Messaoud Aït Abderrahmane (born November 6, 1970) is a former

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who spent the majority of his career with

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 ...

. He also played for

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 ...

and

MO Constantine Mouloudia Olympic of Constantine ( ar, مولودية قسنطينة), known as MO Constantine or simply MOC for short, is an Algerian football club based in Constantine, founded in 1939 by the reformer Abd al Hamid Ben Badis. The club colors ar ...

before retiring. He played as a

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

and a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

. An Algerian international from 1990 to 1993, Aït Abderrahmane was a member of the Algeria national team that won the

1990 African Cup of Nations The 1990 African Cup of Nations was the 17th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the football championship of Africa ( CAF). It was hosted by Algeria. Just like in 1988, the field of eight teams was split into two groups of four. Algeria won it ...

and the

1991 Afro-Asian Cup of Nations The 1991 Afro-Asian Cup of Nations was the fourth edition of the Afro-Asian Cup of Nations, it was contested by Algeria, winners of the 1990 African Cup of Nations, and Iran, winners of the 1990 Asian Games football tournament. Algeria won by the ...

Personal

Born in

Mostaganem Mostaganem ( ber, Mustɣanem; ar, مستغانم) is a port city in and capital of Mostaganem province, in the northwest of Algeria. The city, founded in the 11th century lies on the Gulf of Arzew, Mediterranean Sea and is 72 km ENE of Ora ...

, Aït Abderrahmane grew up in the town of

Issers Isser, formerly spelled Issers ( ar, يسر, kab, ⵉⵙⴻⵔ) is a town and commune in Boumerdès Province, Algeria. According to the 1998 census it has a population of 27,990. As of the latest census it has 32,580 residents. Isser is locate ...

Club career

Aït Abderrahmane started playing at age 12 for Issers' local club. At age 17, he joined the youth ranks of JS Kabylie. After two seasons with the junior team, he was promoted by

Mahieddine Khalef Mahieddine Khalef ( ar, محيي الدين خالف; born January 17, 1944, in Mechra Bel Ksiri, Morocco) is an Algerian football (soccer) manager. Most notably he was the co-manager of the Algeria national football team in the 1982 FIFA World Cu ...

and Stefan Żywotko to the senior team. During his time with

, he won a number of titles, most notably the

1990 African Cup of Champions Clubs The 1990 African Cup of Champions Clubs was the 26th edition of the annual international club football competition held in the CAF region (Africa), the African Cup of Champions Clubs. It determined that year's club champion of association footbal ...

. At the end of the 1994–95 season, Aït Abderrahmane left JS Kabylie and joined

. He spent just one season there before moving to

, where he would spend the next three seasons before retiring.

International career

Aït Abderrahmane made his debut for the

Algeria national football team The Algeria national football team ( ar, منتخب الجزائر لكرة القدم) represents Algeria in men's international football and is governed by the Algerian Football Federation. The team plays their home matches at the 5 July Sta ...

at the

. Despite being included in the original squad for the tournament, he had to withdraw because of his studies. However, after Rachid Adghigh withdrew due to injury, Aït Abderrahmane was called up again. On March 8, 1990, he played his first game for the team, starting the last group stage game against

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

. He played the entire match as Algeria won 2–0. In the semi-final against

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

, he started the game on the bench but was substituted on in the 69th minute, replacing Kamel Adjas. He started in the final against

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

, playing the entire match as Algeria won the game 1–0 to lift its first continental trophy.

Honours

Club

Algerian Championnat National The Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 ( ar, الرابطة الجزائرية المحترفة الأولى لكرة القدم); known as Championnat National de Première Division or Ligue 1 for short, and formerly known as the Championnat Natio ...

: 1988–89, 1989–90 **

African Cup of Champions Clubs 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 cont ...

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 ...

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 ...

: 1991–92, 1993–94 **

Algerian Super Cup The Algerian Super Cup ( ar, كأس الجزائر الممتازة), is an Algerian football competition, held as a game between the reigning champions of the Algerian League and the Algerian Cup. The first edition was held in 1973 and then agai ...

: 1992

Country

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

Africa Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations referred to as AFCON (french: Coupe d'Afrique des Nations, sometimes referred to as CAN, or TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons), and sometimes as African Cup of Nations, is the main internati ...

Afro-Asian Cup of Nations The Afro-Asian Cup of Nations, also called the AFC Asia/Africa Challenge Cup, was an intercontinental football competition endorsed by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), contested between re ...

: 1991 **

Mediterranean Games The Mediterranean Games is a multi-sport event organised by the International Committee of Mediterranean Games (CIJM). It is held every four years among athletes from countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea in Africa, Asia and Europe. The fir ...

silver medal:

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ait Abderrahmane, Messaoud 1970 births People from Boumerdès Province 1990 African Cup of Nations players Algeria international footballers Algeria under-23 international footballers Algerian footballers JS Kabylie players Kabyle people Living people MC Alger players MO Constantine players People from Mostaganem Africa Cup of Nations-winning players Mediterranean Games silver medalists for Algeria Competitors at the 1993 Mediterranean Games Association football defenders Mediterranean Games medalists in football 21st-century Algerian people