Majed Ahmed Abdullah ( ar, ماجد احمد عبد الله; born 11 January 1959) is a Saudi Arabian former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played for Al-Nassr and the Saudi national team. Abdullah is the all-time leading goalscorer for Saudi Arabia with 72 goals in 117 games. At club level, he is the record goalscorer for Al-Nassr and is the all-time top scorer of the

Saudi Professional League The Saudi Pro League (SPL for short) ( ar, دوري المحترفين السعودي, link=no, ''Dawriyy al-Muḥtarifayni as-Suʿūdī''), known as the Roshn Saudi League (RSL for short) for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of associat ...

. He was often referred to by his nickname "Arabian Jewel". Majed Abdullah is regarded as one of the greatest

Western Asia Western Asia, West Asia, or Southwest Asia, is the westernmost subregion of the larger geographical region of Asia, as defined by some academics, UN bodies and other institutions. It is almost entirely a part of the Middle East, and includes A ...

n strikers of all time. He was nominated for

IFFHS The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) is an organisation that chronicles the history and records of association football. It was founded in 1984 by Alfredo Pöge in Leipzig. The IFFHS was based in Abu Dhabi for s ...

Asia's Player of the Century, finishing third place. 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 The winners of the 1997–98 Asian Cup Winners' Cup, the association football competition run by the Asian Football Confederation The Asian Football Confederation is the governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal in ...

. 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.

Early life

Abdullah was born to an Afro-Saudi family in the Al-Baghdadia District in Jeddah. Majed is the second son of Ahmed Abdullah. Live 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 Riyadh (, ar, الرياض, 'ar-Riyāḍ, Literal translation, lit.: 'The Gardens' Najdi Arabic, Najdi pronunciation: ), formerly known as Hajr al-Yamamah, is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyad ...

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 In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting ...

. 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 didn't give up and challenged one of Riyadh's best neighborhood teams for a place in that tournament. Al-Ittifaq surprisingly won the match 3–1 with Abdullah scoring twice. Al-Ittifaq participated in the tournament and they went on to win the championship.

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. 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. 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 Al-Fath ( ar, الفتح, ; "Victory" , "Triumph") is the 48th chapter (surah) of the Qur'an with 29 verses ( ayat). The surah was revealed in Madinah in the sixth year of the Hijrah, on the occasion of the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah between the M ...

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. 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. 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. 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 Hilal or Al-Hilal may refer to: *Hilal ( ar, هلال, ''hilāl''), a crescent ** the crescent Moon visible after a new Moon, determining the beginning of a month in the Islamic calendar * Banu Hilal, a confederation of tribes of Arabia Arts ...

. On 5 May 1977, Abdullah scored twice in the 4–0 against Hajer in the

1977 King Cup The 1977 King Cup was the 19th season of the knockout competition since its establishment in 1956. Al-Nassr were the defending champions; however, they were eliminated in the semi-finals by Al-Hilal. The final saw Al-Ahli beat Al-Hilal 3–1, with ...

. He then scored twice against

Al-Nahda The Nahda ( ar, النهضة, translit=an-nahḍa, meaning "the Awakening"), also referred to as the Arab Awakening or Enlightenment, was a cultural movement that flourished in Arabic-speaking regions of the Ottoman Empire, notably in Egypt, Leb ...

in the Round of 16 and scored the opener in the 2–1 win against Al-Qadsiah in the quarter-finals. Al-Nassr were eventually eliminated in the semi-finals by Al-Hilal. 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. He then scored the only goal in a 1–0 win against Al-Qadsiah on 10 November. Abdullah scored his fourth goal of the season in a 1–0 win against Al-Ittihad. On 29 December, Abdullah was injured and forced to leave the pitch in the derby against Al-Hilal. He made his return on 12 January 1978 and scored in the 2–1 win against

Al-Ettifaq Al Ettifaq Football Club ( ar, نادي الاتفاق لكرة القدم) is a professional football club in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. Al-Ettifaq was established after the merging of three clubs in the city of Dammam at the year 1944. Al Ettifaq i ...

. On 17 February, Abdullah scored the only goal in a 1–0 away win against Al-Nahda, his sixth of the season. On 2 March, Abdullah scored his first hattrick for Al-Nassr in the 4–0 win against Ohod. On 10 March, he scored his second hattrick in the 3–1 away win against Al-Ittihad. On 30 March, Abdullah scored twice against Al-Shate'e in the Round of 32 of the

1978 King Cup The 1978 King Cup was the 20th season of the knockout competition since its establishment in 1956. Al-Ahli were the defending champions and successfully defended the title, winning their second one in a row. Al-Ahli beat Al-Riyadh who became the ...

. 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.

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 Gulf Cups, the 1984 Olympic Games and the

1994 FIFA World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football, soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the countr ...

. He retired from the National Team shortly after the 1994 World Cup.

Career statistics

Club

Source:

International

:''Statistics accurate as of match played 29 June 1994''

International goals

Firsts in Majed life

Majed Abdullah, Tawfiq Al-Muqrin and Abdullah Abed Rabbo

* First training camp with Al-Nasr was in London in 1976. * First training camp with the National Team (under 17) was also in London in 1977. * First coach with Al-Nasr was Ljubiša Broćić * First coach with the National Team (under 17) was Jeff Faundon. * First shirt number with Al-Nasr was 14. * First shirt number with the National Team was 17. * First match with Al-Nasr was against

from

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria ...

in a friendly in 15-1-1977. * First official match with Al-Nasr was against Al-Shabab in 22-1-1977. * First goal with Al-Nasr 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 ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

in January 1978. * First official Globally goal with the Saudi Senior Team was against

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a multi ...

Los Angeles 1984. * First "League Top Scorer" Trophy was in 1978-1979 season.

Lasts in Majed life

* Last local match was against

in 1996-1997 season. * Last local goal was against

Al-Ittifaq Al Ettifaq Football Club ( ar, نادي الاتفاق لكرة القدم) is a professional football club in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. Al-Ettifaq was established after the merging of three clubs in the city of Dammam at the year 1944. Al Ettifaq i ...

in January 1997. * Last local trophy was the

Saudi Premier League The Saudi Pro League (SPL for short) ( ar, دوري المحترفين السعودي, link=no, ''Dawriyy al-Muḥtarifayni as-Suʿūdī''), known as the Roshn Saudi League (RSL for short) for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of associat ...

1994-1995 season. * Last International match was against

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

during

in 29-6-1994. * Last International goal was against

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the no ...

during

qualifications. * Last Globally goal with the Saudi Senior Team was against

in Golden Cup Confederations in Australia 1988. * Last goal with Al-Nasr was against Kopetdag of

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the s ...

in 11-4-1998. * Last match with Al-Nasr was against

Suwon Samsung Bluewings The Suwon Samsung Bluewings ( ko, 수원 삼성 블루윙즈) are a South Korean Association football, football club based in Suwon that competes in the K League 1, the top tier of South Korean football. Founded in December 1995, they have won t ...

in the

Asian Cup Winners Cup The Asian Cup Winners' Cup was an association football competition run by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The competition was started in 1991 as a tournament for all the domestic cup winners from countries affiliated to the AFC. The winne ...

final on 13-4-1998. * Last "League Top Scorer" Trophy was in 1988-1989 season.

Honours

Player

Al-Nassr *

: 1979–80, 1980–81, 1988–89, 1994–95 * Saudi King Cup:

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major off ...

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 **Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal enter ...

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airpor ...

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

Gulf Club Champions Cup The GCC Champions League ( ar, دوري أبطال الخليج للأندية), formerly known as the Gulf Cup for Clubs ( ar, كأس الخليج للأندية), was an annually organized football league tournament for clubs of the Arabian peni ...

: 1996, 1997 * Asian Cup Winners' Cup: 1997–98 Saudi Arabia *

AFC Asian Cup The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), determining the continental champion of Asia. It is the second oldest cont ...

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast As ...

, 1988 *

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until th ...

silver medal:

Arab Nations Cup The FIFA Arab Cup ( ar, كأس العرب, translit=Kaʾs al-ʿArab), or simply Arab Cup, is an international association football competition which has been organized by FIFA since 2021, and is contested by the senior men's national teams of ...

runner-up:

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engines ...

Individual *

top scorer: 1978–79, 1979–80, 1980–81, 1982–83, 1985–86, 1988–89 * Saudi King Cup top scorer: 1979, 1987, 1989, 1990 * Arabian Golden Boot: 1981, 1989 *

Gulf Cup of Nations The Arabian Gulf Cup ( ar, كأس الخليج العربي, ''Kass Al-Khaleej Al-Arabi''), often referred to simply as the Gulf Cup, is a biennial football competition governed by the Arab Gulf Cup Football Federation for its eight member na ...

top scorer: 1982 * Asia-Oceania Soccer Handbook Player of the Year: 1984 *

Pan Arab Games The Arab Games ( ar, الألعاب العربية), also called the Pan Arab Games, are a regional multi-sport event held between nations from the Arab world. They are organized by the Union of Arab National Olympic Committees. The first Gam ...

top scorer:

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

Saudi Crown Prince Cup The Saudi Crown Prince's Cup ( ar, كأس ولي العهد) was the Saudi Arabian annual cup competition. It was the oldest domestic football competition in Saudi Arabia, its first edition was held in 1956–57, but was not crowned from 1975 unti ...

top scorer: 1991 *

top scorer: 1991, 1996 *

Asia's Player of the Century third place: 1999 * IFFHS World Player of the Century 64th place: 2000 *

Asian Men's Team of All Time: 2021

Manager

Al-Nassr * Asian Super Cup: 1998

Retirement match

On 20 May 2008, 10 years after Abdullah's last match, a testimonial match was held between Al-Nassr and

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

, who were just crowned with their 31st

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...

title. The match was held at Al-Nassr's home ground, the

King Fahd International Stadium The King Fahd Stadium (), also nicknamed "Pearl of Stadiums" ( ) or simply "the Pearl" ( ), is a multi-purpose stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It is currently used mostly for football matches and it also has athletics facilities. Overview Th ...

in Riyadh. 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 Mohamed Abdullaziz Al-Deayea ( ar, محمد عبد العزيز الدعيع; born 2 August 1972) is a Saudi Arabian former professional footballer who played as a football goalkeeper. He participated in four FIFA World Cups for the Saudi Ara ...

Malek Mouath Malek Ali Mouath Al-Hawsawi ( ar, مالك علي معاذ الهوساوي) (also named Malek Maaz officially by FIFA ) (born 10 August 1981) is a former Saudi Arabian professional footballer. Mouath originally played as an attacking midfield ...

and

Nashat Akram Nashat Akram Abid Ali Al-Eissa ( ar, نشأت أكرم عبد علي العيسى) (born 12 September 1984) is a former Iraqi professional footballer. Popularly dubbed "The Maestro" and "The Musician", Akram usually played as a playmaker or as ...

represent Al-Nassr.

Arjen Robben Arjen Robben (; born 23 January 1984) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a winger. He was known for his dribbling skills, speed, ball control and long-range shots. Robben is regarded as one of the best players of his gen ...

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.

Match details

References

External links

Majed9 website
A Fan's tribute to Majed Abdullah

at

RSSSF The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF) is an international organization dedicated to collecting statistics about association football. The foundation aims to build an exhaustive archive of football-related information from around the ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abdullah, Majed 1959 births Living people Sportspeople from Jeddah Association football forwards Saudi Arabia international footballers Saudi Arabian footballers Olympic footballers of Saudi Arabia Footballers at the 1984 Summer Olympics Al Nassr FC players 1984 AFC Asian Cup players 1988 AFC Asian Cup players 1994 FIFA World Cup players AFC Asian Cup-winning players FIFA Century Club Saudi Professional League players Asian Games silver medalists for Saudi Arabia Asian Games bronze medalists for Saudi Arabia Asian Games medalists in football Footballers at the 1978 Asian Games Footballers at the 1982 Asian Games Footballers at the 1986 Asian Games Footballers at the 1990 Asian Games Medalists at the 1982 Asian Games Medalists at the 1986 Asian Games