Majed Abdullah
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| Majed Abdullah | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Majed Ahmed Abdullah Al-Mohammed | |
| Date of birth | November 1, 1959 | |
| Place of birth | Jeddah, Saudi Arabia | |
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | |
| Playing position | Striker | |
| Youth clubs | ||
| 1975–77 | Al-Nasr | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1977–1998 | Al-Nasr | ?? (320) |
| National team | ||
| 1977–1994 | Saudi Arabia | 147 (118) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
Majed Ahmed Abdullah Al-Mohammed (Arabic: ماجد عبد الله) (born November 1, 1959 in Jeddah) is a former Saudi Arabian football (soccer) striker, the all-time goals leader for the Saudi national team. He was nicknamed Arabian Pelé. Majed is arguably the best striker in the history of Saudi Arabia.
Contents |
[edit] Childhood
[edit] Life in Jeddah
Majed was born in Al-Baghdadia District in Jeddah in a house close to Al-Ittihad Club and lived his childhood in that house. Majed is the second son of Mr. Ahmed Abdullaf after Abdullah. Being a neighbor to a sports club along side with being the son of a football manager made the child Majed live in a football environment. All the pictures in the house walls and all the conversations between Majed's father and his guests about football made the young Majed a football lover from the beginning.
[edit] Moving to Riyadh
In the mid 60s, Majed and his family moved to Riyadh where his father got a job as the manager of Al-Nasr youth team. Majed joined "Al-Jazaeria Elementary School" and the 6 years old kid was passionately watching the older kids playing football. Couple of years later, Majed started participating in the school team and the neighborhood team as a goalkeeper. One day, the team striker was absent and Majed replaced him to guide his team to a 3-1 victory and to write the beginning of Al-Nasr, Saudi Arabia and Asia's greatest ever striker. Majed's Family moved to "Hotat Khaled" District and the young Majed joined "Al-Motawasta Al-Thania" high school. Majed and his young neighbors formed a team they called "Al-Ittifaq". They tried to participate in one of the most famous tournaments but their request was rejected due to their young age. The kids didn't give up and challenged one of Riyadh's best teams for a place in that tournament and surprisingly they won 3-1 with 2 goals from the young talent "Majed Abdullah". "Al-Ittifaq" was accepted to compete regardless of its members young age, and the team went on to win the championship.
[edit] Al-Nasr career
[edit] The beginning
Mohammed Al-Hudayan was Majed's teammate at "Al-Ittifaq" and a player at Al-Nasr youth team. Al-Hudayan advised the late Prince Abdulrahman Bin Saud – Al-Nasr president at that time – to observe the young talent and take him at the club. In addition, Nasseb Awad - Al-Ittifaq trainer – who was a big Al-Nasr fan, met with Khaled Al-Turki, who is one of Al-Nasr and Saudi Arabia's greatest players, and convinced him to see Majed. Al-Turki immediately arranged with Al-Nasr new head coach Ljubiša Broćić to observe Majed. Broćić went to see Majed at Al-Ittifaq training field in "Al-Batha" without Majed knowing and directly asked Al-Nasr management to sign him. The club management visited Majed in his school and on 10-11-1975, Al-Nasr signed its greatest player ever. Majed spent 2 years playing for the youth teams before joining the senior team.
[edit] The Senior Team
Majed made his senior team debut in a friendly against the Morrocan team Al-Fath in 15-1-1977 where he played the last 20 minutes. His official debut was against Al-Shabab in 22-1-1977 and his first official goal was against Al-Wehda on 19-3-1977.Majed spent that season as a substitute but the injury of Al-Nasr number 1 striker Mohammed Saad Al-Abdali gave the young talent the chance where he started the last 4 matches of the season scoring 4 goals which was a huge achievement for a 17 years old player. Majed started his career with the shirt number 14 before switching to his legendary number 9. Majed went on to represent Al-Nasr for more than 20 years scoring 320 goals making him Al-Nasr greatest player ever.
[edit] National Team
[edit] Under 17 Team
In August 1977, Majed was chosen to represent the Saudi under 17 team in Tabriz Championship in Iran. Majed's beginning was stunning. He amazed everyone in the tournament including his own trainer "Jeff Faundon" and went on to score 7 goals in 3 matches (2 against Iran – 2 against Bulgaria – 3 against Russia) to become the tournament's top scorer.
[edit] The Senior Team
Majed made his senior team debut in 1978 in a friendly against Portuguese giants Benfica were he scored 2 goals in his first ever international match when he was only 18. His official debut was against Kenya in the same year. Majed represented Saudi national team continuously for 16 years where injury was the only reason to keep him out the National Team.
Image:Http://www.majed9.net/cap.jpg Image:Http://www.majed9.net/mj99.jpg
[edit] Goals
[edit] Majed goals for Al-Nasr in local matches
Between his first goal against Al-Wehda in 19-3-1977 and his last goal against Kopetdag of Turkmenistan in 11-4-1998 Majed scored for the club 320 goals even though he missed many matched due to either injury or representing the national team.
- Goals in Saudi Premier League:
Between 1977 and 1998 Majed represented Al-Nasr in only 218 games of a total of 455 Al-Nasr played during the same period. Majed was absent mainly due to either injury or representing the Saudi national team where at that time national team players were taken from their teams to prepare for major tournaments. In the 218 league matches, Majed scored 190 goals broken down as follows :
| Season | # of Goals | Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| 1976-1977 | 4 | Majed played 5 gamed in his debut season |
| 1977-1978 | 12 | League's second top goal scorer |
| 1978-1979 | 18 | League's top goal scorer |
| 1979-1980 | 17 | League's top goal scorer |
| 1980-1981 | 21 | League's top goal scorer |
| 1981-1982 | 9 | Played only second stage – National Team duty |
| 1982-1983 | 14 | League's top goal scorer |
| 1983-1984 | 0 | Didn't play and match – National Team duty |
| 1984-1985 | 1 | Played only 5 matches |
| 1985-1986 | 15 | League's top goal scorer |
| 1986-1987 | 15 | League's second top goal scorer |
| 1987-1988 | 5 | Played only first stage – National Team duty |
| 1988-1989 | 19 | League's top goal scorer |
| 1989-1990 | 13 | League's second top goal scorer |
| 1990-1991 | 10 | Missed half season – Injury |
| 1991-1992 | 3 | Played only 2 matches – Injury |
| 1992-1993 | 4 | Played only 5 matches – Injury |
| 1993-1994 | 0 | Didn't play and match – National Team duty |
| 1994-1995 | 8 | Played only 8 matches – Injury |
| 1995-1996 | 0 | Played only 1 match – Injury |
| 1996-1997 | 2 | Played only 4 match – Injury |
| 1997-1998 | 0 | Didn't play and match – Injury |
| Total | 190 |
- Goals in Saudi King Cup:
Between his first match against Al-Nahda in 1977 and his last match in the final against Al-Ta'awon in 1990 (The tournament was renamed to Crown Prince Cup), Majed scored 39 goals broken down as follows:
| Season | # of Goals | Oppnent |
|---|---|---|
| 1976-1977 | 5 | Hajr - Nahda - Al-Qadsia |
| 1977-1978 | 2 | Shate |
| 1978-1979 | 6 | Al-Qadsia - Rabie |
| 1979-1980 | 0 | - |
| 1980-1981 | 4 | Al-Ahli - Al-Qadsia - Al-Ittifaq - Al-Hilal |
| 1981-1982 | 1 | Ohod |
| 1982-1983 | 3 | Al Jabalain - Al-Ansar - Al-Ahli |
| 1983-1984 | 0 | Didn't play |
| 1984-1985 | 0 | - |
| 1985-1986 | 1 | Riad |
| 1986-1987 | 5 | Al Taawon - Al-Ittihad - Hajr - Al-Hilal |
| 1987-1988 | 2 | Ohod |
| 1988-1989 | 5 | Al-Ittihad - Hajr - Al-Ahli |
| 1989-1990 | 5 | Hajr - Al-Ittifaq - Al Taawon |
| Total | 39 |
- Goals in Saudi Crown Prince Cup:
The King Cup was renamed as Crown Prince Cup in 1991. Majed scored only 8 goals in it. 5 goals in 1991, 1 in 1995 and 2 in 1996.
- Goals in Saudi Federation cup:
Majed participated only once in the Saudi Federation Cup and that was in 1997 season where he scored 4 goals.
- Majed goals by team:
From the above we conclude that Majed scored 241 official local goals for Al-Nasr (190 in the league + 39 in the King Cup + 8 in the Crown Prince Cup + 4 in the Federation Cup). The 241 goals are broken down team wise as follows :
| Team | # of Goals |
|---|---|
| Al-Ittifaq | 29 |
| Al-Ahli | 24 |
| Al-Hilal | 21 |
| Al-Ittihad | 19 |
| Al-Wehda | 19 |
| Al-Qadsia | 18 |
| Al-Nahda | 18 |
| Al-Shabab | 15 |
| Riad | 15 |
| Ohod | 13 |
| Al-Ta'ee | 11 |
| Hajr | 8 |
| Al-Rawda | 8 |
| Al-Ansar | 6 |
| Al Jabalain | 5 |
| Al-Rabie | 4 |
| Al Taawon | 3 |
| Al-Shate | 2 |
| Al-Arabi | 1 |
| Al-Raed | 1 |
| Al-Najma | 1 |
| Total | 241 |
[edit] Majed goals for Al-Nasr in continental and regional matches
| Team | Country | # of Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Ahli | Oman | 1 |
| Al-Rayyan | Qatar | 2 |
| Al-Rifa | Bahrain | 1 |
| Al-Nasr | Oman | 3 |
| Al-Sadd | Qatar | 1 |
| Al-Arabi | Kuwait | 1 |
| Al-Ansar | Lebanon | 1 |
| Kazma | Kuwait | 2 |
| Dhufar | Oman | 2 |
| Al-Arabi | Qatar | 2 |
| Al-Rifa Al-Sharqi | Bahrain | 1 |
| Kopetdag | Turkmenistan | 1 |
| Total | 18 |
[edit] Majed goals for Al-Nasr in friendly matches
Majed scored for Al-Nasr 61 goals in friendly matches. The most famous one was against Manchester city in 1987.
[edit] Majed goals for the national team
From August 1977 to June 1994, Majed scored 229 for the Nation Team. However, only 118 were officially counted because the remaining 111 were not scored in "Class A" matches (either against clubs or Olympic teams)
[edit] Majed goals summary
| Scoring for | Goals Classification | # of Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Nasr | Saudi Premier League | 190 |
| Al-Nasr | King Cup | 39 |
| Al-Nasr | Crown Prince Cup | 8 |
| Al-Nasr | Saudi Federation cup | 4 |
| Al-Nasr | Regional Matches | 18 |
| Al-Nasr | Friendly Matches | 61 |
| National Team | Class A Matches | 118 |
| National Team | Non Class A Matches | 111 |
| Total | 549 |
[edit] Firsts in Majed life
- First training camp with Al-Nasr was in London in 1976.
- First training camp with the National Team (under 17) was also in London in 1977.
- First coach with Al-Nasr was Ljubiša Broćić
- First coach with the National Team (under 17) was Jeff Faundon.
- First shirt number with Al-Nasr was 14.
- First shirt number with the National Team was 17.
- First match with Al-Nasr was against Al-Fath from Morroco in a friendly in 15-1-1977.
- First official match with Al-Nasr was againts Al-Shabab in 22-1-1977.
- First goal with Al-Nasr 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 in January 1978.
- First "League Top Scorer" Trophy was in 1978-1978 season.
[edit] Lasts in Majed 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 during 1994 FIFA World Cup in 29-6-1994.
- Last International goal was against Kuwait during 1994 FIFA World Cup qualifications.
- Last goal with Al-Nasr was against Kopetdag of Turkmenistan in 11-4-1998.
- Last match with Al-Nasr was against Suwon Samsung Bluewings of South Korea in the 1998 Asian Cup Winners Cup final in 13-4-1998.
- Last "League Top Scorer" Trophy was in 1988-1989 season.
[edit] Achievements
- Saudi Premier League : 5 times
- Saudi King Cup : 4 times
- Asian Cup Winners Cup
- Gulf Club Champions Cup : 2 times
- AFC Asian Cup : 2 times
- Qualifying for the 1994 FIFA World Cup.
- Saudi Premier League Top Scorer : 6 times
- Gulf Cup of Nations Top Scorer
- Arabian Golden Boot : 2 times
- Gulf Club Champions Cup Top Scorer
- Asian Player of the Year 1984
- Asia Best Players of the Century : 3rd
- Arabian Player of the Century : Al-Jazeera Channel Survey
- Saudi Arabia Athlete of the Century : French Press Agency (AFP) Survey
[edit] Farewell match
On 2008-05-20, a big farewell match was organised between Al-Nasr and Real Madrid who were just crowned with their 31st La Liga title. More than 80,000 people packed in King Fahd Stadium and additional 30,000 went back home because there were no more space. The match ended 4-1 in fovour of Al-Nasr with 2 goals from Malek Mouath and a goal from Saud Khariri and Nashat Akram. Arjen Robben scored Real Madrid's only goal.
[edit] Match details
| 2005-05-20 18:15 GMT |
Al-Nasr  |
4 – 1 |  Real Madrid |
King Fahd Stadium, Riyadh Attendance: 80,000 Referee: Mutrif Al-Qahtani |
Malek Mouath  53' 91'Nashat Akram 55'Saud Khariri 61' |
Arjen Robben 49' |
[edit] References
- Asian Player of the Year 1984
- Asian Player of the century
- Football Legends
- Al-Jazeera Survey-Arabian Player of the Century
- FIFA Football Committee
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Majed9 website A Fan's tribute to Majed Abdullah (Arabic/English)
- Saudi Arabia FA official site
- Playerhistory.com Majed Abdullahs Profile
