View source for Sami Al-Jaber

{{Short description|Saudi Arabian footballer (born 1972)}}
{{BLP sources|date=October 2012}}
{{EngvarB|date=October 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2022}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Sami Al-Jaber
| image = Sami09.JPG
| caption = Al-Jaber in 2013
| fullname = Sami Abdullah Al-Jaber
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1972|12|11|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Riyadh]], Saudi Arabia
| height = 1.77 m
| position = [[Forward (association football)|Forward]]
| currentclub = 
| youthyears1 = 1986–1988
| youthclubs1 = [[Al-Hilal FC|Al-Hilal]]
| years1 = 1989–2007
| clubs1 = [[Al-Hilal FC|Al-Hilal]]
| caps1 = 270
| goals1 = 101
| years2 = 2000
| clubs2 = → [[Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.|Wolverhampton Wanderers]] (loan)
| caps2 = 4
| goals2 = 0
| totalcaps = 274
| totalgoals = 101
| nationalyears1 = 1992–2006
| nationalteam1 = [[Saudi Arabia national football team|Saudi Arabia]]
| nationalcaps1 = 156
| nationalgoals1 = 46
| medaltemplates = {{MedalSport|Men's [[association football|football]]}}
{{MedalCountry|{{fb|KSA}}}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[AFC Asian Cup]]}}
{{Medal|W|[[1996 AFC Asian Cup|1996]]|}}
{{Medal|RU|[[2000 AFC Asian Cup|2000]]|}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[FIFA Confederations Cup]]}}
{{Medal|RU|[[1992 King Fahd Cup|1992]]|}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[Arabian Gulf Cup]]}}
{{Medal|W|[[12th Arabian Gulf Cup|1994]]|}}
{{Medal|W|[[15th Arabian Gulf Cup|2002]]|}}
| manageryears1 = 2011–2012
| managerclubs1 = [[Al-Hilal F.C.|Al-Hilal]] (assistant)
| manageryears2 = 2012–2013
| managerclubs2 = [[AJ Auxerre|Auxerre]] (assistant)
| manageryears3 = 2013–2014
| managerclubs3 = [[Al-Hilal F.C.|Al-Hilal]]
| manageryears4 = 2015
| managerclubs4 = [[Al-Wahda F.C.|Al-Wahda]]
| manageryears5 = 2016–2017
| managerclubs5 = [[Al-Shabab Riyadh|Al-Shabab]]
}}

'''Sami Abdullah Mohammed Al-Jaber''' ({{langx|ar|سَامِي عَبْد الله مُحَمَّد الْجَابِر}}; born 11 December 1972) is a Saudi Arabian [[Manager (association football)|football manager]] and former professional [[footballer|player]] who played as a [[forward (association football)|striker]]. He spent the entirety of his career with [[Al-Hilal FC|Al-Hilal]], apart from a five-month loan to English club [[Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. |Wolverhampton Wanderers]].

Al-Jaber is his country's second highest international goal-scorer with 46 goals in 156 internationals from 1992 to 2006. He appeared in four consecutive [[FIFA World Cup]] tournaments, from 1994 to 2006, scoring in three of them. He was also a member of the Saudi squad which won the [[AFC Asian Cup]] in 1996. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest Saudi footballers ever.

==Club career==
Al-Jaber made his Al-Hilal debut in 1989 and spent nearly 20 years at the club. In 2000, he joined [[Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. |Wolverhampton Wanderers]] on loan,<ref>{{Cite web|last=Wollaston|first=Steve|date=30 April 2020|title=Who is Sami Al-Jaber? The former Wolves player eyed for Newcastle United role|url=https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/wolverhampton-wanderers-sami-al-jaber-15141134|access-date=2 December 2021|website=BirminghamLive|language=en}}</ref> where he made just five appearances in five months.<ref>{{Cite web|title=AL-JABER COMPLETES LOAN SPELL|url=https://www.skysports.com/football/news/2202903/al-jaber-completes-loan-spell|last=Dixon|first=Jamie|access-date=2 December 2021|website=Sky Sports|language=en}}</ref> After the club learned that Al-Jaber's father had been taken seriously ill, he was allowed to join the United Arab Emirates side Al-Ain on loan, and this was to spell the end of his time in England.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Evans|first=Nic|title=AL-JABER GIVEN UAE LOAN|url=https://www.skysports.com/football/news/2198109/al-jaber-given-uae-loan|access-date=2 December 2021|website=Sky Sports|language=en}}</ref> Even so, to this day Al-Jaber remains one of the very few Saudi footballers to have played outside their homeland.

On 21 January 2008, Al-Hilal held a [[Testimonial match|testimonial]] for Al-Jaber against English [[Premier League]] giants [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]]. Al-Jaber scored a penalty en route to a 3–2 victory over the visitors, in his last game for the club.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.manutd.com/default.sps?pagegid={B4CEE8FA-9A47-47BC-B069-3F7A2F35DB70}&newsid=525644| title=Report: Al Hilal 3 United 2| publisher=Manchester United FC| date=21 January 2008| access-date=8 February 2009}}</ref>

==International career==
On 27 May 1998, Al-Jaber made his [[List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps|100th international appearance]] in a friendly against Norway. At 25 years, four months and 16 days old, this made him the youngest male footballer to reach 100 caps.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/football/2007/dec/05/theknowledge.sport|title=Football: The Knowledge - the fastest ever century of international caps|last1=Bryant|first1=Tom|last2=Gardner|first2=Alan|last3=Dart|first3=James|date=5 December 2007|website=The Guardian|access-date=2 December 2021}}</ref>

After gaining a runners-up medal in the [[2000 AFC Asian Cup|2000 Asian Cup]], he appeared in the [[2002 FIFA World Cup|2002 World Cup]] but only played in one game, a 0–8 hammering by [[Germany national football team|Germany]]. He was ruled out of the rest of the competition when his appendix burst and he had to be rushed to hospital.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.arabnews.com/?page=8&section=0&article=105921| title='Sam 6' Regarded as Kingdom's Best| last=Alosaimi |first=Najah| work=Arab News| date=21 January 2008| access-date=8 February 2009}}</ref>

==Managerial career==
Al-Jaber was named as assistant coach of [[Al-Hilal FC|Al-Hilal]] in 2009, one year after he retired from professional football. He worked under notable coaches like [[Eric Gerets]], [[Gabriel Calderon]] and [[Thomas Doll]]. In 2012, he became assistant coach of [[Ligue 2]] side [[AJ Auxerre|Auxerre]].

On 27 May 2013, Al-Jaber was named the manager of [[Al-Hilal FC|Al-Hilal]], replaced former coach [[Zlatko Dalić]]. He became the first Saudi coach to manage Al-Hilal after 14 years of [[Khalil Ibrahim Al-Zayani]] in 1999. After his first season in his new career, he was ranked 19th in Football Coach World ranking, even though Al-Hilal decided to replace him. On 19 July 2014, [[Al Arabi SC (Doha)|Al Arabi]] announced his appointment as technical manager.

==Personal life==
Al-Jaber is an advocate of football reforms, having criticised the Saudi Football Federation for its protectionist policy that prevented Saudi talents from going abroad to play better football after Saudi Arabia became the first team to be knocked out of [[2002 FIFA World Cup]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2002/jun/09/worldcupfootball2002.sport28|title = Why you don't see Saudi players in Europe|last=Church|first=Michael|date=9 June 2002|work=The Guardian}}</ref>

==Career statistics==
===International===
:''Scores and results list Saudi Arabia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Al-Jaber goal.''

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ List of international goals scored by Sami Al-Jaber<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/aljaber-intlg.html |title=Sami Abdullah Al-Jaber - Century of International Appearances |author=Roberto Mamrud & Naim Albakr |website=[[RSSSF]] |access-date=23 November 2013 }}</ref>
|-
!scope="col"|No.
!scope="col"|Date
!scope="col"|Venue
!scope="col"|Opponent
!scope="col"|Score
!scope="col"|Result
!scope="col"|Competition
|-
| style="text-align:center"|1 || 16 September 1992 || [[Latakia]], Syria || {{fb|KUW}} || || style="text-align:center"|2–0 || [[1992 Arab Nations Cup]] Group Stages
|-
| style="text-align:center"|2 || 18 April 1993 || [[Singapore]] || {{fb|NZL}} || || style="text-align:center"|3–1 || [[Friendly (association football)|Friendly]]
|-
| style="text-align:center"|3 || 24 April 1993 || Singapore || {{fb|NZL}} || || style="text-align:center"|1–0 || Friendly
|-
| style="text-align:center"|4 || 1 May 1993 || [[Kuala Lumpur]], Malaysia || {{fb|MAC}} || || style="text-align:center"|6–0 || [[1994 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)|1994 FIFA World Cup qualifier]]
|-
| style="text-align:center"|5 || 17 September 1993 || [[Khobar]], Saudi Arabia || {{fb|THA}} || || style="text-align:center"|4–0 || Friendly
|-
| style="text-align:center"|6 || 28 October 1993 || [[Doha]], Qatar || {{fb|IRN}} || || style="text-align:center"|4–3 || 1994 FIFA World Cup qualifier
|-
| style="text-align:center"|7 || 30 March 1994 || [[Riyadh]], Saudi Arabia || {{fb|CHI}} || || style="text-align:center"|2–2 || Friendly
|-
| style="text-align:center"|8 || 27 April 1994 || [[Wikipedia:IPA for Greek|Athinai]], Greece || {{fb|GRE}} || || style="text-align:center"|5–1 || [[Friendly match]]
|-
| style="text-align:center"|9 || 25 June 1994 || [[East Rutherford, New Jersey]], United States || {{fb|MAR}} || || style="text-align:center"|2–1 || [[1994 FIFA World Cup]]
|-
| style="text-align:center"|10 || 19 October 1994 || [[Dhahran]], Saudi Arabia || {{fb|USA}} || || style="text-align:center"|2–1 || Friendly
|-
| style="text-align:center"|11 || 6 November 1994 || [[Abu Dhabi]], United Arab Emirates || {{fb|UAE}} || || style="text-align:center"|1–1 || [[12th Arabian Gulf Cup]]
|-
| style="text-align:center"|12 || 10 December 1994 || Riyadh, Saudi Arabia || {{fb|POL}} || || style="text-align:center"|2–1 || Friendly
|-
| style="text-align:center"|13 || 8 October 1995 || Washington DC, United States || {{fb|USA}} || || style="text-align:center"|4–3 || Friendly
|-
| style="text-align:center"|14 || 28 October 1995 || [[Matsuyama]], Japan || {{fb|JPN}} || || style="text-align:center"|2–1 || Friendly
|-
| style="text-align:center"|15 || 19 October 1996 || [[Muscat, Oman]] || {{fb|QAT}} || || style="text-align:center"|2–2 || [[13th Arabian Gulf Cup]]
|-
| style="text-align:center"|16 || 5 December 1996 || [[Dubai]], United Arab Emirates || {{fb|THA}} || || style="text-align:center"|6–0 || [[1996 AFC Asian Cup]] Group Stage
|-
| style="text-align:center"|17 || 16 December 1996 || [[Abu Dhabi]], United Arab Emirates || {{fb|CHN}} || || style="text-align:center"|4–3 || [[1996 AFC Asian Cup]] Quarter-finals
|-
| style="text-align:center"|18 || rowspan="3"|31 March 1997 || rowspan="3"|[[Jeddah]], Saudi Arabia || rowspan="3"|{{fb|TPE}} || || rowspan="3" style="text-align:center"|6–0 || rowspan="3"|[[1998 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)|1998 FIFA World Cup qualification]]
|-
| style="text-align:center"|19 
|-
| style="text-align:center"|20 
|-
| style="text-align:center"|21 || rowspan="2"|25 September 1997 || rowspan="2"| Riyadh, Saudi Arabia || rowspan="2"|{{fb|MLI}} || || rowspan="2" style="text-align:center"|5–1 || rowspan="2"|Friendly
|-
| style="text-align:center"|22 
|-
| style="text-align:center"|23 || 9 May 1998 || [[Cannes]], France || {{fb|TRI}} || || style="text-align:center"|2–1 || Friendly
|-
| style="text-align:center"|24 || 12 May 1998 || [[Nice]], France || {{fb|ISL}} || || style="text-align:center"|1–1 || Friendly
|-
| style="text-align:center"|25 || 17 May 1998 || Cannes, France || {{fb|NAM}} || || style="text-align:center"|2–1 || Friendly
|-
| style="text-align:center"|26 || 24 June 1998 || [[Bordeaux]], France || {{fb|South Africa}} || || style="text-align:center"|2–2 || [[1998 FIFA World Cup]]
|-
| style="text-align:center"|27 || 31 May 2000 || [[Győr]], Hungary || {{fb|HUN}} || || style="text-align:center"|2–2 || Friendly
|-
| style="text-align:center"|28 || 5 October 2000 || [[Zarqa]], Jordan || {{fb|CHN}} || || style="text-align:center"|2–0 || Friendly
|-
| style="text-align:center"|29 || 10 February 2001 || [[Dammam]], Saudi Arabia || {{fb|Bangladesh}} || || style="text-align:center"|3–0 || [[2002 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)|2002 FIFA World Cup qualification]]
|-
| style="text-align:center"|30 || rowspan="3"|12 February 2001 || rowspan="3"| Dammam, Saudi Arabia || rowspan="3"|{{fb|VIE}} || || rowspan="3" style="text-align:center"|5–0 || rowspan="3"|[[2002 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)|2002 FIFA World Cup qualification]]
|-
| style="text-align:center"|31 
|-
| style="text-align:center"|32 
|-
| style="text-align:center"|33 || 15 February 2001 || Dammam, Saudi Arabia || {{fb|Mongolia}} || || style="text-align:center"|6–0 || [[2002 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)|2002 FIFA World Cup qualification]]
|-
| style="text-align:center"|34 || rowspan="2"|10 July 2001 || rowspan="2"|Singapore || rowspan="2"|{{fb|SIN}} || || rowspan="2" style="text-align:center"|3–0 || rowspan="2"|Friendly
|-
| style="text-align:center"|35 
|-
| style="text-align:center"|36 || 15 September 2001 || [[Bangkok]], Thailand || {{fb|THA}} || || style="text-align:center"|3–1 || [[2002 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)|2002 FIFA World Cup qualification]]
|-
| style="text-align:center"|37 || 21 September 2001 || [[Manama]], Bahrain || {{fb|BHR}} || || style="text-align:center"|4–0 || [[2002 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)|2002 FIFA World Cup qualification]]
|-
| style="text-align:center"|38 || 21 October 2001 || Riyadh, Saudi Arabia || {{fb|THA}} || || style="text-align:center"|4–1 || [[2002 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)|2002 FIFA World Cup qualification]]
|-
| style="text-align:center"|39 || 16 January 2002 || Riyadh, Saudi Arabia || {{fb|KUW}} || || style="text-align:center"|1–1 || [[15th Arabian Gulf Cup]]
|-
| style="text-align:center"|40 || 20 January 2002 || Riyadh, Saudi Arabia || {{fb|BHR}} || || style="text-align:center"|3–1 || [[15th Arabian Gulf Cup]]
|-
| style="text-align:center"|41 || 14 May 2002 || Riyadh, Saudi Arabia || {{fb|SEN}} || || style="text-align:center"|3–2 || Friendly
|-
| style="text-align:center"|42 || 9 February 2005 || [[Tashkent]], Uzbekistan || {{fb|UZB}} || || style="text-align:center"|1–1 || [[2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)|2006 FIFA World Cup qualification]]
|-
| style="text-align:center"|43 || rowspan="2"|8 June 2005 || rowspan="2"| Riyadh, Saudi Arabia || rowspan="2"|{{fb|UZB}} || || rowspan="2" style="text-align:center"|3–0 || rowspan="2"|[[2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)|2006 FIFA World Cup qualification]]
|-
| style="text-align:center"|44 
|-
| style="text-align:center"|45 || 15 March 2006 || Riyadh, Saudi Arabia || {{fb|IRQ|2004}} || || style="text-align:center"|2–2 || Friendly
|-
| style="text-align:center"|46 || 14 June 2006 || [[Munich]], Germany || {{fb|TUN}} || || style="text-align:center"|2–2 || [[2006 FIFA World Cup]]
|}

==Honours==
'''Al-Hilal'''
* [[Saudi Premier League]]: [[1989–90 Saudi Premier League|1989–90]], [[1995–96 Saudi Premier League|1995–96]], [[1997–98 Saudi Premier League|1997–98]], [[2001–02 Saudi Premier League|2001–02]], [[2004–05 Saudi Premier League|2004–05]]
* [[Crown Prince Cup]]: [[1995 Saudi Crown Prince Cup|1995]], [[2000 Saudi Crown Prince Cup|2000]], [[2003 Saudi Crown Prince Cup|2003]], [[2004–05 Saudi Crown Prince Cup|2004–05]], [[2005–06 Saudi Crown Prince Cup|2005–06]]
* [[Saudi Federation Cup]]: 1990, 1993, 1996, 2000
* [[Saudi Founder's Cup]]: [[Saudi Founder's Cup|2000]]
* [[AFC Champions League]]: [[1999–2000 Asian Club Championship|2000]]
* [[Asian Cup Winners Cup]]: [[1996–97 Asian Cup Winners' Cup|1996–97]], [[2001–02 Asian Cup Winners' Cup|2001–02]]
* [[Asian Super Cup]]: [[1997 Asian Super Cup|1997]]
* [[Arab Champions League]]: [[1994 Arab Club Champions Cup|1994]], [[1995 Arab Club Champions Cup|1995]]
* [[Arab Super Cup]]: [[2001 Arab Super Cup|2001]]
* [[GCC Club Cup]]: [[15th GCC Club Championship|1998]]
* [[Saudi-Egyptian Super Cup]]: [[Saudi-Egyptian Super Cup|2001]]

'''Saudi Arabia'''
*[[AFC Asian Cup]]: [[1996 AFC Asian Cup|1996]]; runner-up: [[2000 AFC Asian Cup|2000]]
*[[FIFA Confederations Cup]] runner-up: [[1992 King Fahd Cup|1992]]
*[[Arabian Gulf Cup]]: [[12th Arabian Gulf Cup|1994]], [[15th Arabian Gulf Cup|2002]]

'''Individual'''
*AFC Player of the Month: February 1998<ref>{{cite web |title=Super Sami strikes gold |url=http://www.asian-football.com/afc/pub/April98/frame.r3.html |website=[[Asian Football Confederation]] |date=14 May 1998|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19980514215351/http://www.asian-football.com/afc/pub/April98/frame.r3.html |archive-date=14 May 1998 }}</ref>
*AFC Goal of the Month: April 1998<ref>{{cite web |title=Sami does it again |url=http://www.asian-football.com/afc/pub/june98/frame.r4.html |website=[[Asian Football Confederation]] |date=19 February 1999|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990219201654/http://www.asian-football.com/afc/pub/june98/frame.r4.html |archive-date=19 February 1999 }}</ref>
*[[Saudi Premier League]] top scorer: [[1989–90 Saudi Premier League|1989–90]] (16), [[1992–93 Saudi Premier League|1992–93]] (19)
*[[Arab Champions League]] top scorer: [[1994 Arab Club Champions Cup|1994]] (7), [[2004–05 Arab Champions League|2004–05]] (9)
*[[Arab Club Champions Cup]] Best Player: [[1994 Arab Club Champions Cup|1994]]
*[[Gulf Club Champions Cup]] top scorer: [[1998 Gulf Club Champions Cup|1998]]
*[[Arab Club Champions Cup]] All-time top scorer
*[[Arab Super Cup]] top scorer: [[2001 Arab Super Cup|2001]]
*[[Asian nations at the FIFA World Cup#Notable players|AFC Fans' All-time XI at the FIFA World Cup]]: 2020<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.the-afc.com/competitions/fifa-world-cup/latest/news/the-best-asian-team-at-the-fifa-world-cup-announced |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210116082205/https://www.the-afc.com/competitions/fifa-world-cup/latest/news/the-best-asian-team-at-the-fifa-world-cup-announced |title=The best Asian team at the FIFA World Cup announced! |publisher=Asian Football Confederation |date=2020-07-07 |access-date=2021-05-19 |archive-date=2021-01-16}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2avC7H2sG6U&feature=feedf sami al jaber injured ]
* [http://www.alhilal.com/en/player26.html Sami Al-Jaber] at AlHilal.com
* {{FIFA|77503}}
* {{Soccerbase}}
* {{Soccerway|sami-abdullah-al-jaber/472}}
* [http://www.samialjaber.com] Official Website

{{Commons}}
{{Asian Football Hall of Fame}}
{{Saudi Professional League top scorers}}
{{Navboxes colour
|title= Saudi Arabia squads
 | bg        = #FFFFFF
 | fg        = #177245
|list1=
{{Saudi Arabia Squad 1992 King Fahd Cup}}
{{Saudi Arabia Squad 1992 AFC Asian Cup}}
{{Saudi Arabia Squad 1994 World Cup}}
{{Saudi Arabia Squad 1995 King Fahd Cup}}
{{Saudi Arabia Squad 1996 AFC Asian Cup}}
{{Saudi Arabia Squad 1997 Confederations Cup}}
{{Saudi Arabia Squad 1998 World Cup}}
{{Saudi Arabia Squad 2000 AFC Asian Cup}}
{{Saudi Arabia Squad 2002 World Cup}}
{{Saudi Arabia Squad 2006 World Cup}}
}}
{{Al-Hilal FC managers}}
{{Al Wahda FC managers}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jaber, Sami}}
[[Category:1972 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Footballers from Riyadh]]
[[Category:Saudi Arabian men's footballers]]
[[Category:Saudi Arabia men's international footballers]]
[[Category:Saudi Arabian expatriate men's footballers]]
[[Category:Al Hilal SFC players]]
[[Category:Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players]]
[[Category:Al-Gharafa SC players]]
[[Category:English Football League players]]
[[Category:1992 King Fahd Cup players]]
[[Category:1994 FIFA World Cup players]]
[[Category:1995 King Fahd Cup players]]
[[Category:1997 FIFA Confederations Cup players]]
[[Category:1998 FIFA World Cup players]]
[[Category:2002 FIFA World Cup players]]
[[Category:2006 FIFA World Cup players]]
[[Category:1992 AFC Asian Cup players]]
[[Category:1996 AFC Asian Cup players]]
[[Category:2000 AFC Asian Cup players]]
[[Category:AFC Asian Cup–winning players]]
[[Category:AFC Champions League Elite–winning players]]
[[Category:FIFA Men's Century Club]]
[[Category:Men's association football forwards]]
[[Category:Saudi Arabian football managers]]
[[Category:UAE Pro League managers]]
[[Category:Al Hilal SFC managers]]
[[Category:Al Wahda FC managers]]
[[Category:Al Shabab FC (Riyadh) managers]]
[[Category:Saudi Pro League players]]
[[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in England]]
[[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Qatar]]
[[Category:Saudi Arabian expatriate sportspeople in England]]
[[Category:Saudi Arabian expatriate sportspeople in Qatar]]
[[Category:20th-century Saudi Arabian sportsmen]]