Mohammed Al-Deayea

Lore & Background

Mohammed al-Deayea was born in Hail into a family passionate about sports. He initially started as a handball goalkeeper for al-Tai FC at eight years old but switched to football following a recommendation from the club's junior football coach. He joined al-Tai SFC's junior team in 1988, impressing enough to earn a spot on the Saudi junior national team. With this team, he triumphed at the FIFA U-16 World Championship in Scotland in 1989. He progressed to the youth national team and by 1993, he was playing for the senior Saudi national team. Al-Deayea played a pivotal role in the national team's qualification for the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States, where he excelled. In 1999, al-Hilal SFC acquired him in a high-profile transfer, and he defended their goal until retiring in 2010, capping a twenty-two-year career. A testimonial match was organized in 2012 to honor his contributions, featuring a game between Italy's Juventus and al-Hilal SFC. Despite his qualifications, Al-Deayea is the joint holder of a negative record: most goals conceded by a goalkeeper in FIFA World Cups, tied with Mexican legend Antonio Carbajal, having conceded 25 goals in 10 matches across the three tournaments in which he played (1994, 1998 and 2002). About a third of these came in a single match, in the 2002 tournament, where Germany thrashed an out-of-sorts Saudi team by an 8-0 score. Al-Deayea has split his professional career between the clubs Al-Ta'ee and Al-Hilal. Originally, he started as a handball player, but was convinced by his club and his older brother Abdullah to become a professional footballer. Mohammed was under great pressure of expectations in the beginning of his career because his brother Abdullah was an AFC Asian Cup winner and a highly reputed goalkeeper.

In Their Own Story

The floodlights at King Fahd Stadium hummed as the final minutes ticked away. Al-Deayea stood tall in his white kit, dusting off the grass after a routine save. The crowd roared, not for a spectacular dive, but for the silence he had maintained all ninety minutes. He wiped sweat from his brow, knowing another clean sheet meant another step toward glory.

Reader's Guide

On 22 June 2010, Mohamed Al-Deayea announced his retirement from football at the age of 37. On 5 January 2012, a testimonial match for him was organised between his club Al-Hilal and Juventus, with 70,000 people attending at the King Fahd Stadium. The match ended 7–1 in favour of Juventus with Al-Hilal's sole goal coming from Saad Al-Harthi. Juventus' goals were scored by Alessandro Del Piero (twice), Eljero Elia, Arturo Vidal, Giorgio Chiellini, Simone Pepe and Fabio Quagliarella.

Did You Know?

• Al-Deayea started as a handball goalkeeper before switching to football.
• He won the FIFA U-16 World Championship in 1989 with the Saudi junior national team.
• He conceded 25 goals in 10 World Cup matches across three tournaments (1994, 1998, 2002).
• His testimonial match in 2012 featured Juventus and Al-Hilal, with 70,000 attendees.