Majed Abdullah

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Majed Abdullah playing Saudi FootballMajed Abdullah (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 scored 67 goals for the national team in class "A" matches and 142 goals in non-class "A" matches. He was nicknamed Arabian Pelé.

Contents [hide]
1 Early Years
2 Early Career
2.1 With Al-Nasr
2.2 With the National Team
3 Professional Career
3.1 With Al-Nasr
3.2 With the National Team
4 Playing Style
5 Current Life
6 See Also
7 External links



[edit]
Early Years

Majed Abdullah as a childMajed was born in Jeddah in 1959 as Majed Ahmad Abdullah Mohamed. He lived in Jeddah until he was six when his father , football coach, was given a job in Riyadh by Al-Nasr to coach the youth team there.

Majed grew to love the sport when he accompanied his father to the training sessions and was playing football regularly at school and on neigborhood teams. Ironically, due to his height and long limbs, he mainly played as a goalkeeper and not a striker. When he was 10 years old, a striker for his neigborhood team was missing and Majed was asked to fill in his position. Majed scored 2 goals in the game as his team won 3-1 and he would continue to play in that position from then on, becoming a local celebrity.

[edit]
Early Career
[edit]
With Al-Nasr
Many clubs were clamoring to sign the young talented striker but due to his father's close relationship with Al-Nasr and Majed's love for the team, he ended up joining Al-Nasr's Youth team under the supervision of Yugoslavian coach Brocic.

At first, this was not as fun as Majed had hoped and he was regularly skipping training sessions to join his friends at school or neigborhood teams. Eventually, he managed to realise the importance of training and regularly attended.

Majed's first match was a friendly match against a second division English side during a 1976 training camp in England. He managed to score a goal in the match which ended 4-0. However, he was injured in the match and had to miss the rest of the camp.

His first match in Saudi Arabia was another friendly, this time against Morrocan Al-Fat'h. He entered the game as a subsitute in the last 20 minutes and due to his inexperience, failed to make an impact.

A week later, he also played in the last 20 minutes in his first official game in the premier league against neighbours Al-Shabab. Although he didn't score, he made a good impression on the fans and on his coach. In his third game against Al Wahda (KSA), he managed to score the first of 533 career goals. He would play two more games before the season ended as his team finished second and the young star was already famous.

[edit]
With the National Team
Despite only appearing in 5 games, Majed was accepted to the Saudi Arabian Youth National teamm which was preparing for a friendly tournament in Iran. Although Saudi Arabia finished second, Majed proved his skills as he claimed the top goalscorer award with 7 goals.

He caught the interest of the Saudi Arabian Senior team coaches, who at only 18 years of age and 5 league matches to his name joined the national team.

He proved his talent in his first match, a friendly against Portuguese giants Benfica when he scored two goals, the first which was an amazing dash from the Saudi half dribbling past two defenders before feinting the goalkeeper and putting it away in the back of the net.

With that performance, Majed managed to secure a spot on the National team from 1977 all the way to World Cup 1994.

[edit]
Professional Career
[edit]
With Al-Nasr
Majed's club finished their first ever season in a respectable second place. The second season also saw them finish second (although two more teams were added to the league) with Majed second in the goalscorers list (he missed most of the season due to injury). However, in the third season, he topped the scorer's list for the first time with 13 goals but the club finished yet again in second place. Brocic, the coach who had trained Majed from an early age was sacked by the club. Majed later remarked that this it was sad to see his mentor leave the club. Brazilian coach Formiga was brought in and he successfully led the team to their first championship in 1980 as they dominated the league from start to finish and Majed topped the scoring charts for the second consecutive time. 1981 would be even better for Majed and Al-Nasr as they became the first team to achieve the league title for the second consecutive time and then became the first team to achieve the double when they won the King's cup. Majed finished yet again on the top of the scoring charts with 21 goals in 16 matches (he missed the last two matches due to injury).

for the next four years, Al-Nasr couldn't manage to when anything, Majed was eitheir pre-occupied with the national team or injured. However, in the period between 1986 and 1990, Al-Nasr came back in force and won the league one more time and achieved the King's cup 3 more times, Majed also topped the scoring charts 3 more times during this period bringing his tally of golden boots up to 6. He managed all this even with constant injuries and national team commitments.

The period from 1991-1993 saw Majed sidelined due to injury, although Al-Nasr won the league title in 1994, Majed was pre-occupied with the national team attempting to qualify for the World Cup.

In his final four years with Al-Nasr, Majed led Al-Nasr to four different titles; The premier league in 1995, two consecutive gulf club championships in 1996-97 and Al-Nasr's crowning achievement, The Asian Cup Winner's Cup in 1998. His final goal came in the semi-finals and he would retire from football after the tournament was over.

[edit]
With the National Team

Majed jumps against a Dutch defenderWhen Majed first joined the Saudi Arabian national team, it was unpopular with the Saudi public. The team's repeated poor performances caused many fans to simply watch club derbies and matches instead.

But with the establishment of the Saudi Premier League in 1976, the level of football in Saudi Arabia and the national team increased causing more fans to pay attention to international matches.

Majed's first big international breakthrough was during 5th GCC cup when he scored 7 goals in 5 matches, including a still standing national record of 5 goals in a single match(which he would repeat again) against Qatar. However, despite better performances for the team, results were not improving and after a failed attempt to qulaify for the 1982 World Cup, the team's Brazilian coach ,Menilli was replaced with fellow countrymen Mario Zagallo. Zagallo himself would be sacked after a 4-0 loss to Iraq in 7th GCC cup in 1984 and was replaced by caretaker manager Al-Zayani until a suitable replacement could be found. Al-Zayani immediatly improved the team. In Saudi Arabia's final 3 matches they snagged two wins and a tie and jumped from sixth to third place.

A few weeks later, the team arrived for the 1984 Olympics qualifying round but Majed was injured and the temporary Al-Zayani was still in charge. The prognosis was bleak but the team played played well led by 17 year-old wonder and Majed's Al-Nasr team mate Mohasen Al-Jam'an, Majed himself recovored quickly to lead his team to their first crowing acheivement, Qaulification to the 1984 Los Angleses Olypmics after a memorable 5-4 victory over South Korea. Although, during the Olymics, there inexperience showed and they lost all there matches. Majed managed to score a goal in a 3-1 defeat to Brazil.


Majed's most famous header against Al-Hilal. Note that the illusion of majed jumping higher than the goal is due to the cameraman's lower altitudeFollowing the Olympics, Saudi Arabian football entered its golden age when it won its first Asian Cup in 1984 after defeating all of the big names in Asian football. During the final 2-0 victory over China, Majed scored what some believe to be his most beautiful goal when he dribbled past two defenders and fooled the goal keeper before gently putting it away.

The Saudis also won the 1988 Asian cup under the leadership of the legendary Brazilian coach Carlos Alberto Parreira. This time, the Saudis were not the dark horse of the tournament but the defending champion as were not under-estimated. They still managed to beat South Korea in the final after penalty shoot-outs.

Majed's greatest success came when the team qaulified to their first World Cup in 1994. Although Majed was injured for most of the qualify he came back to net three goals in the final three matches to send Saudi Arabia to USA 1994. At the world cup, Majed was 35 years old and was the team captain but did not manage to score goals as he was kept on the bench for most of the tournament. He finally retired from international football after the tournament.

[edit]
Playing Style
Majed was always a fantastic dribbler with both feet and a strong kicker. However, after he joined Al-Nasr he discovered that his height and jumping power gave him an advantage in headers that coupled with his amazing speed made it diffucult for defenders to stop him.

Majed was also known for duping defenders and goalkeeprs alike with feints and dribbling skills which earned the nickname "executioner of Goalkeepers".

He was also a creator of goals and a natural penalty-taker.

[edit]
Current Life
Majed, due to his popularity, has had a steady job as a pundit on Saudi Channel 3 but he has recently moved to a more lucrative job offer at the Arab Radio and Television Network (aka ART).

There have been many rumors of an over due testimonial match over the years. The most recent one to take form involves famous spanish club FC Barcelona.

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Majed Abdullah is simply the greatest football player to ever come out of Saudi Arabia.

He was Born in 1958 at Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and started his career in 1977 with "Al-Nassr" club in the Capital, Riyadh. From there he went on to become the best striker in the history of his team, his country and the Asian continent.

Majed's career spanned 22 years, which can be remembered as the golden period for his club and Saudi football.
He was part of the Saudi national team to win the Asian nations cup for the first time in 1984, and a second in 1988, qualify for the Olympics for the first time in 1984, and qualify for the World Cup finals for the first time in 1994.
In addition he led his club, Al-Nassr, to 11 national, regional, and Asian titles.

On the personal level he was the leading scorer in the Premier league 6 times, a national record, plus various scoring titles in regional and Asian championships.

Still, the biggest and most important number in his life is goals, of which he scored 533 in local and international games (official and friendly).
Majed was able to amass such a high number because he had all the striker position ingredients. A fast runner, an astonishing dribbler, a master of headers from all angles, an almost perfect penalty shooter, and above all he was a stunner, no matter what the stage of the game it was, suddenly he would take over and change the course of a game in a second.

Majed's career could have been more colorful, but some factors prevented him from making more achievements.
At first there were the injuries, of which he had so many, that many times he missed an entire tournament or even an entire season.
He also played under an ineffective continental confederation, Asian Football Confederation, which didn't start organizing Asian clubs championships on a steady basis until 1986, and started awarding the Player of the month and Player of the year titles only in 1995. He could have easily won many of those, especially during the eighties.
In addition the Saudi Football Federation ban on local players from playing abroad didn't help at all, had he joined some advanced league, he could have improved even further.

Majed Abdullah was widely known in all of Asia, But he did not make the world headlines until he topped the century club as the player with the most international matches in the world with 147. Currently he is at #3 with 140 games; seven games were discounted after scrutiny.
Although he is known to have played more than 170 internationals, FIFA counts only what is defined as "Class-A matches", excluding many Olympic and Regional matches.

Majed made it to every Saudi Arabian national team selection from 1977 to 1994, until he retired from international play in July of 1994, following his participation in World Cup USA 94, as team captain.

Majed Abdullah retired from the football world on the 12th of April 1998, after playing his last game with Al-Nassr club in the final of the Asian cup winners cup against Samsung of South Korea, which Al-Nassr won 1-0.


- Career Achievements -

1. With the Saudi Arabian national team:

1984: Qualifying for Los Angeles Olympics

1984: 8th Asian Nations Cup

1988: 9th Asian Nations Cup

1994: Qualifying for the world cup (U.S.A.)




2. With Al-Nassr Club:

1980: Saudi Premier League

1981: Saudi Premier League

1981: King's Cup

1986: King's Cup

1987: King's Cup

1989: Saudi Premier League

1990: King's Cup

1995: Saudi Premier League

1996: Gulf clubs Championship

1997: Gulf clubs Championship

1998: Asian Cup winners' Cup




3. Personal Achievements:

Saudi Premier League Top Scorer 6 Times
(a national record):


1979 ( 13 ) Goals
1980 ( 17 )
1981 ( 21 )
1983 ( 14 )
1986 ( 15 )
1989 ( 18 )


Asian Footballer of the year 3 times 1984,1985,1986 (selected by a panel of journalists)


Saudi Arabia's Player of the century selected by AFP news agency


Ranked 3rd In the voting for Asia's best player of the century, Awarded Feb 1999


Asian Player of the month twice june 1995, january 1997 (selected by Asian Football Confederation)

Arab countries top scorer "Golden Boot", Twice: 1981,1989


Asian Olympic qualifiers top scorer 1984,
(13 Goals.. 7 in first round, 6 in final round )


Gulf cup top scorer (with national team) 1982, (3 Goals)


Gulf clubs' Championship top scorer, twice:1991 (5 Goals), 1996 (5 Goals)


Records:

Saudi league's top scorer 6 times.. a long standing national record, the next players in the list won it only twice
Of the 6 top scorer titles, he won 3 in a raw, no other player won it even two in a raw
Holds the national record for the most goals scored in the premier league, 189 Goals
Holds the national record for the longest affiliation with the premier league, 20 years (1977-1997)
Scored 5 Goals in one international match against Qatar on 3-4-1979, still unbroken national record
In 1981, he repeated that number in a friendly against Indonesia
In 1989, he repeated the same number again in a league match against Alrowdah
Scored 4 goals in just 15 minutes, against India, during a qualifier for the 1984 Olympics, another national record

Goals:

Scored 533 goals throughout his career, As follows:
67 Goals for the National team In Class "A" matches
142 Goals for the National team In Non-Class "A" matches
324 Golas for Al-Nassr football club, official and friendly
Scored his first goal for Al-Nassr club on 18-3-1977 against Alwihdah in the Premier League
Scored his first goal for the Saudi national team in a friendly against Benfica of Portugal in 1977
His first official goal for the Saudi national team came in the 8th Asian Games held in Bangkok, December 1978, against Qatar
Scored his last official goal for the national team on 18-5-1993, against Kuwait in a qualifier for the 1994 World Cup
His last goal for the national team came on 4-6-1994, a friendly against Trinidad & Tobago in preparation for the World Cup
Scored his last goal for Al-Nassr club on 10-4-1998 against Kopetdag of Turkmenistan in the semi-final of Asia's Cup winners Cup
The heights scoring player for the national team
The heights scoring player in the history of Al-Nassr club

Games:

Played his first game with Al-Nassr football club on 14-1-1977, in a friendly against Alfat'h from Morocco
Played his first official game in the Saudi premier league on 20-1-1977 against Alshabab during the second round of the season
Had the honor of playing in the inaugural season of the Saudi premier league 1976-1977
Selected to the youth national team after only his first 5 matches in the premier league, and then directly selected to the first National team
Played his first game for the national team in 1977, in a friendly against Benfica of Portugal, and scored two goals
Holds the Asian record, third in the world, for the number of international class "A" matches played, 140
Represented his country in its first ever presence in the Olympics, Los Angeles 1984
He was the national team captain in its first ever appearance in the World Cup, USA 1994
Played his last international game on 29-6-1994 against Belgium in the World Cup, which the Saudis won 1-0
Played his final game with Al-Nassr club on 12-4-1998 against Samsung of South Korea in the final of Asia's Cup winners Cup, which Al-Nassr won 1-0

-Nick Names-

1- He was chosen as The Player of The 20th Century in the Arab world by aljazeera T.V. channel's poll 2000.

2- The Blazing Arrow

3- Asia Scorer

4- Arab Scorer

- Pictures -


Accepting the golden boot
as Arab's top scorer 1981


Raising Asian Nation's cup 1984


Unstoppable, even with 4 defenders


Asian champion in 1988


The player of the month in Asia . January 1997


as Arab's top scorer 1989


Raising The kings cup 1990


ahight header

- Flash -

With Brazil in 1984

Another clip with Brazil in 1984

- Videos -

Vs. Argentina 1989

Vs. England 1989

Vs. Scotland 1989

Vs. Hamboug 1978

Vs. China 1984 Amazing Goal

Vs. Iran 1988

Vs. New zealand 1984

Vs. South Korea 1984

Vs. South Korea 1984 - Another Goal -

Vs. Kuwait 1984

A Header 1988

A foul kick 1988