Sami Al-Jaber

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Sami Abdullah Al Jaber (Arabic: سامي الجابر‎), born 11 December 1972 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, is a retired football striker from Saudi Arabia who played the majority of his career with Al-Hilal.

[edit] Professional career

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[edit] Al-Hilal

Sami Al Jaber is considered the most famous player for Al-Hilal,^{[citation needed]} spending nearly 20 total years playing for the club.

On 21 January 2008, Al-Hilal held a testimonial for Al Jaber against English Premier League club Manchester United. Al Jaber scored a goal in the 39th minute en route to a 3–2 victory over Manchester United in his last game for the club.^[1]

[edit] Wolverhampton

On 22 January 2000, Al Jaber joined Wolverhampton Wanderers for a reported £1.2 million^[2][3] after impressing Wolves' boss Colin Lee^[2] in a trial. He spent only eight months with the club before returning to Al-Hilal.^[4]

[edit] International career

He received his first cap for the national football team in 1992 and as of June 13 2006 he has played 161 international matches and scored 44 goals.

Following a rapid rise to prominence in his club career at Al-Hilal, he was called up for the full national side in January 1990 and featured highly in their World Cup appearances.

Following injuries and the disastrous World Cup 2002 placing of the team, Al Jaber decided to retire from international football but he was tempted back by Saudi Arabia’s Argentine coach Gabriel Calderon in early 2005 for their World Cup 2006 campaign.

Al Jaber is considered as one of the best strikers from Saudi Arabia, often compared to Saeed Owairan and Majed Abdullah.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] World Cup

He is a veteran, having competed in four FIFA World Cups. He made appearances in the 1994, 1998, 2002, and the 2006 World Cups.

Al Jaber made his first mark as a national player during Saudi Arabia's qualifying campaign for the 1994 World Cup, scoring a goal in a 4-3 victory over Iran which sent Saudi Arabia to the World Cup. The team reached the second round as the squad defeated Morocco 2-1 after Al Jaber scoring a goal from the penalty spot.

Al Jaber also played in Saudi Arabia’s three matches at 1998 World Cup and his goal also from the penalty spot in the 2-2 draw with South Africa made him the first Asian player to score in two consecutive FIFA World Cup finals.

Al Jaber played in Saudi Arabia's opening game of 2002 FIFA World Cup, a disastrous 8-0 rout at the hands of Germany but was ruled out of the rest of the competition when his appendix burst and he had to be rushed to hospital.^[5] He subsequently retired from international football.^{[citation needed]}

Al Jaber returned to the national team for the 2006 World Cup campaign. He scored in the 1-1 draw with Uzbekistan in the opening match of the FIFA World Cup qualifying round and got another in the return fixture as Saudi Arabia booked an early spot in the finals. He made his first 2006 World Cup appearance coming on as a substitute of Saudi Arabia's opening game of the tournament against Tunisia. The game was tied 1-1, he scored for Saudi Arabia. However Tunisia snatched a late equaliser and the match finished 2-2.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Sami Al-Jaber career stats at Soccerbase
• World Cup 2006 Squad Profile

v • d • e Saudi Arabia squad – 1994 FIFA World Cup 1 Al‑Deayea • 2 Al‑Dosari • 3 Al‑Khilaiwi • 4 Zubromawi • 5 Madani • 6 Amin • 7 Al‑Ghesheyan • 8 Al‑Bishi • 9 Abdullah • 10 Al‑Owairan • 11 Al‑Mehallel • 12 Al‑Jaber • 13 Al‑Jawad • 14 Al‑Muwallid • 15 Al‑Dawod • 16 Jebreen • 17 Al‑Taifi • 18 Al‑Anazi • 19 Saleh • 20 Idris • 21 Al‑Sadiq • 22 Al‑Helwah • Coach: Solari

v • d • e Saudi Arabia squad – 1998 FIFA World Cup 1 Al-Deayea • 2 Al-Jahani • 3 Al-Khilaiwi • 4 Zubromawi • 5 Madani • 6 Amin • 7 Al-Shahrani • 8 Al-Dosari • 9 Al-Jaber • 10 S. Al-Owairan • 11 Al-Mehallel • 12 Al-Harbi • 13 Sulaimani • 14 Al-Muwallid • 15 Al-Thunayan • 16 K. Al-Dosari • 17 Dokhi • 18 Al-Temyat • 19 Al-Janoubi • 20 Saleh • 21 Al-Sadiq • 22 Al-Antaif • Coach: Parreira (Al-Kharashy)

v • d • e Saudi Arabia squad – 2002 FIFA World Cup 1 Al-Deayea • 2 Al-Jahani • 3 Tukar • 4 Zubromawi • 5 Harthi • 6 Al-Shehri • 7 Suwayed • 8 Noor • 9 Al-Jaber • 10 Al-Shalhoub • 11 O. Al-Dosari • 12 Dokhi • 13 Sulaimani • 14 Khathran • 15 A. Al-Dosari • 16 K. Al-Dosari • 17 Al-Waked • 18 Al-Temyat • 19 Al-Ghamdi • 20 Al-Yami • 21 Zaid • 22 Al-Khojali • 23 Al-Thagafi • Coach: Al-Johar

v • d • e Saudi Arabia squad – 2006 FIFA World Cup 1 Al‑Deayea • 2 Dokhi • 3 Tukar • 4 Al‑Montashari • 5 Al‑Qadi • 6 Al‑Ghamdi • 7 Ameen • 8 Noor • 9 Al‑Jaber • 10 Al‑Shalhoub • 11 Al‑Harthi • 12 Khathran • 13 Sulaimani • 14 Khariri • 15 Al‑Bahri • 16 Aziz • 17 Al‑Bishi • 18 Al‑Temyat • 19 Massad • 20 Al‑Qahtani • 21 Zaid • 22 Khouja • 23 Mouath • Coach: Paquetá