Mohamed Timoumi ( ar, محمد التيمومي) (born 15 January 1960) is a Moroccan 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 ...

. He was named

African Footballer of the Year African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethn ...

in 1985, and was the last player to win this award while playing club football in an African country. In 2006, he was selected by CAF as one of the best 200 African football players of the last 50 years.

Career

The player took part in the 1986 FIFA World Cup in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. At club level, Mohammed Timoumi won the CAF Champions League with

FAR Rabat Association sportive des Forces armées royales (, ar, الجمعية الرياضية للقوات المسلحة الملكية), commonly known as AS FAR ( ar, نادي الجيش الملكي), is a professional sport club based in Morocco's ...

, the biggest Moroccan football club of his era. He also competed for Morocco at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the sec ...

. Mohamed Timoumi played at a young age for the team of the Union of Touarga, where he was the youngest player. It was there where he was first noticed by the observers and experts of Moroccan football. His burgeoning talent led him to join one of the biggest Moroccan clubs: FAR Rabat, with whom he won the CAF Champions League in 1985. In 1985, his talent exploded despite a fracture during the FAR Rabat match against the Egyptian team Zamalek in the semifinals. During this year, Timoumi was, in the unanimous opinion of the international sports press, the star of Africa. He also received the Ballon d'Or Africain. A year later, he participated in the final phase of the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. In Mexico City he was considered one of the most important elements of the Moroccan selection. Morocco ranked first in its group with 0 defeats and a resounding victory against Portugal 3–1. This result allowed him to be the first Arab and African country to reach the second round of the World Cup. Timoumi's entry into the world of professionalism (Spain and Belgium) had a negative effect on his psychology, as according to several observers, Timoumi's professional career was poorly managed, which led to a more or less premature retirement.

Career statistics

International

:''Scores and results list Morocco's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Morocco goal''.

Honours

As Far *

Botola Pro The Botola Pro ( ar, البطولة الاحترافية, translit=al-buṭūla l-iḥtirāfiyya), is a Moroccan professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the Moroccan football league system, it is the country's prim ...

: 1984 * CAF Champions League:

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 ...

Coupe du Trône The Moroccan Throne Cup or the Throne Cup is a football tournament sponsored by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation and brings together Moroccan clubs who play on the knockout system until two teams reach the final match. Unlike the league ch ...

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 Southeas ...

Morocco *

1983 Mediterranean Games The IX Mediterranean Games ( ar, ألعاب البحر الأبيض المتوسط 1983), commonly known as the 1983 Mediterranean Games, were the 9th Mediterranean Games. The Games were held in Casablanca, Morocco, from 3 to 17 September 1983 ...

Champion:

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...

* 1980 African Cup of Nations: 3rd place *

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 ...

runner-up:

Nehru Cup The Nehru Cup was an international association football tournament organised by the All India Football Federation (AIFF), named after the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru. It was launched in 1982, but was not held from 1998 to ...

: 3rd place individual *

: 1985 *Best Moroccan player in 1985 *Best player of the CAF Champions League:

* African Footballer of the 20th century: 30th place

References

1960 births Living people Moroccan footballers Footballers from Rabat Moroccan expatriate footballers Morocco international footballers Olympic footballers of Morocco Association football midfielders Footballers at the 1984 Summer Olympics 1986 FIFA World Cup players 1980 African Cup of Nations players 1988 African Cup of Nations players Competitors at the 1979 Mediterranean Games Competitors at the 1983 Mediterranean Games Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Morocco Moroccan expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Moroccan expatriate sportspeople in Oman Moroccan expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate footballers in Belgium Expatriate footballers in Oman Expatriate footballers in Spain AS FAR (football) players K.S.C. Lokeren Oost-Vlaanderen players Suwaiq Club players Real Murcia players Belgian Pro League players La Liga players African Footballer of the Year winners Olympique Club de Khouribga players Mediterranean Games medalists in football {{Morocco-footy-midfielder-stub