Majed Abdullah facts for kids
Majed with Saudi Arabia in 1984
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Majed Ahmed Abdullah Al-Mohammed | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 11 January 1959 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Jeddah, Saudi Arabia | ||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1975–1977 | Al-Nassr | ||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||
| 1977–1998 | Al-Nassr | 194 | (189) | ||||||||||||||||
| Total | 194 | (189) | |||||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1975–1977 | Saudi Arabia U17 | 4 | (7) | ||||||||||||||||
| 1977–1994 | Saudi Arabia | 117 | (72) | ||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||||
Majed Ahmed Abdullah (born 11 January 1959) is a famous former footballer from Saudi Arabia. He played as a striker for Al-Nassr and the Saudi Arabia national team.
Majed Abdullah is known as the top goal scorer for Saudi Arabia, with 72 goals in 117 games. He also scored the most goals for his club, Al-Nassr, and is the all-time top scorer in the Saudi Pro League. People often called him "The Arabian Pelé" because he was so good, just like the legendary Pelé.
Many people think Majed Abdullah is one of the best strikers ever from Western Asia. He was even nominated for Asia's Player of the Century award by IFFHS, finishing in third place. He played his whole club career at Al-Nassr, scoring 189 goals in league games over 21 years. During his time, Al-Nassr became one of the strongest teams in Saudi and Asian football. With Majed leading the attack, Al-Nassr won five League titles and four King Cup titles. They also won the 1997–98 Asian Cup Winners' Cup. Majed Abdullah was the top scorer in the Saudi League six times. He stopped playing football in 1998, right after Al-Nassr won the Asian Cup Winners' Cup.
Majed's success wasn't just in Saudi Arabia. In 1984, Saudi Arabia played in their first big international tournament, the Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Majed scored their only goal there. Later in 1984, Saudi Arabia won the Asian Cup in Singapore. They beat China 2–0 in the final, and Majed scored the second goal. Four years later, in 1988, he scored twice in the tournament in Qatar. The Saudi team won the title again by beating South Korea in a penalty shootout.
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Growing Up and Starting Football
Majed was born in Jeddah, a city in Saudi Arabia. He was the second son of Ahmed Abdullah. Majed grew up near a sports club, and his father was a football manager. This made him very interested in football from a young age.
In the mid-1960s, Majed and his family moved to Riyadh. His father got a job as the manager of Al-Nassr's youth team. Majed went to Al-Jazaeria Elementary School and loved watching older kids play football. A few years later, he joined his school team and a neighborhood team. He used to play as a goalkeeper.
One day, his team's main striker was not there, so Majed had to play in his place. This change was a big success! Majed helped his team win 3–1. Later, Majed's family moved again, and he joined Al-Motawasta Al-Thania high school. Majed and his friends formed a team called "Al-Ittifaq." They wanted to play in a tournament but were told they were too young. They didn't give up and challenged one of Riyadh's best neighborhood teams. Al-Ittifaq won 3–1, with Majed scoring two goals. After that, Al-Ittifaq played in the tournament and won the championship.
Playing for Al-Nassr
Majed's talent was noticed by people at Al-Nassr. His teammate, Mohammed Al-Hudayan, told the club president, Prince Abdulrahman Bin Saud, about him. Al-Ittifaq's coach also recommended Majed to Al-Nassr's coach, Ljubiša Broćić. Broćić went to watch Majed play and quickly asked the club to sign him. Majed officially joined Al-Nassr on 10 November 1975.
Majed played for Al-Nassr's youth teams for two years before joining the main senior team. His first game for the senior team was a friendly match in January 1977. He made his official debut on 20 January 1977, coming on as a substitute in a league game. On 18 March, Majed started his first game and scored his first goal for Al-Nassr. He headed in a cross in a league match.
When the team's main striker got injured, Majed got a chance to play more. He scored three goals in the last three league games of that season. He also scored twice in the 1977 King Cup. Majed finished his first season with nine goals in ten games. He continued to score many goals in the following seasons, including his first hat-trick (three goals in one game) in March 1978.
Majed Abdullah became the top scorer in the Saudi League six times during his career. He also helped Al-Nassr win the League four times and the King Cup four times. Majed is the all-time top scorer of the Saudi League with 189 goals. He is also Al-Nassr's all-time top scorer with 260 goals. Majed Abdullah announced he was retiring on 12 April 1998. This was after Al-Nassr won the 1998 Asian Cup Winner's Cup in front of 70,000 fans in Riyadh.
Playing for Saudi Arabia
Majed played his first game for the Saudi national team in 1978. It was an unofficial friendly against the famous Portuguese team Benfica, and he scored two goals! His official debut was against China on 10 December 1978.
Majed played in the 1979 Gulf Cup, where he scored seven goals in six matches. He famously scored five goals against Qatar in a huge 7-0 win. He also played in the Gulf Cup tournaments in 1982, 1984, and 1986.
In the 1984 AFC Asian Cup, Majed scored a goal in the last minute against South Korea to make it a draw. He then scored in the final against China, helping Saudi Arabia win their first ever Asian Cup. He also helped the team win the next tournament in 1988. He scored a goal against Iran in the semi-finals and then scored his penalty kick in the final. This helped Saudi Arabia win back-to-back Asian Cup titles.
Majed also played for Saudi Arabia in the 1984 Olympics, scoring a goal against Brazil. He helped Saudi Arabia win a silver medal at the 1986 Asian Games. He also won a silver medal at the 1992 Arab Cup. Majed's last games for Saudi Arabia were at the 1994 FIFA World Cup. He retired from international football shortly after that.
Honours
Player Achievements
With Al-Nassr
- Saudi Premier League: 1979–80, 1980–81, 1988–89, 1994–95
- King's Cup: 1981, 1986, 1987, 1990
- GCC Club Championship: 1996, 1997
- Asian Cup Winners' Cup: 1997–98
With Saudi Arabia
- AFC Asian Cup: 1984, 1988
- Asian Games silver medal: 1986
- Arab Nations Cup runner-up: 1992
Individual Awards
- Saudi Premier League top scorer: 1978–79, 1979–80, 1980–81, 1982–83, 1985–86, 1988–89
- King's Cup top scorer: 1979, 1987, 1989, 1990
- Arabian Golden Boot: 1981, 1989
- Arabian Gulf Cup top scorer: 1982
- Asia-Oceania Soccer Handbook Player of the Year: 1984
- Asian All Stars: 1985
- AFC Asian Cup Team of the Tournament: 1988
- Saudi Crown Prince Cup top scorer: 1991
- GCC Club Cup top scorer: 1991, 1996
- MasterCard Asian/Oceanian Team of the 20th Century: 1998
- IFFHS Asia's Player of the 20th Century third place: 1999
- IFFHS World's Player of the 20th Century 64th place: 2000
- IFFHS Asian Men's Team of the 20th Century: 2021
- IFFHS Asian Men's Team of All Time: 2021
Retirement Match
On 20 May 2008, ten years after Majed Abdullah played his last game, a special match was held to celebrate his career. His club, Al-Nassr, played against the famous Spanish team Real Madrid, who had just won their 31st La Liga title. The game took place at Al-Nassr's home stadium, the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh.
Al-Nassr won the match 4–1, with 70,000 fans cheering them on. Players from other clubs, like Mohamed Al-Deayea, Malek Mouath, and Nashat Akram, also played for Al-Nassr in this special game. Arjen Robben scored first for Real Madrid in the 50th minute. But then, Malek and Nashat scored quickly for Al-Nassr. Saud Kariri added a third goal, and Malek scored again in the final minutes, making it a big win for Al-Nassr.
| 20 May 2008 21:15 AST |
Al-Nassr  |
4–1 |  Real Madrid |
King Fahd International Stadium, Riyadh Attendance: 70,000 Referee: Mutraf Al-Qahtani |
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https://www.goal.com/en/news/12/spanish-football/2008/05/21/704581/al-nasr-thrash-real-madrid-in-friendly |
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         Al-Nassr
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    Real Madrid
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Images for kids
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Majed Abdullah (left) with Tawfiq Al-Muqrin and Abdullah Abed Rabbo in Iraq, 1978.
See also
In Spanish: Majed Abdullah para niños
- List of top international men's football goalscorers by country
- List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps
- List of men's footballers with 50 or more international goals
