Sami Al-Jaber

Sami Abdullah Al-Jaber (Arabic: سامي الجابر; born 11 December 1972) is a Saudi Arabian football manager and former professional player who played as a striker. He spent the entirety of his career with Al-Hilal apart from a five-month loan to English club Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Sami Al-Jaber
Al-Jaber in 2013
Personal information
Full name Sami Abdullah Al-Jaber
Date of birth (1972-12-11) 11 December 1972
Place of birth Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
1986–1988 Al-Hilal
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1989–2007 Al-Hilal 270 (101)
2000 → Wolverhampton Wanderers (loan) 4 (0)
Total 274 (101)
International career
1992–2006 Saudi Arabia 156 (46)
Managerial career
2011–2012 Al-Hilal (assistant)
2012–2013 AJ Auxerre (assistant)
2013–2014 Al-Hilal
2015 Al-Wahda
2016–2017 Al-Shabab
Medal record
Representing  Saudi Arabia
Winner1996 AFC Asian Cup
Runner-up2000 AFC Asian Cup
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Al-Jaber is his country's second highest international goalscorer with 46 goals in 156 internationals from 1992 to 2006. He appeared in four consecutive FIFA World Cup tournaments, from 1994 to 2006, scoring in three of them. He was also a member of the Saudi squads which won the AFC Asian Cup in 1996. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest Saudi footballers ever.

Club career

Al-Jaber made his Al-Hilal debut in 1989 and spent nearly 20 years at the club. In 2000, he joined Wolverhampton Wanderers on loan,[1] where he made just five appearances in five months.[2] After the club learned that Al-Jaber's father had been taken seriously ill, he was allowed to join United Arab Emirates side Al-Ain on loan, and this was to spell the end of his time in England.[3] Even so, to this day Al-Jaber remains one of very few Saudi footballers to play outside their homeland.

On 21 January 2008, Al-Hilal held a testimonial for Al-Jaber against English Premier League giants Manchester United. Al-Jaber scored a penalty en route to a 3–2 victory over the visitors, in his last game for the club.[4]

International career

On 27 May 1998, Al-Jaber made his 100th international appearance in a friendly against Norway. At 25 years, four months and 16 days old, this made him the youngest male footballer to reach 100 caps.[5]

After gaining a runners-up medal in the 2000 Asian Cup, he appeared in the 2002 World Cup but only played in one game, a 0–8 hammering by Germany. He was ruled out of the rest of the competition when his appendix burst and he had to be rushed to hospital.[6]

Managerial career

Al-Jaber was named as assistant coach of Al-Hilal in 2009, one year after he retired from professional football. He worked under notable coaches like Eric Gerets, Gabriel Calderon and Thomas Doll. In 2012, he became assistant coach of Ligue 2 side AJ Auxerre.

On 27 May 2013, Al-Jaber was named the manager of Al-Hilal, replaced former coach Zlatko Dalić. He became the first Saudi coach to manage Al-Hilal after 14 years of Khalil Ibrahim Al-Zayani in 1999. After his first season in his new career, he was ranked 19th in Football Coach World ranking. Even though, Al-Hilal decided to replace him. On 19 July 2014, Al Arabi announced his assignment as the technical manager of their football team.

Personal life

Al-Jaber is an advocate of football reforms, having criticised the Saudi Football Federation for its protectionist policy that prevented Saudi talents from going abroad to play better football after Saudi Arabia became the first team to be knocked out of 2002 FIFA World Cup.[7]

Career statistics

International
Scores and results list Saudi Arabia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Al-Jaber goal.
List of international goals scored by Sami Al-Jaber[8]
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
116 September 1992Latakia, Syria Kuwait2–01992 Arab Nations Cup Group Stages
218 April 1993Singapore New Zealand3–1Friendly
324 April 1993Singapore New Zealand1–0Friendly
41 May 1993Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Macau6–01994 FIFA World Cup qualifier
517 September 1993Khobar, Saudi Arabia Thailand4–0Friendly
628 October 1993Doha, Qatar Iran4–31994 FIFA World Cup qualifier
730 March 1994Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Chile2–2Friendly
827 April 1994Athinai, Greece Greece5–1Friendly match
925 June 1994East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States Morocco2–11994 FIFA World Cup
1019 October 1994Dhahran, Saudi Arabia United States2–1Friendly
116 November 1994Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates United Arab Emirates1–11994 Gulf Cup of Nations
1210 December 1994Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Poland2–1Friendly
138 October 1995Washington DC, United States United States4–3Friendly
1428 October 1995Matsuyama, Japan Japan2–1Friendly
1519 October 1996Muscat, Oman Qatar2–21996 Gulf Cup of Nations
165 December 1996Dubai, United Arab Emirates Thailand6–01996 AFC Asian Cup Group Stage
1716 December 1996Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates China4–31996 AFC Asian Cup Quarter-finals
1831 March 1997Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Chinese Taipei6–01998 FIFA World Cup qualification
19
20
2125 September 1997Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Mali5–1Friendly
22
239 May 1998Cannes, France Trinidad and Tobago2–1Friendly
2412 May 1998Nice, France Iceland1–1Friendly
2517 May 1998Cannes, France Namibia2–1Friendly
2624 June 1998Bordeaux, France South Africa2–21998 FIFA World Cup
2731 May 2000Győr, Hungary Hungary2–2Friendly
285 October 2000Zarqa, Jordan China2–0Friendly
2910 February 2001Dammam, Saudi Arabia Bangladesh3–02002 FIFA World Cup qualification
3012 February 2001Dammam, Saudi Arabia Vietnam5–02002 FIFA World Cup qualification
31
32
3315 February 2001Dammam, Saudi Arabia Mongolia6–02002 FIFA World Cup qualification
3410 July 2001Singapore Singapore3–0Friendly
35
3615 September 2001Bangkok, Thailand Thailand3–12002 FIFA World Cup qualification
3721 September 2001Manama, Bahrain Bahrain4–02002 FIFA World Cup qualification
3821 October 2001Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Thailand4–12002 FIFA World Cup qualification
3916 January 2002Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Kuwait1–12002 Gulf Cup of Nations
4020 January 2002Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Bahrain3–12002 Gulf Cup of Nations
4114 May 2002Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Senegal3–2Friendly
429 February 2005Tashkent, Uzbekistan Uzbekistan1–12006 FIFA World Cup qualification
438 June 2005Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Uzbekistan3–02006 FIFA World Cup qualification
44
4515 March 2006Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Iraq2–2Friendly
4614 June 2006Munich, Germany Tunisia2–22006 FIFA World Cup

Honours

Al-Hilal

Saudi Arabia

Individual

See also

References
  1. Wollaston, Steve (30 April 2020). "Who is Sami Al-Jaber? The former Wolves player eyed for Newcastle United role". BirminghamLive. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  2. Dixon, Jamie. "AL-JABER COMPLETES LOAN SPELL". Sky Sports. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  3. Evans, Nic. "AL-JABER GIVEN UAE LOAN". Sky Sports. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  4. "Report: Al Hilal 3 United 2". Manchester United FC. 21 January 2008. Retrieved 8 February 2009.
  5. Bryant, Tom; Gardner, Alan; Dart, James (5 December 2007). "Football: The Knowledge - the fastest ever century of international caps". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  6. Alosaimi, Najah (21 January 2008). "'Sam 6' Regarded as Kingdom's Best". Arab News. Retrieved 8 February 2009.
  7. Church, Michael (9 June 2002). "Why you don't see Saudi players in Europe". The Guardian.
  8. Roberto Mamrud & Naim Albakr. "Sami Abdullah Al-Jaber - Century of International Appearances". RSSSF. Retrieved 23 November 2013.
  9. "Super Sami strikes gold". Asian Football Confederation. 14 May 1998. Archived from the original on 14 May 1998.
  10. "Sami does it again". Asian Football Confederation. 19 February 1999. Archived from the original on 19 February 1999.
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