Rabah Mustapha Madjer (Arabic: رابح مصطفى ماجر; born 15 December 1958) is an Algerian former professional 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.[1][2] In his six-year spell with that club, he won nine major titles, including three national championships and the 1987 European Cup.[3]
One of the most prolific Algeria 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 Algeria national team.
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.[5][6]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.[7][8][9]
After that stellar 1987, Madjer won the Ballon
d'or Africain,[10] 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 (despite the initial announcement and the official photos already taken).[11]
After being close to transferring to Bayern Munich,[12] 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.[13]
Madjer retired from the game in 1992 at the age of nearly 34, after a brief stint with Qatar SC.[14]
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.[16]
Post-playing career
In 1993, Madjer began coaching the Algeria national team but after failing to qualify for two 1994 major competitions, the World Cup and the CAN, he resigned, returning to Porto as a youth coordinator.[1]
He controversially returned to the post of Algeria national team coach 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.[19] The following June he was dismissed, having won twice in seven games of which six were friendlies.[20]
After his coaching spells, Madjer started a career as a professional analyst in Qatar, for Al-Jazeera Sports (beIN Sports now).[21]
^Granello, Licia (22 June 1988). "L'Inter rinuncia a Madjer" [Inter renounces to Madjer]. La Repubblica (in Italian). Milan. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
^Chiesa, Carlo F. (February 2000). "Regine del mondo - La storia della Coppa Intercontinentale" [Queens of the world - The history of Intercontinental Cup]. Calcio 2000 (in Italian). Action Group S.r.l. p. 72.
^Cruyff, Johan. My Turn: The Autobiography. Pan Macmillan. p. 122.
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