in the history of football. He was designated the best Arab player of all times by Al-Ittihad in 2003. He was cited among the 125 best players in the world still alive in 2014. He is considered as the best second best Maghreb player of all time behind Lakhdar Bellomi. Madjer retired from the game in 1992 at the age of nearly 34, after a brief stint with Qatar SC. Having taken up coaching immediately after retiring, he managed several clubs, and also had several spells with the Algerian team.
By Cameroon Tribune.
