Best Algerian footballers of All Time

The Algerian Football Federation governs the Algerian national football team, which competes in men's international football. The team's home games are held at Blida's Mustapha Tchaker Stadium and Algiers' Stade du 5 Juillet.

Algeria became a member of FIFA on January 1, 1964, a year and a half after achieving independence. The squad is also a member of the African Football Confederation (CAF). It is generally regarded as one of the best African national teams of all time, as well as one of the strongest national teams in world football and African history.

In 1982, 1986, 2010, and 2014, the North African team qualified for four World Cups. Algeria has won the Africa Cup of Nations twice, once in 1990 when it hosted the tournament and again in 2019 when it was held in Egypt. Algeria became the first African team to produce four goals in a World Cup match, against South Korea, at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Algeria's traditional rivals include Morocco, Tunisia, and Egypt. Algeria has also played very competitive matches against Nigeria, especially during Algeria's best football generation in the 1980s, Mali due to a shared border and a lengthy competitive rivalry, and Senegal, where Algeria's first global success began.

Algeria's most notable triumph was a 2–1 victory over West Germany in the 1982 FIFA World Cup when the African nation stunned the world. Algeria has produced a number of talented players over the years and is regarded as one of Africa's strongest football teams and for that reason, we would like to write an entire article about the best Algerian footballers ever existed.

Best Algerian footballers of All Time

Here is our list of the best Algerian soccer players in the history of Algerian football.

Mehdi Cerbah

Mehdi Cerbah is a former Algerian international football player who was born on April 3, 1953.

Cerbah spent the majority of his career with USM Alger, JS Kabylie, and RC Kouba in Algeria.

After signing with the NASL's Montreal Manic in January 1983, he played one season of indoor football in Canada.

He returned to Algeria to end his career in RC Kouba, where he remained until 1986.

Cerbah played for the Algerian national team on many occasions, including three appearances in the 1982 FIFA World Cup finals, including a notable victory over West Germany.

He also played in several African Cup of Nations finals, including the 1980 finals where Algeria finished runners-up, losing to Nigeria in the final 3-0.

Islam Slimani

Islam Slimani (born 18 June 1988) is an Algerian striker who currently plays for

club Lyon as well as the Algeria national team and he is considered one of the

Best Algerian footballers of All Time.

Slimani started his career with JSM Cheraga and CR Belouizdad in his home country.

In 2013, he signed with Sporting CP in Europe. During his three seasons in Portugal, he played and scored on a regular basis, helping his team win the Taca de Portugal in 2015.

Slimani was sold to Leicester City for a club-record £28 million in 2016.

Slimani, an Algerian international, made his debut in 2012 and competed in the Africa Cup of Nations in 2013, 2015, and 2017.

He was a member of the Algerian team that won the tournament in 2019.

He also played in the 2014 FIFA World Cup for Algeria, where he was the team's joint highest goalscorer with two goals.

He has 70 international caps and 31 goals, making him Algeria's second-highest all-time goalscorer as of March 2021.

Slimani was named to Algeria's squad for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, and he appeared in all three of the team's group games in January.

Algeria, on the other hand, only earned one point and was eliminated in the first round.

Being one of the Best Algerian soccer players of All Time, Slimani was named to Algeria's 23-man squad for the 2014 World Cup by manager Vahid Halilhodzic.

Slimani scored the opening goal for les Fennecs in a 4–2 group match against South Korea on June 22, 2014.

By passing the ball to Abdelmoumene Djabou, he also assisted on the team's third goal.

Riyad Mahrez

Riyad Karim Mahrez (born February 21, 1991) is an Algerian footballer who captains the Algerian national team and plays as a winger for Premier League club

.

Mahrez is one of the

Best Algerian soccer players of All Time.

Mahrez started his career as a youth player with AAS Sarcelles.

He began his professional career in 2009 with Quimper, where he spent just one season before transferring to Le Havre, where he spent three years, first as a reserve player and then as a first-team regular.

Mahrez joined Leicester City in January 2014, and during his first season, he helped them win the Championship and gain promotion to the Premier League.

He was named Algerian Footballer of the Year, PFA Players' Player of the Year, and a member of the Premier League PFA Team of the Year in the 2015–16 season, as he assisted Leicester City to win the Premier League.

He joined Manchester City in 2018, and in his first season, he won the Premier League, FA Cup, and EFL Cup, proving himself as one of the Best Algerian footballers of All Time.

Mahrez, who was born in France, made his international debut for Algeria in 2014, playing in the 2014 FIFA World Cup as well as the 2015, 2017, and 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, winning the latter in 2019.

He was elected African Footballer of the Year by the CAF in 2016.

Miloud Hadefi

Miloud Hadefi was an Algerian football player and manager who lived from March 12, 1949, in Oran, to June 6, 1994 and is one of the

Best Algerian footballers of All Time.

Hedefi has played in two FIFA World Cup qualification matches for Algeria. Libero was his favorite position.

Pele dubbed him "The African Kaiser" because of his resemblance to German defender Franz Beckenbauer, also known as "Der Kaiser."

He began his career with seniors at MC Oran, then moved on to WA Tlemcen in 1971-72, and then back to MC Oran until 1979.

Following that, he served as a coach-player at CC Sig before becoming the coach of his long-standing club,

.

Miloud Hadefi has 46 appearances for the Algerian side.

He also played for the African Squad, and he is the only Algerian player to have played in two Inter-Continental World Cups with the team, in Brazil in 1972 and Mexico in 1973.

He is indeed one of the Best Algerian soccer players of All Time.

Mustapha Dahleb

Mustapha Dahleb (born February 8, 1952) is a retired Algerian professional footballer who played in the midfield position.

He began his career at CS Sedan and CR Belouizdad before spending the majority of his time at

and finishing his career at OGC Nice.

Dahleb was a member of the Algerian national football team at the international level.

He is one of the Best Algerian footballers of All Time.

He is the third-highest goalscorer in the French first division for Paris Saint-Germain and the fifth all-time goalscorer in all competitions.

Dahleb was a member of the Algerian national team at the 1982 FIFA World Cup, where they were eliminated in the group stage.

With 85 goals, Dahleb was the all-time top scorer for Paris Saint-Germain in the French first division before Zlatan Ibrahimovic surpassed him.

With 98 goals in all competitions, Dahleb is the club's all-time leading scorer.

Mustapha Dahleb possessed physical abilities that far exceeded those of the rest of the players at the time.

Dahleb, an outstanding athlete whose only drawback is that he has never earned a medal with his national team, foreshadowed the modern player in the 1970s, being both physically and technically gifted, and capable of making the most significant movements.

Considered one of the very

Best Algerian football players in history

, he could execute impressive dribbles and feints, which was the most challenging and craziest part of his game.

Mustapha Dahleb scored 137 goals in 403 games in all competitions, an average of 0.33 goals per game.

Rachid Mekhloufi

Rachid Mekhloufi (or Mekloufi) is a French and Algerian footballer who became a coach.

He was born on August 12, 1936, in Setif, Algeria and he is one of the Best Algerian football players in history.

In 1956, he was a member of the French team before joining the FLN team in 1958.

He returned to France after Algeria's independence and went on to become an international coach and FIFA member.

He is regarded as one of the greatest Algerian players ever to compete in the French championship.

Between 1956 and 1957, he had 4 appearances for the

, 40 for the FLN team between 1958 and 1962, and 11 for the national team between 1962 and 1968.

It's definitely worth mentioning that Rachid Mekhloufi has never received a card in his entire professional sports career, and that’s just besides being one of the

Best Algerian footballers of All Time.

Rachid Mekhloufi was the driving force behind a number of initiatives aimed at developing football in Africa, especially in Algeria.

As the founding president of the FLN Foundation, he has been working on a major project to establish several football schools since 2010.

Salah Assad

Salah Assad is a former Algerian football striker and manager who was born on June 10, 1958 in Larbaa Nath Irathen.

He is one of the Best Algerian football players in history.

He played for RC Kouba in Algeria, where he won an Algerian tournament and one African Cup Winner's Cup, and FC Mulhouse in France.

He represented Algeria at the African Cup of Nations in 1980, 1982, and 1986, the 1980 Summer Olympics, and two FIFA World Cup editions in 1982 and 1986, scoring two goals.

Regarded as one of the greatest Algerian football players ever, Assad also holds the record for most goals scored in a World Cup for Algeria, with two goals in the 1982 tournament.

Between 1977 and 1989, he made 68 appearances for Algeria.

He played for the Fennecs in the 1982 and 1986 World Cups.

He was the Algerian club champion with RC Kouba in the 1980-1981 season.

Hacene Lalmas

Hacene Lalmas, also known as Ahcen Lalmas or Hassan Lalmas, was born to Bir Mourad Rais near Algiers on March 12, 1943, and died on July 7, 2018. He is one of the Best Algerian footballers of All Time.

Lalmas is a Kabyle-born Algerian international footballer who played as a playmaker for

. El Kebch (the ram) was his nickname.

Between 1963 and 1974, he made 42 appearances for the national team.

He is regarded as one of the greatest Algerian footballers in history, alongside Mustapha Dahleb, Boualem Amirouche, Abdelhamid Salhi, Rabah Madjer, and Lakhdar Belloumi, as heroes of the 1982 World Cup Fennecs (and of the victory against the FRG).

Hacene Lalmas is the current top scorer in the league (with over 150 goals), as well as the record holder for goals scored in the Algerian Cup final (7 goals in 3 finals).

In 1993, he was voted the best Algerian player of all time by a vote of more than 350 Algerian technicians, coaches, and players (organized by the sports weekly Echibek). He is without a doubt one of the greatest Algerian football players ever.

Hacene Lalmas stood out above all with his fiery personality both on and off the field.

Lalmas, who was like a star in a constellation to his opponents and teammates, was a great CRB playmaker and unrivaled finisher.

He was one of the few players who had the ability to turn a game around.

For example, Chabab, who were unbeaten at the time, were trailing Setif 3 goals to 0 at halftime in the 1969–70 season.

The game was then joined by Hacene, who was just a replacement. At the end of the game, the score was 3-3.

Abdelhafid Tasfaout

Abdelhafid Tasfaout is a retired Algerian footballer who was born on February 11, 1969.

He was the captain of the Algerian national team for five years as a midfielder and one of the Best Algerian footballers of All Time.

During the 2002 African Cup of Nations in Mali, Tasfaout sustained a life-threatening head injury after colliding with Mali's Boubacar Diarra.

Many of his colleagues thought he had been killed when an ambulance was brought onto the pitch to provide assistance.

He did, however, make a full recovery, and it was determined that he had a fractured nose and a swallowed tongue.

Tasfaout is the all-time leading scorer for the Algerian national team, definitely one of the greatest Algerian players in football history.

He made an appearance in 80 games and scored 36 goals.

For five years, Tasfaout was captain of the Algerian side, twice top scorer, and twice Algerian champion with MC Oran.

He now plays mostly for

, but also for AJ Auxerre, where he won the championship and the French Cup in 1996.

He is one of Algeria's most talented strikers.

With 36 goals, he is the all-time leading scorer for the national team (including a hat-trick against Senegal in a qualifying match for CAN 1994 ).

He was appointed general manager of the Algerian national team during a federal meeting on July 18, 2010.

Ali Bencheikh

Ali "Alilou" Bencheikh (born 9 January 1955 in Athwouaguag, Bordj Bou Arreridj, Algeria) is a former Algerian international footballer and one of the greatest Algerian players in football history.

«Alilou», as he was known to MC Alger fans, was born in the village of (at-waguag in the basse kabylie biban mountains), near to the village of El M'hir daira of Manssourah in the province of Bordj Bou Arreridj.

At the age of 17, he made his MCA debut as a midfielder and went on to win several trophies and awards, including the club's only African Champions Cup in 1976.

At the 1982 World Cup, he was a member of the Algerian squad.

Alilou was voted the 19th best African player of the century by the IFFHS.

He is considered one of the very Best Algerian footballers of All Time.

Lakhdar Belloumi

Lakhdar Belloumi (born December 29, 1958) is an Algerian football manager and former player.

He is widely regarded as one of the

greatest Algerian football players ever

and one of Africa's finest.

He is credited with inventing the "Blind Pass."

He is voted the fourth best African player of all time.

With 100 national caps (147 not recognized by FIFA), he is the most capped Algerian player of all time, as well as the third best goalscorer of the Algerian national team with 28 goals (34 goals not recognized by FIFA).

Algeria beat reigning European champions West Germany 2–1 in their World Cup debut in Spain in 1982, thanks to Belloumi's strike.

He competed in the 1980 Summer Olympics, two FIFA World Cups (1982 and 1986), four Africa Cup of Nations tournaments (1980, 1982, 1984, and 1988), and two Mediterranean Games (1979 and 1983).

He was named African Footballer of the Year in 1981.

Belloumi scored the game-winning goal in Algeria's 2–1 World Cup victory over West Germany in 1982, and he was a key member of the Algerian national team in the 1980s.

In 1989, he played his last game for Algeria, carving his name among the Best Algerian footballers of All Time.

Rabah Madjer

Rabah "Mustapha" Madjer (born 15 December 1958) is an Algerian striker who played for the Algerian national team.

He rose to prominence as a

player in the 1980s and is generally regarded as one of the

greatest Algerian players in football history.

During his six years with the club, he won nine major trophies, including three national championships and the 1987 European Cup.

Madjer, one of Algeria's most prolific internationals in terms of games and goals, represented his country in two World Cups, leading it to its first appearance in 1982.

After retirement, being one of the unquestionably Best Algerian footballers of All Time, he went into coaching and managed numerous teams, as well as having several stints with the Algerian national team.

Madjer's most successful goal came in Algeria's 2–1 World Cup victory over

in 1982 when he scored in the 53rd minute.

He took over as coach of the national team in 1993, but resigned after failing to qualify for two major tournaments in 1994, the World Cup and the CAN, and returned to Porto as a youth coordinator.

Madjer returned two years later after a brief stint in 1999, only to resign with frustration in the summer of 2002.

After Lucas Alcaraz failed to lead the team to the 2018 FIFA World Cup, he controversially returned to the position in October 2017, his first managerial job in over a decade.

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