17 Facts About Lakhdar Belloumi

Lakhdar Belloumi is an Algerian former football player and manager.

Lakhdar Belloumi is widely considered as the best Algerian player of all time and one of the best players in Africa.

Lakhdar Belloumi is said to have invented the "Blind Pass".

Lakhdar Belloumi is awarded the 4th best African player of the century.

Lakhdar Belloumi holds the record as the most capped Algerian player with 100 national caps and is the third best goalscorer of the Algerian national team in all time with 28 goals.

Lakhdar Belloumi spent almost his entire career at home, most notably with his hometown club GC Mascara, as well as MC Oran.

Lakhdar Belloumi played with MC Alger for two years during his military service in Algiers.

Lakhdar Belloumi won two domestic championships during his career in 1984 with GC Mascara and in 1988 with MC Oran.

Lakhdar Belloumi had contact with various European clubs, including Barcelona, before Spain '82, but "the law did not allow us to leave the country before the age of 27".

Lakhdar Belloumi was understandably disappointed "It was a real shame for me that I couldn't go".

Lakhdar Belloumi was recognised by any who watched him play, including the great Pele, as a fantastic player.

Lakhdar Belloumi has a total of 147 caps and 34 goals for Algeria national team but only 100 caps and 28 goals are recognized by FIFA.

Lakhdar Belloumi participated at 1980 Summer Olympics, at two editions of FIFA World Cup, at four editions of Africa Cup of Nations and at two editions of Mediterranean Games.

Lakhdar Belloumi was a subject of an arrest warrant in Egypt for almost 20 years following an incident in Cairo in 1989 when after a 1990 FIFA World Cup qualifying match a brawl erupted to the hostel residence of the Algeria team, between players of the Algerian squad and Egyptian supporters that left an Egyptian fan, doctor by profession, seriously injured in his eye by a broken bottle which was attributed to be thrown by Lakhdar Belloumi.

The Algerian authorities accused Egypt of wanting deliberately to accuse Lakhdar Belloumi who was the biggest star of the country, to make diversion against hostile events that Algeria team has suffered during the qualifying match in Cairo.

Lakhdar Belloumi always claimed his innocence and teammates present at the incident had testified before the Algerian justice that it was goalkeeper Kamel Kadri responsible for inflicting the injury.

The warrant was finally rescinded in April 2009 and Lakhdar Belloumi was cleared of all legal proceedings at the initiative of Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika in collaboration of the Algerian and Egyptian authorities.