Majed Abdullah

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Majed Ahmed Abdullah (Template:Langx; born 11 January 1959) is a Saudi Arabian former professional footballer who played as a striker for Al-Nassr and the Saudi Arabia national team. He is the all-time leading goal scorer for Saudi Arabia with 72 goals in 117 games. At the club level, he is the record goal scorer for Al-Nassr and the all-time top scorer of the Saudi Pro League.[1][2][3] He was often referred to by his nickname "The Arabian Pelé".[4]

Majed Abdullah is regarded as one of the greatest Western Asian strikers of all time. He was nominated for IFFHS Asia's Player of the Century, finishing third place.[5] He spent his entire club career at Al-Nassr, and scored 189 league goals in a twenty-one-year career. During this time, Al-Nassr established themselves as one of the dominant forces in Saudi and Asian football. With Abdullah leading the attack, Al-Nassr won five League titles and four King Cup titles as well as the 1997–98 Asian Cup Winners' Cup. Abdullah also finished as the Saudi League top scorer six times throughout his career. Majed Abdullah retired from football in 1998, after Al-Nassr's Asian Cup Winners' Cup Final victory over Suwon Samsung Bluewings.

His success was not limited to the domestic stage. In 1984 Saudi Arabia qualified for their first-ever global international tournament at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Abdullah scored their only goal as Saudi Arabia lost all three group games. International success did come in 1984, however, in the Asian Cup in Singapore. Saudi Arabia beat China 2–0 in the final to take the title for the first time, with Abdullah scoring the second goal. Four years later in 1988, he would score twice in the tournament in Qatar as the Saudi team retained the title by beating South Korea on penalties.[6]

Early life

Majed was born[7] in the Al-Baghdadia District in Jeddah. Majed is the second son of Ahmed Abdullah. Living close to a sports club alongside being the son of a football manager piqued Majed's interest in football. In the mid-1960s, Abdullah and his family moved to Riyadh where his father got a job as the manager of Al-Nassr's youth team. Abdullah enrolled in Al-Jazaeria Elementary School and he passionately watched the older kids play football. A couple of years later, Majed joined the school football team as well as the neighborhood team. He used to play as a goalkeeper. One day the team's striker was absent and Majed had to replace him. This position change proved to be successful as Majed guided his team to a 3–1 victory. Abdullah's family moved to Hotat Khaled District and the young Abdullah joined Al-Motawasta Al-Thania high school. Majed and his neighbors formed a team they called "Al-Ittifaq". They tried to participate in a tournament but their request was rejected due to their young age. They did not give up and challenged one of Riyadh's best neighborhood teams for a place in that tournament. Al-Ittifaq won the match 3–1 with Abdullah scoring twice. Al-Ittifaq participated in the tournament and they went on to win the championship.[8][9][10]

Club career

Mohammed Al-Hudayan, a teammate at Al-Ittifaq, recommended Abdullah to Al-Nassr president Prince Abdulrahman Bin Saud, as did Al-Ittifaq's coach Nasseb Awad to Khaled Al-Turki and Al-Nassr coach Ljubiša Broćić.[11] Broćić went to see Abdullah unannounced at Al-Ittifaq's training field in Al-Batha and requested that the club sign him. Abdullah officially joined Al-Nassr on 10 November 1975.[12]

Abdullah spent 2 years playing for the youth teams before being promoted to the senior team. He made his senior debut in a friendly against Moroccan side Al-Fath in January 1977. He made his competitive debut on 20 January 1977 by coming off the bench in the league match against Al-Shabab replacing Ibrahim Al-Hamoud.[13] Abdullah once again came off the bench in the 2–1 defeat to Al-Qadsiah on 14 March 1977 to make his second appearance for Al-Nassr.[14] On 18 March, Abdullah made his first start as well as score his first goal for Al-Nassr, when he headed in Nasser Al-Johar's cross, in the league match against Al-Wehda.[15] Following an injury to first-choice striker Mohammad Al-Abdeli, Abdullah was given a chance to prove himself. He repaid that trust by scoring three goals in the final three rounds of the league against Al-Shabab, Al-Ahli and derby rivals Al-Hilal.[16] On 5 May 1977, Abdullah scored twice in the 4–0 against Hajer in the 1977 King Cup.[17] He then scored twice against Al-Nahda in the Round of 16 and scored the opener in the 2–1 win against Al-Qadsiah in the quarter-finals.[18] Al-Nassr were eventually eliminated in the semi-finals by Al-Hilal.[19] He ended his first season at Al-Nassr scoring nine goals in ten appearances. Abdullah started his second season with Al-Nassr poorly, failing to score in his first three matches. On 4 November 1977, Abdullah scored a brace against Al-Nahda to score his first goals of the 1977–78 season.[20] He then scored the only goal in a 1–0 win against Al-Qadsiah on 10 November.[21] Abdullah scored his fourth goal of the season in a 1–0 win against Al-Ittihad.[22] On 29 December, Abdullah was injured and forced to leave the pitch in the derby against Al-Hilal.[23] He made his return on 12 January 1978 and scored in the 2–1 win against Al-Ettifaq.[24] On 17 February, Abdullah scored the only goal in a 1–0 away win against Al-Nahda, his sixth of the season.[25] On 2 March, Abdullah scored his first hattrick for Al-Nassr in the 4–0 win against Ohod.[26] On 10 March, he scored his second hattrick in the 3–1 away win against Al-Ittihad.[27] On 30 March, Abdullah scored twice against Al-Shate'e in the Round of 32 of the 1978 King Cup.[28] Al-Nassr were eliminated by eventual champions Al-Ahli in the Round of 16. Majed ended the 1977–78 season scoring 14 goals in 19 appearances.

Majed Abdullah finished as the Saudi League top scorer 6 times in his career. He also won the League 4 times as well as the King Cup 4 times. Majed is the all-time top scorer of the Saudi League with 189 goals and is also Al-Nassr's all-time top scorer with 260 goals. Majed Abdullah announced his retirement on 12 April 1998 following Al-Nassr's win in the 1998 Asian Cup Winner's Cup in front of 70,000 fans in Riyadh.[29]

International career

Majed made his senior team debut in 1978 in an unofficial friendly against Portuguese giants Benfica where he scored 2 goals. His official debut was against China on 10 December 1978. Majed represented Saudi national team in 2 Asian Cups, 5 Arabian Gulf Cups, the 1984 Olympic Games and the 1994 FIFA World Cup. He retired from the National Team shortly after the 1994 World Cup.[30]

Career statistics

Club

Source:[31][32]

Club Season League National Cup League Cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Al-Nassr 1976–77[33] SPL 6 4 4 5 — — — 10 9
1977–78[34] 18 11 2 2 — — — 20 13
1978–79[35] 17 18 3 6 — — — 20 24
1979–80[36] 17 17 0 0 — — — 17 17
1980–81[37] 15 21 4 4 — — — 19 25
1981–82[38] 9 9 1 1 — — — 10 10
1982–83[39] 15 14 3 3 — — 4Template:Efn 3 22 20
1983–84[40] 0 0 0 0 — — — 0Template:Efn 0
1984–85[40] 4 1 0 0 — — — 4 1
1985–86[41] 16 15 2 1 — — — 18 16
1986–87 11 15 4 5 — — — 15 20
1987–88 6 5 3 2 — — — 9 7
1988–89 15 19 4 5 — — — 19 24
1989–90 12 13 3 5 — — — 15 18
1990–91 11 10 — 4 5 — 4Template:Efn 5 19 20
1991–92 2 3 — 0 0 2 1 — 4 4
1992–93 5 4 — 1 0 — — 6 4
1993–94 0 0 — 0 0 — — 0Template:Efn 0
1994–95 8 8 — 1 1 — — 9 9
1995–96 3 0 — 2 2 6 0 4Template:Efn 5 15 7
1996–97 4 2 — 1 0 3 1 5Template:Efn 7 13 10
1997–98 0 0 — 0 0 2 1 — 2 1
Career total 194 189 33 39 9 8 13 3 17 20 266 259Template:Efn

Template:Notelist

International

Statistics accurate as of match played 29 June 1994[42][43][44]
Saudi Arabia
Year Apps Goals
1978 3 0
1979 6 7
1980 7 9
1981 11 4
1982 10 3
1983 0 0
1984 16 15
1985 7 3
1986 10 8
1987 0 0
1988 23 11
1989 7 2
1990 3 2
1991 0 0
1992 2 1
1993 9 6
1994 3 1
Total 117 72

International goals

Goal Cap Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 4 24 March 1979 Al-Shaab Stadium, Baghdad, Iraq File:Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg United Arab Emirates 2–1 2–1 5th Arabian Gulf Cup
2 5 28 March 1979 Al-Shaab Stadium, Baghdad, Iraq File:Flag of Oman.svg Oman 4–0 4–0 5th Arabian Gulf Cup
3 7 4 April 1979 Al-Shaab Stadium, Baghdad, Iraq File:Flag of Qatar.svg Qatar 1–0 7–0 5th Arabian Gulf Cup
4 2–0
5 4–0
6 5–0
7 6–0
8 10 30 January 1980 Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia File:Flag of South Korea.svg South Korea 1–0 1–3 Friendly
9 12 29 September 1980 İzmir Atatürk Stadium, İzmir, Turkey File:Flag of Malaysia.svg Malaysia 1–0 3–0 1980 Islamic Games
10 15 12 December 1980 Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia File:Flag of Indonesia.svg Indonesia 1–0 8–0 Friendly
11 5–0
12 6–0
13 7–0
14 8–0
15 16 14 December 1980 Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia File:Flag of Indonesia.svg Indonesia 1–0 3–0 Friendly
16 2–0
17 20 17 October 1981 Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia File:Flag of South Korea.svg South Korea 2–0 2–0 Friendly
18 23 12 November 1981 Stadium Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia File:Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China 2–0 2–4 1982 FIFA World Cup qualification
19 25 28 November 1981 Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand File:Flag of New Zealand.svg New Zealand 1–1 2–2 1982 FIFA World Cup qualification
20 2–1
21 31 29 March 1982 Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates File:Flag of Qatar.svg Qatar 1–0 1–0 6th Arabian Gulf Cup
22 33 2 April 1982 Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates File:Flag of Bahrain.svg Bahrain 1–1 2–2 6th Arabian Gulf Cup
23 2–2
24 38 21 February 1984 Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia File:Flag of Algeria.svg Algeria 1–0 4–2 Friendly
25 3–2
26 39 10 March 1984 Royal Oman Police Stadium, Muscat, Oman File:Flag of Qatar.svg Qatar 1–1 1–2 7th Arabian Gulf Cup
27 41 25 September 1984 Prince Saud bin Jalawi Stadium, Khobar, Saudi Arabia File:Flag of Iceland.svg Iceland 1–0 1–2 Friendly
28 42 8 October 1984 Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia File:Flag of Thailand.svg Thailand 1–0 2–1 Friendly
29 44 19 October 1984 Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia File:Flag of Nepal.svg   Nepal 2–0 7–0 1984 Asian Cup qualification
30 45 22 October 1984 Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia File:Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg United Arab Emirates 1–0 1–0 1984 Asian Cup qualification
31 46 24 October 1984 Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia File:Flag of Sri Lanka.svg Sri Lanka 1–0 5–0 1984 Asian Cup qualification
32 2–0
33 3–0
34 47 26 October 1984 Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia File:Flag of Oman.svg Oman 1–0 6–0 1984 Asian Cup qualification
35 2–0
36 4–0
37 48 2 December 1984 National Stadium, Kallang, Singapore File:Flag of South Korea.svg South Korea 1–1 1–1 1984 Asian Cup GS
38 53 16 December 1984 National Stadium, Kallang, Singapore File:Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China 2–0 2–0 1984 Asian Cup Final
39 57 5 August 1985 Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat, Morocco File:Flag of the Yemen Arab Republic.svg North Yemen 1–0 2–0 1985 Pan Arab Games GS
40 58 8 August 1985 Settat Municipal Stadium, Settat, Morocco File:Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg United Arab Emirates 1–0 1–0 1985 Pan Arab Games GS
41 59 14 August 1985 Mohammed V Stadium, Casablanca, Morocco File:Flag of Iraq (1963–1991); Flag of Syria (1963–1972).svg Iraq B 1–0 1–2 1985 Pan Arab Games SF
42 61 23 March 1986 Bahrain National Stadium, Riffa, Bahrain File:Flag of Kuwait.svg Kuwait 1–3 1–3 8th Arabian Gulf Cup
43 62 25 March 1986 Bahrain National Stadium, Riffa, Bahrain File:Flag of Bahrain.svg Bahrain 1–1 1–2 8th Arabian Gulf Cup
44 63 28 March 1986 Bahrain National Stadium, Riffa, Bahrain File:Flag of Oman.svg Oman 1–0 3–1 8th Arabian Gulf Cup
45 3–1
46 68 21 September 1986 Gwangju Mudeung Stadium, Gwangju, South Korea File:Flag of Malaysia.svg Malaysia 2–1 3–1 1986 Asian Games GS
47 3–1
48 69 25 September 1986 Gwangju Mudeung Stadium, Gwangju, South Korea File:Flag of Indonesia.svg Indonesia 1–0 2–0 1986 Asian Games GS
49 2–0
50 71 17 February 1988 Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia File:Flag of Scotland.svg Scotland 2–2 2–2 Friendly
51 74 9 March 1988 King Fahd International Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia File:Flag of Bahrain.svg Bahrain 1–0 1–0 9th Arabian Gulf Cup
52 75 13 March 1988 King Fahd International Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia File:Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg United Arab Emirates 2–2 2–2 9th Arabian Gulf Cup
53 79 23 June 1988 Olympic Park Stadium, Melbourne, Australia File:Flag of New Zealand.svg New Zealand 1–3 2–3 Friendly
54 2–3
55 80 29 June 1988 Olympic Park Stadium, Melbourne, Australia File:Flag of Hong Kong 1959.svg Hong Kong 1–0 3–0 Friendly
56 82 6 July 1988 Football Park, Adelaide, Australia File:Flag of Argentina.svg Argentina 1–1 2–2 1988 Australia Gold Cup
57 84 13 July 1988 Olympic Park Stadium, Melbourne, Australia File:Flag of Brazil.svg Brazil 1–2 1–4 1988 Australia Gold Cup
58 86 16 November 1988 King Fahd International Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia File:Flag of England.svg England 1–0 1–1 Friendly
59 87 23 November 1988 Prince Saud bin Jalawi Stadium, Khobar, Saudi Arabia File:Flag of Tunisia.svg Tunisia 1–0 1–0 Friendly
60 92 15 December 1988 Hamad bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha, Qatar File:Flag of Iran.svg Iran 1–0 1–0 1988 Asian Cup SF
61 94 15 March 1989 Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia File:Flag of the Syrian revolution.svg Syria 4–3 5–4 1990 FIFA World Cup qualification
62 97 5 April 1989 Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia File:Flag of the Yemen Arab Republic.svg North Yemen 1–0 1–0 1990 FIFA World Cup qualification
63 101 24 September 1990 Xiannongtan Stadium, Beijing, China File:Flag of Bangladesh.svg Bangladesh 2–0 4–0 1990 Asian Games GS
64 4–0
65 104 11 September 1992 Al-Hamadaniah Stadium, Aleppo, Syria File:Flag of the Syrian revolution.svg Syria 1–0 1–1 1992 Arab Nations Cup GS
66 106 18 April 1993 National Stadium, Kallang, Singapore File:Flag of New Zealand.svg New Zealand 2–1 3–1 Friendly
67 107 22 April 1993 National Stadium, Kallang, Singapore File:Flag of Singapore.svg Singapore 1–0 3–0 Friendly
68 109 16 May 1993 King Fahd International Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia File:Flag of Malaysia.svg Malaysia 1–0 3–0 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
69 3–0
70 110 18 May 1993 King Fahd International Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia File:Flag of Kuwait.svg Kuwait 2–0 2–0 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
71 112 27 September 1993 Prince Saud bin Jalawi Stadium, Khobar, Saudi Arabia File:Flag of Singapore.svg Singapore 2–0 3–2 Friendly
72 115 4 June 1994 Alex G. Spanos Stadium, San Luis Obispo, United States File:Flag of Trinidad and Tobago.svg Trinidad and Tobago 1–0 3–2 Friendly

Firsts in Majed's life

File:Majed Abdullah, Tawfiq Al-Muqrin and Abdullah Abed Rabbo.jpg
From the Left Majed Abdullah, Tawfiq Al-Muqrin and Abdullah Abed Rabbo in Iraq 1978.
  • First training camp with Al-Nassr was in London in 1976.
  • First training camp with the National Team (under 17) was also in London in 1977.
  • First coach with Al-Nassr was Ljubiša Broćić
  • First coach with the National Team (under 17) was Jeff Faundon.
  • First shirt number with Al-Nassr was 14.
  • First shirt number with the National Team was 17.
  • First match with Al-Nassr was against Al-Fath from Morocco in a friendly in 15-1-1977.
  • First official match with Al-Nassr was against Al-Shabab in 22-1-1977.
  • First goal with Al-Nassr 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 official Globally goal with the Saudi Senior Team was against Brazil in Olympic Games Los Angeles 1984.
  • First "League Top Scorer" Trophy was in 1978–1979 season.

Lasts in Majed's life

Honours

File:Majed Abdullah in Asia Cup 1984.jpg
Abdullah lifting the AFC Asian Cup trophy in 1984

Player

Al-Nassr

Saudi Arabia

Individual

Retirement match

File:Majed abdullah ماجد عبدالله.jpg
Majed Abdullah in 2012

On 20 May 2008, 10 years after Abdullah's last match, a testimonial match was held between Al-Nassr and Real Madrid, who were just crowned with their 31st La Liga title. The match was held at Al-Nassr's home ground, the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh.[52] Al-Nassr won the match 4–1 with 70,000 fans in attendance. The match saw players from other clubs such as Mohamed Al-Deayea, Malek Mouath and Nashat Akram represent Al-Nassr. Arjen Robben broke the deadlock at the 50th before Mouath and Akram scored in quick succession. Saud Kariri then added a third in the 61st before Mouath scored the fourth goal in the first minute of stoppage time.[53]

Match details

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See also

References

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External links

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