In the 1997–98 season,

USM Alger Union Sportive de la Médina d'Alger ( ar, الإتحاد الرياضي لمدينة الجزائر); known as USM Alger or simply USMA for short, is a football club based in the inner suburbs of Algiers. The club was founded in 1937 and its co ...

competed in the Division 1 for the 22nd time They competed in Ligue 1, the

Algerian Cup The Algerian Cup ( ar, كأس الجزائر) also known the Republic Cup ( ar, كأس الجمهورية), is a football competition in Algeria, pitting regional teams against each other. It was established in October 1962, three months after in ...

, the Algerian League Cup, the

African Cup Winners' Cup The African Cup Winners' Cup was a football competition that started in 1975 and merged with the CAF Cup in 2004 to form the CAF Confederation Cup. It was a competition between the winning clubs of domestic cups in CAF-affiliated nations and was ...

, and the

CAF Champions League The CAF Champions League, known for sponsorship purposes as the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League and formerly the African Cup of Champions Clubs, is an annual football club competition organized by the Confederation of African Football and co ...

. In the 1997–98 season witnessed the return of former coach Younes Ifticène who was behind the rise in the 1994–95 season, in 1997 CAF Champions League USMA participated for the first time a new copy of the competition Where they reached the

group stage A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concent ...

and in the last match against

Primeiro de Agosto Clube Desportivo 1º de Agosto is a multisports club from Luanda, Angola. The club, founded 1 August 1977, is attached to the Angolan armed forces, which is its sponsor. Its main team competes in men's football, and its professional basketball t ...

USM Alger won with a single goal that was not enough to qualify for the final after a major conflict with Moroccan club

Raja Casablanca Raja Club Athletic ( ar, نادي الرجاء الرياضي, Nādī ar-Rajāʾ ar-Riyāḍī, zgh, ⴰⵙⵔⵉⵔ ⵏ ⵕⴰⵊⴰ ⴰⵎⴰⵏⵓⵏ), commonly referred to as Raja CA, Raja Casablanca or simply RCA is a professional Footb ...

Which at the same time in South Africa scored the winning goal in the last minute and qualified for the final, In 1997–98 season

Algerian Football Federation The Algerian Football Federation (AFF); ( ar, الاتحادية الجزائرية لكرة القدم) is the governing body of football in Algeria. It was formed in 1962 and was based in the capital Algiers. It has jurisdiction on the Algerian ...

change league system to the groups USMA signed in the group B with strong teams such as ES Setif,

JS Kabylie Jeunesse Sportive de Kabylie (in ar, شبيبة القبائل), (Kabyle language, Kabyle: Ilemẓiyen inaddalen n leqbayel, Berber languages, In Tamazight: ⵉⵍⵎⵣⵢⵏ ⵉⵏⴰⴷⴰⵍⴻⵏ ⵏ ⵍⵇⵠⴰⵢⵍ), known as JS Kabyli ...

and

MC Alger Mouloudia Club d'Alger ( ar, نادي مولودية الجزائر), referred to as MC Alger or MCA for short, is an Algerian football club based in Algiers. The club was founded in 1921 and its colours are red, green and white. Their home sta ...

side managed to qualify for the final 3 points form

Then in the final against

USM El Harrach Union Sportive de la Médina d'El Harrach ( ar, الإتحاد الرياضي لمدينة الحراش), known as USM El Harrach or simply USMH for short, is an Algerian football club based in El Harrach, Algiers. The club was founded in 1935 ...

Stade du 5 Juillet 1962 The 5 July 1962 Stadium () (the name refers to 5 July 1962, the day Algeria declared independence), is a football and athletics stadium located in Algiers, Algeria. The stadium was inaugurated in 1972 with a capacity of 95,000. It served as the ...

USM Alger lost the title 2–3 after they advanced (2–0) 20 minutes before the end of the match to receive a full team of three goals, in the final minute USMA get a

Penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

Its lost by defender

Mounir Zeghdoud Mounir Zeghdoud ( ar, منير زغدود; born 18 November 1970 in Constantine) is an Algerian former football player and a current manager. International career On November 26, 1995 Mounir Zeghdoud played for the first time against Ivory Coast ...

The Reds and Blacks ends the season without a title.

Competitions

Overview

Division 1

League table

Results summary

Results by round

Matches

Championship final

Algerian Cup

Algerian League Cup

CAF Champions League

Group stage

African Cup Winners' Cup

First Round

Squad information

Appearances and goals

, -

Goalscorers

''Includes all competitive matches. The list is sorted alphabetically by surname when total goals are equal.''

Squad list

Players and squad numbers last updated on 8 January 1998.
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under

FIFA eligibility rules As the governing body of association football, FIFA is responsible for maintaining and implementing the rules that determine whether an association football player is eligible to represent a particular country in officially recognised internation ...

. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1997-98 USM Alger season USM Alger seasons Algerian football clubs 1997–98 season