Who from Rabah Madjer or Riyad Mahez is the best Algerian footballer to have played in Europe? The question divides the Algerians. Some say that Madjer remains the best of all time, while others are unanimous in saying that it was Mahrez who made them proud of the Old Continent.
But one thing is certain, both have engraved their name in the history of Algerian football. They both impressed the Europeans with their great talent. Their distinctions with resident clubs have raised the flag of our country.
Better, each of them brought joy to the Algerian people. Madjer was part of the famous 1980s national team that beat Germany in 1982, while Mahrez was the great architect of the consecration of the Greens during CAN-2019 in Egypt.
Course and awards list in the club
Fromé au NA Hussein-Dey, the evaluation of Rabah Madjer increased after the 1982 World Cup in Spain. In 1983 he went to monetize his talent abroad. For a first destination in the Old Continent, he lands in France. In fact, he opts for Colombes’ RCF.
After two extraordinary seasons (50 games, 23 goals), he moved to FC Porto. Club he knew with moments of his career and that made him one of the best players in the world at that time. We mention in particular his heel strike in the final With a short spell at FC Valence in 1988, in the form of a loan, Madjer played 108 games against 50 goals for Dragao between 1985 and 1991. He was in the Qatar championship, with Qatar SC, which ended his career in 1992. He later became a manager.
His time at FC Porto also allowed him to enrich his sporting record. He has 4 Portuguese league titles (1986, 1988, 1990), 2 Portuguese Cups (1988, 1991), 2 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira (1986, 1990), 1 European Cup (former UEFA Champions League) in 1987 and finally the Intercontinental Cup in 1987. In addition to the Algerian Cup won with NAHD in 1979, he has a total of 11 titles on his list.
As for Riad Mahrez, made his professional debut with Le Havre AC between 2011 and 2014. His talent has won the admiration of several recruiters. It is Leicester City that will allow him to discover the high level of the Premier League and have fun. With 158 games and 42 goals in four seasons, he was recruited in 2018 by Manchester City. The move cost citizens 60 million pounds.
As for his sporting record, he has 10 titles, won with Leicester and Man City. These are 4 Premier League Championship titles (2016, 2019, 2021, 2022), a Football League Championship (2014), FA Cup (2019), 3 EFL Cup (2019, 2020, 2021) and FA Community Shield in 2018.
Course and prizes list in EN
Madjer played for the Algerian national team for 19 years. He has participated in two World Cups. In 1982 in Spain and in 1986 in Mexico. He has 87 appearances with 28 goals.
As for his record with the Greens, he won the Africa Cup of Nations in 1990 against Nigeria.
Originally from the French city of Sarcelles, Mahrez has dual French and Algerian nationality. In November 2013 he opted for Algeria to represent it internationally. It was in May 2014 that he celebrated his first call-up in EN, held by Vahid Halilhodzic for the World Cup in Brazil.
In eight years, he is already in his 77th selection in 8 years with 27 goals. He has only one consecration with the Greens. This is the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.
Personal honors
After the course and the schedule of the two players in the clubs and in the national selection, let us now make personal distinctions.
Madjer’s great record is the African Ballon d’Or in 1987. African footballer of the year or even best player of the match in the 1987 European Cup final, he was also elected best player of the CAN-1990 and top scorer of the Cup of Champions in 1988.
Even after the end of his career, he received numerous awards. World player of the century IFFHS in 2000, Arab footballer of the 20th century in 2004, Algerian footballer of the 20th century in 2009 or even 5th best footballer of the 20th century.
Mahrez is far ahead of him. You have no fewer than 17 personal distinctions. These are Ballon d’or Africa in 2016, BBC African Footballer of the Year 2016, Algerian Footballer of the Year 2016, PFA Team of the Year: 2015-2016, Premier League Player of the Year PFA Players: 2015-16, PFA Fans ‘Player of the Year: 2015–16, Leicester City Player of the Year 2015–16, El-Heddaf Ballon d’Or in 2016, Lion d’Or African Footballer of the Year: 2016, CAF Team of the Year (2016, 2018, 2019), African Goal of the Year 2019, IFFHS CAF Men’s Team of the Year 2020, IFFHS CAF Men’s Team of the Decade 2011-2020, Alan Hardaker Trophy in 2021 and IFFHS CAF World Best Playmaker in 2021.
Can Mahrez improve his stats?
After providing each player’s stats, we can say that Rabah Madjer has a slight superiority over Riyad Mahrez. But the latter still has four or five years of career ahead of him to overtake his former coach in selection.
In fact, at 31, he can still improve his stats. He is still evolving into a big club like Manchester City and is still in selection. And given the enormous potential he enjoys, we do not hesitate to say that he is capable of becoming the best Algerian footballer in terms of statistics.
