Sami Al-Jaber


Sami Abdullah Mohammed Al-Jaber 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.
Al-Jaber is his country's second highest international goal-scorer 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 squad which won the AFC Asian Cup in 1996. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest Saudi footballers ever.
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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, where he made just five appearances in five months. After the club learned that Al-Jaber's father had been taken seriously ill, he was allowed to join the United Arab Emirates side Al-Ain on loan, and this was to spell the end of his time in England. Even so, to this day Al-Jaber remains one of the very few Saudi footballers to have played 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.

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.
After gaining a runners-up medal in the 2000 Asian Cup, he appeared in the 2002 [FIFA World Cup|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.

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 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 appointment as technical manager.

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.

Career statistics

International

No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
116 September 1992Latakia, Syria2–01992 Arab Nations Cup Group Stages
218 April 1993Singapore3–1Friendly
324 April 1993Singapore1–0Friendly
41 May 1993Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia6–01994 [FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)|1994 FIFA World Cup qualifier]
517 September 1993Khobar, Saudi Arabia4–0Friendly
628 October 1993Doha, Qatar4–31994 FIFA World Cup qualifier
730 March 1994Riyadh, Saudi Arabia2–2Friendly
827 April 1994Athinai, Greece5–1Friendly match
925 June 1994East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States2–11994 FIFA World Cup
1019 October 1994Dhahran, Saudi Arabia2–1Friendly
116 November 1994Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates1–112th Arabian Gulf Cup
1210 December 1994Riyadh, Saudi Arabia2–1Friendly
138 October 1995Washington DC, United States4–3Friendly
1428 October 1995Matsuyama, Japan2–1Friendly
1519 October 1996Muscat, Oman2–213th Arabian Gulf Cup
165 December 1996Dubai, United Arab Emirates6–01996 AFC Asian Cup Group Stage
1716 December 1996Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates4–31996 AFC Asian Cup Quarter-finals
1831 March 1997Jeddah, Saudi Arabia6–01998 FIFA World Cup qualification
1931 March 1997Jeddah, Saudi Arabia-6–01998 FIFA World Cup qualification
2031 March 1997Jeddah, Saudi Arabia-6–01998 FIFA World Cup qualification
2125 September 1997Riyadh, Saudi Arabia5–1Friendly
2225 September 1997Riyadh, Saudi Arabia-5–1Friendly
239 May 1998Cannes, France2–1Friendly
2412 May 1998Nice, France1–1Friendly
2517 May 1998Cannes, France2–1Friendly
2624 June 1998Bordeaux, France2–21998 FIFA World Cup
2731 May 2000GyΕ‘r, Hungary2–2Friendly
285 October 2000Zarqa, Jordan2–0Friendly
2910 February 2001Dammam, Saudi Arabia3–02002 FIFA World Cup qualification
3012 February 2001Dammam, Saudi Arabia5–02002 FIFA World Cup qualification
3112 February 2001Dammam, Saudi Arabia-5–02002 FIFA World Cup qualification
3212 February 2001Dammam, Saudi Arabia-5–02002 FIFA World Cup qualification
3315 February 2001Dammam, Saudi Arabia6–02002 FIFA World Cup qualification
3410 July 2001Singapore3–0Friendly
3510 July 2001Singapore-3–0Friendly
3615 September 2001Bangkok, Thailand3–12002 FIFA World Cup qualification
3721 September 2001Manama, Bahrain4–02002 FIFA World Cup qualification
3821 October 2001Riyadh, Saudi Arabia4–12002 FIFA World Cup qualification
3916 January 2002Riyadh, Saudi Arabia1–115th Arabian Gulf Cup
4020 January 2002Riyadh, Saudi Arabia3–115th Arabian Gulf Cup
4114 May 2002Riyadh, Saudi Arabia3–2Friendly
429 February 2005Tashkent, Uzbekistan1–12006 FIFA World Cup qualification
438 June 2005Riyadh, Saudi Arabia3–02006 FIFA World Cup qualification
448 June 2005Riyadh, Saudi Arabia-3–02006 FIFA World Cup qualification
4515 March 2006Riyadh, Saudi Arabia2–2Friendly
4614 June 2006Munich, Germany2–22006 FIFA World Cup

Honours

Al-Hilal
Saudi Arabia
Individual