Majed Abdullah

Majed Ahmed Abdullah (; born 11 January 1959) is a Saudi Arabian former professional footballer who played as a striker for Al-Nassr and the Saudi Arabia national team. He is the all-time leading goal scorer for Saudi Arabia with 72 goals in 117 games. At the club level, he is the record goal scorer for Al-Nassr and the all-time top scorer of the Saudi Pro League. He was often referred to by his nickname "The Arabian Pelé".

Majed Abdullah is regarded as one of the greatest Western Asian strikers of all time. He was nominated for IFFHS 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. 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 Majed was born in the Al-Baghdadia District in Jeddah. Majed is the second son of Ahmed Abdullah. Living 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 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. 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 did not give up and challenged one of Riyadh's best neighborhood teams for a place in that tournament. Al-Ittifaq 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 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. On 5 May 1977, Abdullah scored twice in the 4–0 against Hajer in the 1977 King Cup. He then scored twice against Al-Nahda 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. 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. 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 Early years Majed made his senior team debut in the 1978 Saudi Arabia Football Federation International Tournament, where scored two goals in his debut match against Pakistan, ending in a 6–0 victory. Majed played for Saudi Arabia in the 1979 Arabian Gulf Cup, scoring 7 goals in 6 matches, and notably scoring five against Qatar in a 7–0 win. He continued to play in the Arabian Gulf Cup, participating in the 1982, 1984 and 1986 tournaments.

International success Majed represented his country at the 1984 AFC Asian Cup, first scoring a 90th-minute equalizer against South Korea in the group stage, then scoring again in the final against China to help Saudi Arabia secure their first Asian Cup title. He played in the next tournament in 1988, scoring a goal against Iran in the semi-finals and then converting his kick in the penalty shoot-out of the final against South Korea as his side retained their title. Majed also represented Saudi Arabia in the 1984 Summer Olympics, scoring a goal against Brazil.

Later years He helped the country to a silver medal at the 1986 Asian Games, as well as another silver medal at the 1992 Arab Cup. Majed marked his last appearances for Saudi Arabia at the 1994 FIFA World Cup, then retired from international football shortly afterwards.

Career statistics Club Source:

International Statistics accurate as of match played 29 June 1994

International goals Goal Cap Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1 4 24 March 1979 Al-Shaab Stadium, Baghdad, Iraq 2–1 5th Arabian Gulf Cup 2 5 28 March 1979 Al-Shaab Stadium, Baghdad, Iraq 4–0 5th Arabian Gulf Cup 3 7 4 April 1979 Al-Shaab Stadium, Baghdad, Iraq 1–0 5th Arabian Gulf Cup 42–0 54–0 65–0 76–0 8 10 30 January 1980 Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 1–0 Friendly 9 12 29 September 1980 İzmir Atatürk Stadium, İzmir, Turkey 1–0 1980 Islamic Games 10 15 12 December 1980 Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 1–0 Friendly 115–0 126–0 137–0 148–0 15 16 14 December 1980 Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia 1–0 Friendly 162–0 17 20 17 October 1981 Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 2–0 Friendly 18 23 12 November 1981 Stadium Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 2–0 1982 FIFA World Cup qualification 19 25 28 November 1981 Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand 1–1 1982 FIFA World Cup qualification 202–1 21 31 29 March 1982 Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates 1–0 6th Arabian Gulf Cup 22 33 2 April 1982 Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates 1–1 6th Arabian Gulf Cup 232–2 24 38 21 February 1984 Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 1–0 Friendly 253–2 26 39 10 March 1984 Royal Oman Police Stadium, Muscat, Oman 1–1 7th Arabian Gulf Cup 27 41 25 September 1984 Prince Saud bin Jalawi Stadium, Khobar, Saudi Arabia 1–0 Friendly 28 42 8 October 1984 Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia 1–0 Friendly 29 44 19 October 1984 Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia 2–0 1984 Asian Cup qualification 30 45 22 October 1984 Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia 1–0 1984 Asian Cup qualification 31 46 24 October 1984 Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia 1–0 1984 Asian Cup qualification 322–0 333–0 34 47 26 October 1984 Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia 1–0 1984 Asian Cup qualification 352–0 364–0 37 48 2 December 1984 National Stadium, Kallang, Singapore 1–1 1984 Asian Cup GS 38 53 16 December 1984 National Stadium, Kallang, Singapore 2–0 1984 Asian Cup Final 39 57 5 August 1985 Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat, Morocco 1–0 1985 Pan Arab Games GS 40 58 8 August 1985 Settat Municipal Stadium, Settat, Morocco 1–0 1985 Pan Arab Games GS 41 59 14 August 1985 Mohammed V Stadium, Casablanca, Morocco 1–0 1985 Pan Arab Games SF 42 61 23 March 1986 Bahrain National Stadium, Riffa, Bahrain 1–3 8th Arabian Gulf Cup 43 62 25 March 1986 Bahrain National Stadium, Riffa, Bahrain 1–1 8th Arabian Gulf Cup 44 63 28 March 1986 Bahrain National Stadium, Riffa, Bahrain 1–0 8th Arabian Gulf Cup 453–1 46 68 21 September 1986 Gwangju Mudeung Stadium, Gwangju, South Korea 2–1 1986 Asian Games GS 473–1 48 69 25 September 1986 Gwangju Mudeung Stadium, Gwangju, South Korea 1–0 1986 Asian Games GS 492–0 50 71 17 February 1988 Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 2–2 Friendly 51 74 9 March 1988 King Fahd International Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 1–0 9th Arabian Gulf Cup 52 75 13 March 1988 King Fahd International Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 2–2 9th Arabian Gulf Cup 53 79 23 June 1988 Olympic Park Stadium, Melbourne, Australia 1–3 Friendly 542–3 55 80 29 June 1988 Olympic Park Stadium, Melbourne, Australia 1–0 Friendly 56 82 6 July 1988 Football Park, Adelaide, Australia 1–1 1988 Australia Gold Cup 57 84 13 July 1988 Olympic Park Stadium, Melbourne, Australia 1–2 1988 Australia Gold Cup 58 86 16 November 1988 King Fahd International Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 1–0 Friendly 59 87 23 November 1988 Prince Saud bin Jalawi Stadium, Khobar, Saudi Arabia 1–0 Friendly 60 92 15 December 1988 Hamad bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha, Qatar 1–0 1988 Asian Cup SF 61 94 15 March 1989 Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia 4–3 1990 FIFA World Cup qualification 62 97 5 April 1989 Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia 1–0 1990 FIFA World Cup qualification 63 101 24 September 1990 Xiannongtan Stadium, Beijing, China 2–0 1990 Asian Games GS 644–0 65 104 11 September 1992 Al-Hamadaniah Stadium, Aleppo, Syria 1–0 1992 Arab Nations Cup GS 66 106 18 April 1993 National Stadium, Kallang, Singapore 2–1 Friendly 67 107 22 April 1993 National Stadium, Kallang, Singapore 1–0 Friendly 68 109 16 May 1993 King Fahd International Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 1–0 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification 693–0 70 110 18 May 1993 King Fahd International Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 2–0 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification 71 112 27 September 1993 Prince Saud bin Jalawi Stadium, Khobar, Saudi Arabia 2–0 Friendly 72 115 4 June 1994 Alex G. Spanos Stadium, San Luis Obispo, United States 1–0 Friendly

Firsts and lasts in Majed's life From the Left Majed Abdullah, Tawfiq Al-Muqrin and Abdullah Abed Rabbo in Iraq 1978.

Firsts First training camp with Al-Nassr was in London in 1976. First training camp with the National Team (under 17) was also in London in 1977. First coach with Al-Nassr was Ljubiša Broćić First coach with the National Team (under 17) was Jeff Faundon. First shirt number with Al-Nassr was 14. First shirt number with the National Team was 17. First match with Al-Nassr was against Al-Fath from Morocco in a friendly in 15-1-1977. First official match with Al-Nassr was against Al-Shabab in 22-1-1977. First goal with Al-Nassr was against Al-Wehda in 18-3-1977. First international goal was against Iran under 17 in 15-8-1977. First official goal with the Saudi Senior Team was against Pakistan in May 1978. First official Globally goal with the Saudi Senior Team was against Brazil in Olympic Games Los Angeles 1984. First "League Top Scorer" Trophy was in 1978–1979 season.

Lasts Last local match was against Al-Hilal in 1996–1997 season. Last local goal was against Al-Ittifaq in January 1997. Last local trophy was the Saudi Premier League 1994–1995 season. Last International match was against Belgium during 1994 FIFA World Cup in 29-6-1994. Last International goal was against Kuwait during 1994 FIFA World Cup qualifications. Last Globally goal with the Saudi Senior Team was against Brazil in Golden Cup Confederations in Australia 1988. Last goal with Al-Nassr was against Kopetdag of Turkmenistan in 11-4-1998. Last match with Al-Nassr was against Suwon Samsung Bluewings in the Asian Cup Winners Cup final on 13-4-1998. Last "League Top Scorer" Trophy was in 1988–1989 season.

Honours

Player 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

Saudi Arabia AFC Asian Cup: 1984, 1988 Asian Games silver medal: 1986 Arab Nations Cup runner-up: 1992

Individual Saudi 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 Pan Arab Games top scorer: 1985 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 Asian Men's Team of the 20th Century: 2021 IFFHS Asian Men's Team of All Time: 2021

Retirement match

On 20 May 2008, 10 years after Abdullah's last match, a testimonial match was held between Al-Nassr and Real Madrid, who were just crowned with their 31st La Liga title. The match was held at Al-Nassr's home ground, the King Fahd International Stadium 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, Malek Mouath and Nashat Akram represent Al-Nassr. Arjen Robben 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