Sami Al-Jaber

Saudi football legend and second-highest international goal-scorer.

Sami Abdullah Mohammed Al-Jaber (born 11 December 1972) 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.

Quick Facts

Full name: Sami Abdullah Al-Jaber
Born: 11 December 1972
Birthplace: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Height: 1.76 m / 5 ft 9 in
Position: Forward
Total caps: 274

Lore & Background

Al-Jaber appeared in four consecutive FIFA World Cup tournaments, from 1994 to 2006, scoring in three of them. He was 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. He made his Al-Hilal debut in 1989 and spent nearly 20 years at the club.

In 2000, he joined Wolverhampton Wanderers on loan, making just five appearances in five months. After the club learned that his father had been taken seriously ill, he was allowed to join Al-Ain on loan, ending his time in England. On 21 January 2008, Al-Hilal held a testimonial for Al-Jaber against Manchester United; he scored a penalty in a 3–2 victory. On 27 May 1998, he made his 100th international appearance against Norway, becoming the youngest male footballer to reach 100 caps at 25 years, four months and 16 days old.

He gained a runners-up medal in the 2000 Asian Cup and appeared in the 2002 World Cup, playing only one game (a 0–8 loss to Germany) before his appendix burst. He was named assistant coach of Al-Hilal in 2009, one year after retiring. In 2012, he became assistant coach of Ligue 2 side Auxerre. On 27 May 2013, he was named manager of Al-Hilal, replacing Zlatko Dalić, becoming the first Saudi coach to manage Al-Hilal after 14 years since Khalil Ibrahim Al-Zayani in 1999.

After his first season, he was ranked 19th in Football Coach World ranking, though Al-Hilal replaced him. On 19 July 2014, Al Arabi announced his appointment as technical manager.

Reader's Guide

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 after Saudi Arabia became the first team knocked out of the 2002 FIFA World Cup. He remains one of the very few Saudi footballers to have played outside their homeland.