Sami Al-Jaber

Sami Al-Jaber
Sami 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 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position Striker
Youth career
1986–1988 Al-Hilal
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1989–2007 Al-Hilal 376 (173)
2000 → Wolverhampton (loan) 4 (0)
Total 380 (173)
National team
1992–2006 Saudi Arabia 156 (46)
Teams managed
2011–2012 Al-Hilal (assistant)
2012–2013 AJ Auxerre (assistant)
2013–2014 Al-Hilal
2015 Al-Wahda
2016–2017 Al-Shabab
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Sami Abdullah Al-Jaber (Arabic: سامي الجابر‎; born 11 December 1972) is a retired football striker from Saudi Arabia. He spent the majority of his career from 1988 to 2008 with Al-Hilal.

He is his country's second highest international goalscorer with 46 goals in 156 internationals from 1992 to 2006. Al-Jaber 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 players ever.

Club career

Al-Hilal

Al-Jaber is often cited as Al-Hilal's most famous player, after spending nearly 20 years with the club. He joined the club aged 15 and during two decades as a senior player, helped them to win 6 league titles, 6 Crown Prince Cups and 2 Asian Champions League titles among other honours. He was also top goalscorer in the Saudi Premier League twice (in 1989–90 and 1992–93).

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.[1]

Wolverhampton Wanderers

On 22 August 2000, English First Division side Wolverhampton Wanderers agreed terms to sign Al-Jaber after impressing Wolves' boss Colin Lee in a trial.[2] The deal consisted of an initial five-month loan period with the option to buy for a reported £1.2 million at its conclusion and made him the first Saudi player to play in England.[3] However, the move was fraught with complications and setbacks. It took almost a month for his international clearance to arrive before he could make his Wolves debut on 16 September 2000 coming on as a substitute in a 1–1 draw at Wimbledon. He did the same in the following two league games (and played a full League Cup match) before having to leave to appear in the Asian Cup with his country. However, he returned from international duty carrying a groin injury that left him on the sidelines for a further month and drew a furious reaction from Wolves after learning of the injections he had been given while away to enable him to complete the tournament.[4]

Al-Jaber regained his fitness but managed only one further substitute appearance in the first team, annoying his Saudi club. He returned home on compassionate leave after his father became ill over the Christmas period,[5] and upon returning to Molineux discovered Colin Lee had been sacked as manager and replaced by Dave Jones. Jones asked for his trial to be extended to allow him chance to personally evaluate the player but when his parent club Al-Hilal refused, he returned home after just eight months and five (goalless) appearances in England.[6] Despite his failure to make an impression, he later said: "I learned everything at Wolves and was really happy to have had that time there.[7]

Club

Club Season League Cup ACL Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Al-Hilal
1988–89 11231--143
1989–90 201671--2717
1990–91 211463633320
1991–92 13693--229
1992–93 211952--2721
1993–94
1994–95 122138--2510
1995–96 194110--304
1996–97 132931053110
1997–98 15286963214
1998–99 197116523515
1999–00 19695403211
2000–01 1396252245
2001-02 1732064257
2002–03 1528220254
2003–04 1332041193
2004–05 1611109--2620
2005–06 604230132
2006–07 5732--83
Career Total 268101126555423448178


International career

He competed in four FIFA World Cups—appearing in the 1994, 1998, 2002, and the 2006 World Cups. His record of 163 caps is second only to Mohamed Al-Deayea in his country's history.

He received his first cap for the Saudi national team on 11 September 1992 in a 1–1 draw with Syria in the Arab Nations Cup. He took until his 19th game to score his first international goal when he netted in a 6–0 rout of Macau on 1 May 1993 in a World Cup 1994 qualifier. Saudi Arabia subsequently qualified for the 1994 World Cup Finals, their first World Cup appearance. Al-Jaber appeared in two group games in the USA, scoring from the penalty spot against Morocco in a 2–1 win.

He was part of the squad that won the 1996 Asian Cup before reaching his second World Cup Finals in 1998. He played in all three games in which the Saudi side appeared in France, scoring a second World Cup goal when he netted in a 2–2 draw with South Africa. This made him the first Asian player to score in two consecutive World Cups.

After gaining a runners-up medal in the 2000 Asian Cup, he appeared in the 2002 World Cup but only played in one game, an 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.[8]

Following this disappointment, he decided to retire from international football but was tempted back by Saudi Arabia's Argentine coach Gabriel Calderon in early 2005 for their 2006 World Cup campaign. He scored three times in four qualifying games to help reach the finals. He appeared in all three games the Saudis played in the tournament in Germany and scored in their opening match against Tunisia to give them a 2–1 lead but the match ended 2–2. After failing to advance to the knockout stages, Al-Jaber announced his international retirement.

International goals

[9]

#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
114 September 1992Latakia, Syria Kuwait2–0Won1992 Arab Nations Cup Group Stages
218 April 1993Singapore New Zealand3–1WonFriendly
324 April 1993Singapore New Zealand1–0WonFriendly
41 May 1993Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Macau6–0Won1994 FIFA World Cup qualifier
517 September 1993Khobar, Saudi Arabia Thailand4–0WonFriendly
628 October 1993Doha, Qatar Iran4–3Won1994 FIFA World Cup qualifier
730 March 1994Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Chile2–2DrawFriendly
827 April 1994Athinai, Greece Greece5–1LostFriendly match
925 June 1994East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States Morocco2–1Won1994 FIFA World Cup
1019 October 1994Dhahran, Saudi Arabia United States2–1WonFriendly
116 November 1994Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates United Arab Emirates1–1Draw1994 Gulf Cup of Nations
1210 December 1994Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Poland2–1LostFriendly
138 October 1995Washington DC, United States United States4–3LostFriendly
1428 October 1995Matsuyama, Japan Japan2–1LostFriendly
1519 October 1996Muscat, Oman Qatar2–2Draw1996 Gulf Cup of Nations
165 December 1996Dubai, United Arab Emirates Thailand6–0Won1996 AFC Asian Cup Group Stage
1716 December 1996Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates China PR4–3Won1996 AFC Asian Cup Quarter-finals
1831 March 1997Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Chinese Taipei6–0Won1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
1931 March 1997Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Chinese Taipei6–0Won1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
2031 March 1997Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Chinese Taipei6–0Won1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
2125 September 1997Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Mali5–1WonFriendly
2225 September 1997Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Mali5–1WonFriendly
239 May 1998Cannes, France Trinidad and Tobago2–1WonFriendly
2412 May 1998Nice, France Iceland1–1DrawFriendly
2517 May 1998Cannes, France Namibia2–1WonFriendly
2624 June 1998Bordeaux, France South Africa2–2Draw1998 FIFA World Cup
2731 May 2000Győr, Hungary Hungary2–2DrawFriendly
285 October 2000Zarqa, Jordan China PR2–0WonFriendly
2910 February 2001Dammam, Saudi Arabia Bangladesh3–0Won2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
3012 February 2001Dammam, Saudi Arabia Vietnam5–0Won2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
3112 February 2001Dammam, Saudi Arabia Vietnam5–0Won2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
3212 February 2001Dammam, Saudi Arabia Vietnam5–0Won2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
3315 February 2001Dammam, Saudi Arabia Mongolia6–0Won2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
3410 July 2001Singapore Singapore3–0WonFriendly
3510 July 2001Singapore Singapore3–0WonFriendly
3615 September 2001Bangkok, Thailand Thailand3–1Won2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
3721 September 2001Manama, Bahrain Bahrain4–0Won2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
3821 October 2001Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Thailand4–1Won2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
3916 January 2002Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Kuwait1–1Draw2002 Gulf Cup of Nations
4020 January 2002Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Bahrain3–1Won2002 Gulf Cup of Nations
4114 May 2002Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Senegal3–2WonFriendly
429 February 2005Tashkent, Uzbekistan Uzbekistan1–1Draw2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
438 June 2005Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Uzbekistan3–0Won2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
448 June 2005Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Uzbekistan3–0Won2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
4515 March 2006Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Iraq2–2DrawFriendly
4614 June 2006Munich, Germany Tunisia2–2Draw2006 FIFA World Cup

Managerial career

He was named as assistant coach of Al-Hilal in 2009, one year after 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, Sami Al-Jaber was named as the manager of Al-Hilal, replaced former coach Zlatko Dalić. He became the first Saudi coach to manage Al-Hilal after 14 years after 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.

Managerial statistics

As of 15 September 2017
Team Nat From To Record
GWDLGFGA+/-Win %
Al-Hilal Saudi Arabia June 2013 June 2014 41 29 6 6 91 38 +53 070.73
Al-Wahda United Arab Emirates February 2015 May 2015 12 6 3 3 10 12 −2 050.00
Al-Shabab Saudi Arabia June 2016 September 2017 34 12 9 13 43 40 +3 035.29
Total 88 47 17 24 143 91 +52 053.41

Honours

Player

Al-Hilal
Saudi Arabia

Manager

Al-Hilal

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "Report: Al Hilal 3 United 2". Manchester United FC. 21 January 2008. Retrieved 8 February 2009.
  2. ↑ "Wolves agree Al-Jaber fee". BBC Sport. 22 August 2000. Retrieved 8 February 2009.
  3. ↑ "Saudi striker Sami Al Jaber terms with Wolves". RTÉ Sport. 22 August 2000. Retrieved 8 February 2009.
  4. ↑ Willars, Ian (4 November 2000). "Wolves in sue threat over Sami; Anger at Saudi FA". Retrieved 8 February 2009.
  5. ↑ "Saudi given compassionate leave". BBC Sport. 22 December 2000. Retrieved 8 February 2009.
  6. ↑ "Saudi Arabia's Sami Al Jaber about the pleasure of playing football". Archived from the original on 8 February 2009. Retrieved 8 February 2009.
  7. ↑ "Saudi Arabia 0 – 4 Ukraine". The Guardian. 19 June 2006. Retrieved 8 February 2009.
  8. ↑ Alosaimi, Najah (21 January 2008). "'Sam 6' Regarded as Kingdom's Best". Arab News. Retrieved 8 February 2009.
  9. ↑ Roberto Mamrud & Naim Albakr. "Sami Abdullah Al-Jaber - Century of International Appearances". RSSSF. Retrieved 2013-11-23.
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