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Rachid Mekhloufi

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Rachid Mekhloufi
Mekhloufi in 1950s
Personal information
Date of birth (1936-08-12)12 August 1936
Place of birth Sétif, French Algeria
Date of death 8 November 2024(2024-11-08) (aged 88)
Place of death Algiers, Algeria
Height 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
–1954 USM Sétif
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1954–1958 Saint-Étienne 102 (59)
1962–1963 Servette 19 (13)
1963–1968 Saint-Étienne 192 (78)
1968–1970 Bastia 67 (20)
Total 380 (170)
International career
1956–1957 France 4 (0)
1958–1962 FLN 40
1963–1969[1] Algeria 10 (5)
Managerial career
1969–1970 Bastia
1971–1972 Algeria
1975–1979 Algeria
1981–1982 AS Marsa
1992–1993 AS Marsa
1996–1998 Nejmeh
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Rachid Mekhloufi (Arabic: رشيد مخلوفي; 12 August 1936 – 8 November 2024) was an Algerian footballer who played as a striker. He later became a manager and coached the Algeria national team.

International career

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Mekhloufi (bottom row, second from right) with FLN football team.

In the middle of the Algerian War, on 13 April 1958, ten of the most well-known France-based Algerian professional footballers fled from France to go and play for the new FLN football team. This team was created from the National Liberation Front (Algeria). One of these 10 players was Rachid Mekhloufi. Rachid, "abandoned the French team preparing for the World Cup Finals in Sweden and instantly became an Algerian national symbol."[2] By the summer, more and more France-based Algerians came to join the original ten who fled. Rachid and his teammates wanted to show the French people the serious war that was going on in Algeria. Many in France did not realize the extent of the war raging in Algeria, but when ten high-profile players left, the French citizens had to wonder and figure out the exact reason, especially when a few of the 10 footballers were preparing for the World Cup Finals. At the same time, both Rachid and his teammates gave a sense of nationalism to the citizens of Algeria during their efforts in the war. Mekhloufi (and many others) sacrificed their careers by playing in less competitive environments with less demanding training regimes. Mekhloufi is quoted saying "I had lost the taste for effort, the necessary fight" when asked about playing political football. Even though France attempted to hinder the FLN team's success by requesting to FIFA that the team not be recognized, FIFA was only able to enforce these restrictions in some countries.[2]

Death

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On 8 November 2024, it was announced that Mekhloufi had died at the age of 88.[3]

Career statistics

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Club

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Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[4]
Club Season League Cup[a] Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Saint-Étienne 1954–55 Division 1 16 9 6 4 — — 22 13
1955–56 31 21 4 0 — — 35 21
1956–57 30 25 2 1 — — 32 26
1957–58 25 4 2 0 2[b] 1 — 29 5
Total 102 59 14 5 2 1 — 118 65
Servette 1962–63 Nationalliga A 19 13 0 0 3[b] 2 — 22 15
Saint-Étienne 1963–64 Division 1 34 16 1 0 — — 35 16
1964–65 32 8 5 0 2[b] 1 — 39 9
1965–66 38 21 1 1 — — 39 22
1966–67 38 12 2 1 — 1[c] 1 41 14
1967–68 30 7 5 5 4[b] 0 — 39 12
Total 192 78 18 7 6 1 1 1 217 87
Bastia 1968–69 Division 1 33 13 1 0 — — 34 13
1969–70 34 7 9 2 — — 43 9
Total 67 20 10 2 — — 77 22
Career total 380 170 42 14 11 4 1 1 434 189
  1. ^ Includes the Coupe de France, Coupe Charles Drago and Swiss Cup.
  2. ^ a b c d Appearance(s) in European Champion Clubs' Cup
  3. ^ Appearance in Challenge des champions

International

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Scores and results list Algeria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Mekhloufi goal.
List of international goals scored by Rachid Mekhloufi
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 28 February 1963 19 Juin 1965, Oran, Algeria  Czechoslovakia 2–0 4–0[5] Friendly
1 3–0
2 5 July 1963 Stade d'El Anasser, Algiers  Egypt 1–1 1–1[6] Friendly
3 7 July 1963 19 Juin 1965, Oran, Algeria  Egypt 1–1 2–2[7] Friendly
6 22 March 1963 Alexandria Stadium, Alexandria, Egypt  Egypt 1–2 2–2[8] Friendly

Honours

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Player

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Saint-Étienne

France military

Individual

Manager

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Algeria

Individual

References

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  1. ^ http://dzfootball.free.fr/EN/Joueurs/fiche/Mekhloufi-Rachid.html [bare URL]
  2. ^ a b Alegi, Peter. (2010). African Soccerscapes : How a Continent Changed the World's Game. Athens: Ohio University Press. ISBN 978-0-89680-472-2. OCLC 794698908.
  3. ^ Rachid Mekhloufi, légende de l’AS Saint-Etienne et du football algérien, est mort (in French)
  4. ^ "Rachid Mekhloufi". national-football-teams.com. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  5. ^ "Algeria vs. Czechoslovakia - 28 February 1963". dzfoot. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
  6. ^ "Algeria vs. Égypte - 5 July 1963". dzfoot. Archived from the original on 27 February 2014. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
  7. ^ "Algeria vs. Égypte - 7 July 1963". dzfoot. Archived from the original on 5 April 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
  8. ^ "Algeria vs. Égypte - 22 March 1963". dzfoot. Archived from the original on 13 August 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
  9. ^ "مهرجان كرة المنار". Shoot (166 ed.). 31 March 1997. p. 3.
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