Lakhdar Belloumi
Lakhdar Belloumi | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 29, 1958 Algeria |
| Occupation(s) | Footballer, coach |
| Known for | Algerian football talent, pioneering "Blind Pass" technique, African Footballer of the Year 1981 |
Lakhdar Belloumi (; born 29 December 1958) is a retired Algerian footballer and coach. Known primarily as an attacking midfielder, he is often hailed as Algeria's greatest football talent and ranks among the finest players in African history. Belloumi is recognized for pioneering the "Blind Pass" technique and was placed fourth in the IFFHS ranking of Africa's best players of the 20th century. He held the record for the most appearances with the Algerian national team, earning 100 official caps (147 including unofficial matches), and stands as Algeria's third top scorer with 28 official goals (34 counting non-FIFA games).
One of his career highlights was netting a goal against then-European champions West Germany, contributing to Algeria’s stunning 2–1 victory during their first-ever FIFA World Cup appearance in 1982 in Spain.
Club career
Belloumi’s club career was predominantly based in Algeria, where he played mainly for his hometown team GC Mascara and MC Oran, along with a two-year stint at MC Alger during his military service. He won two national league titles: one in 1984 with GC Mascara and another in 1988 while at MC Oran. After rejoining Mascara in 1994, he continued playing until his retirement in 1999.
Although European clubs such as Barcelona showed interest before the 1982 World Cup, Algerian regulations prohibited transfers before players turned 27. In 1985, Juventus expressed serious intent to sign him following a friendly match, but a leg injury sustained during the African Champions' Cup ended that prospect. Belloumi later voiced significant regret over missing this chance.
Despite never transferring to a major European club, which limited his international visibility, Belloumi’s skill earned widespread admiration from fellow professionals and football legends like Pelé.
International career
Belloumi represented the Algerian national team in 147 matches, scoring 34 goals overall; FIFA officially credits him with 100 caps and 28 goals. His international resume includes participation at the 1980 Summer Olympics, two FIFA World Cups (1982 and 1986), four editions of the Africa Cup of Nations (1980, 1982, 1984, and 1988), as well as two Mediterranean Games (1979 and 1983).
In 1981, he earned the title of African Footballer of the Year. Belloumi played a pivotal role throughout the decade, notably scoring the winning goal against West Germany in Algeria’s memorable World Cup upset in 1982. He concluded his international career in 1989.
Controversy
For nearly twenty years, Belloumi was subject to an arrest warrant issued by Egyptian authorities following a violent incident after a World Cup qualifier held in Cairo in 1989. The altercation involved clashes between Algerian players and Egyptian fans, during which an Egyptian supporter suffered severe injuries from a broken bottle allegedly thrown by Belloumi. From 2006 onward, he appeared on Interpol’s wanted list related to this case.
Algerian officials argued that Egypt sought to use Belloumi—Algeria’s leading football figure—as a scapegoat to deflect attention from hostile circumstances surrounding the match. Belloumi consistently denied involvement; teammates supported his claim by stating that goalkeeper Kamel Kadri was responsible for causing the injury.
The warrant was rescinded in April 2009 after intervention by Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika and collaborative efforts between Algerian and Egyptian authorities, resulting in Belloumi’s exoneration.
Additionally, seven months prior to the 1982 World Cup, erroneous reports circulated claiming Belloumi had died from a heart attack; it was later clarified that it was teammate Hocine Benmiloudi who had passed away.
Club
| Club | Season | League | National cup[lower-alpha 1] | League cup[lower-alpha 2] | Continental | Overall | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Appearances | Goals | Appearances | Goals | Appearances | Goals | Appearances | Goals | Appearances | Goals | ||
| OS Mascara | 1974–75 | Division H | – | – | ||||||||
| 1975–76 | – | – | ||||||||||
| SKAF El-Khemis | 1976–77 | Algerian Division 2 | – | – | ||||||||
| GCB Mascara | 1977–78 | Algerian Division 2 | – | – | ||||||||
| MP Oran | 1978–79 | Algerian Division 1 | 25 | 11 | – | – | ||||||
| MP Alger | 1979–80 | Algerian Division 1 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 0 | – | 4 | 4 | 15 | 9 | |
| 1980–81 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | 12 | 3 | |||
| GCR Mascara | 1981–82 | Algerian Division 1 | 3 | 1 | – | – | ||||||
| 1982–83 | 15 | 3 | – | – | ||||||||
| 1983–84 | ? | 1 | – | – | ||||||||
| 1984–85 | ? | 1 | – | 2 | 0 | |||||||
| 1985–86 | ? | 0 | – | – | ||||||||
| 1986–87 | 30 | 8 | 1 | 1 | – | – | 30 | 9 | ||||
| Mouloudia d'Oran | 1987–88 | Algerian Division 1 | 30 | 4 | 4 | 2 | – | – | 35 | |||
International
Lakhdar Belloumi netted 28 goals across 100 official appearances for the Algeria national team, alongside six additional goals in 47 unofficial matches not acknowledged by FIFA. His international scoring record features goals against club sides such as Bałtyk Gdynia (1979), Stade Brestois and Olympique Lyonnais (1982), Racing Paris (1983), FC Carl Zeiss Jena (1984), and Videoton FC (1987).
| National team | Year | Appearances | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Algeria | 1978 | 4 | 1 |
| 1979 | 11 | 5 | |
| 1980 | 11 | 4 | |
| 1981 | 9 | 6 | |
| 1982 | 10 | 2 | |
| 1983 | 10 | 2 | |
| 1984 | 10 | 3 | |
| 1985 | 3 | 1 | |
| 1986 | 6 | 1 | |
| 1987 | 10 | 1 | |
| 7 |2 | |||
| 9 |0 | |||
| Total | 100 | 28 | |
- The score column displays Algeria's tally first; the score reflects the state immediately following each Belloumi goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score after goal | Final result | Competition | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 October 1978 | Stade du 17 Juin, Constantine, Algeria | Template:Fb | 1–0 | 3–0 | Friendly match | ||||
| 2 | 5 April 1979 | Stade du 5 Juillet, Algiers, Algeria | Template:Fb | 1–0 | 1–0 | Qualifier for 1980 Summer Olympics | ||||
| 3 | 24 June 1979 | Stade du 5 Juillet, Algiers, Algeria | Template:Fb | 1–0 | 3–1 | African Cup of Nations qualification (1980) | ||||
| 4 | 27 September 1979 | Stadion Rade Končar, Šibenik, Yugoslavia | Template:Fb | 1–0 | 2–3 | Mediterranean Games (1979) | ||||
| 5 | 29 September 1979 | Stadion Poljud, Split, Yugoslavia | Template:Fb | 1–0 | 2–1 | Mediterranean Games (1979) | ||||
| 6 | 21 December 1979 | Stade du 5 Juillet, Algiers, Algeria | Template:Fb | 1–0 | 3–0 | Qualifier for 1980 Summer Olympics | ||||
| 7 | 13 March 1980 | Liberty Stadium, Ibadan, Nigeria | Template:Fb | 1–0 | 1–0 | African Cup of Nations (1980) | ||||
| 8 | 16 March 1980 | Liberty Stadium, Ibadan, Nigeria | Template:Fb | 2–0 | 3–2 | African Cup of Nations (1980) | ||||
| 9 | 20 July 1980 | Dinamo Stadium, Minsk, Soviet Union | Template:Fb SYR | 1-0 | 3-0 | Summer Olympics (1980) | ||||
| 10 | 24 July 1980 | Dinamo Stadium, Minsk, Soviet Union | Template:Fb ESP | 1-1 | 1-1 | Summer Olympics (1980) | ||||
| 11 | 1 May 1981 | Stade du 17 Juin, Constantine, Algeria | Template:Fb NIG | 2-0 | 4-0 | FIFA World Cup qualification (1982) | ||||
| 12 | 1 May 1981 | Stade du 17 Juin, Constantine, Algeria | Template:Fb NIG | 4-0 | 4-0 | FIFA World Cup qualification (1982) | ||||
| 13 | 30 August 1981 | Stade du 19 Juin, Oran, Algeria | Template:Fb Upper Volta | 3-0 | 7-0 | African Cup of Nations qualification (1982) | ||||
| 14 | 30 August 1981 | Stade du 19 Juin, Oran, Algeria | Template:Fb Upper Volta | 4-0 | 7-0 | African Cup of Nations qualification (1982) | ||||
| 15 | 10 October 1981 | Surulere Stadium, Lagos, Nigeria | Template:Fb NGR | 1-0 | 2-0 | FIFA World Cup qualification (1982) | ||||
| 16 | 30 October 1981 | Stade du 17 Juin, Constantine, Algeria | Template:Fb NGR | 1-0 | 2-1 | FIFA World Cup qualification (1982) | ||||
| 17 | 11 February 1982 | El Molinón, Gijón, Spain | Spain Olympic Team | 1-0 | Friendly match | |||||
| 18 | 16 June 1982 | El Molinón, Gijón | Template:Fb RFA | 2-1 | FIFA World Cup (1982) | |||||
| 19 | 11 September 1983 | Stade El Abdi, El Jadida | Template:Fb TUN | 1-2 | Mediterranean Games (1983) | |||||
| 20 | 28 October 1983 | Stade du 5 Juillet, Algiers | {{fb LBY } } | 1-0 | Football at the Summer Olympics (1984) | |||||
| 21 | 5 March 1984 | Stade Bouaké, Bouaké | Template:Fb MWI | 2-0 | African Cup of Nations (1984) | |||||
| 22 | 17 March 1984 | Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Abidjan | Template:Fb EGY | 2-0 | African Cup of Nations (1984) | |||||
| 23 | 10 October 1984 | Otto-Grotewohl-Stadion, Aue | Template:Fb RDA | 1-4 | Friendly match | |||||
| 24 | 8 March 1985 | Stade du 5 Juillet, Algiers | Template:Fb MTN | 1-0 | African Cup of Nations qualification (1986) | |||||
| 25 | 14 December 1986 | Stade du 5 Juillet, Algiers | Template:Fb CIV | 1-0 | Friendly match | |||||
| 26 | 11 January 1987 | Stade El Menzah, Tunis | Template:Fb TUN | 1-0 | All-Africa Games qualification (1987) | |||||
| 27 13 March 1988 Stade Mohamed V, Casablanca Template:Fb CIV 1-0 1-1 African Cup of Nations (1988) | ||||||||||
| 28 26 March 1988 Stade Mohamed V, Casablanca Template:Fb MAR 1-1 4-3 African Cup of Nations (1988) |
Player
- GC Mascara
- MC Oran
- Algerian League Title: 1987–88; Second place 1989–90
- African Cup of Champions Clubs: Finalist 1989
- Arab Club Champions Cup: Finalist 2001 (in managerial role)
Algeria
- Mediterranean Games: Bronze medalist 1979
- Africa Cup of Nations: Runner-up 1980; Third place finishes in 1984 and 1988
- Summer Olympic Games: Reached quarterfinals in 1980
- FIFA World Cup: Competed in 1982 and 1986 tournaments
Individual
- Accolades
- Ranked third best player at the Mediterranean Games in 1979
- Recognized as best forward at the Africa Cup of Nations in 1980
- Awarded African Footballer of the Year in 1981; secured third place in 1982
- Included in the Africa Cup of Nations Team of the Tournament for both 1980 and 1984
- Placed fourth in the African Footballer of the 20th century ranking
- Ranked #62 in the World Player of the Century list published in 2000
- Honored with the CAF Merit Award in 2008 for outstanding career achievements
- Named among the Algerian Footballers of the 20th century in 2009 alongside Rabah Madjer
- Recipient of several Algerian Footballer of the Year distinctions
- Notable achievements
- Leading scorer in the Algerian League during the 1978–79 season with eleven goals
- Joint top scorer at the Africa Cup of Nations in 1988, sharing with R. Milla, A. Traoré, and G. Abdelhamid, each netting two goals
Personal life
Belloumi's son, Mohamed El Bachir, has also pursued a career as a professional football player.
Further reading
- Grine, Hamid. (1986) Lakhdar Belloumi, un footballeur algérien, Algiers, Entreprise Nationale du Livre (Enal).
See also
External links
- Profile on mouloudia.com (official MC Oran website)
- Lakhdar Belloumi: The Wizard of Maghreb at A Halftime Report
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