RIYADH, 21 January 2008 — Similar to world striking legends, such as Frantz Beckenbauer in Germany and Diego Maradona in Argentina, Saudi player Sami Al-Jaber is regarded as one of the best strikers his country has produced. Sami’s passion for football has been existent since an early age. He used to play with friends after school in the Skrina District of Riyadh.
His brother, Khalid, a previous midfielder at Al-Nasr, played a huge role in introducing the little skinny Sami to the world of football and teaching him how to play.
Sami was born on Dec. 11, 1972, in Riyadh. At the age of 13, his right leg was paralyzed and doctors failed to diagnose his illness. Feeling desperate, his father took him to a sheikh. Using traditional and spiritual methods of cure, the sheikh helped Al-Jaber gradually overcome his illness.
In those days, typical Saudi parents were reluctant for their kids to join football clubs. Many simply considered it to be a waste of time. However, Sami’s businessman father, Abdullah Al-Jaber, was different. He had faith in his sons and in sports, especially since he enjoyed close relations with football players and team managers.
Sami was obsessed with Al-Hilal and in particular the Saudi football legend Saleh Al-Neamah. He grew up dreaming to be another hero and lead Al-Hilal to achieve more wins. In 1986, when his brother, Khalid, used to play with friends, Sami insisted on being a goalkeeper. Although Khalid was not happy to see Sami play with older boys, he allowed him to play for one match. Sami’s potential as a goalkeeper drew attention and his name spread among Saudi football clubs.
At the age of 15, Sami was persuaded to join various top Saudi clubs. He received his first offer from Al-Nasr. However, Al-Hilal signed him up before Al-Nasr finalized its agreement. He joined Al-Hilal officially in 1987 where he remained top goal scorer of the club’s youth team, scoring 18 goals. He kept the title for three successive years. He amazed Al-Hilal’s head coach, Kandino, who offered him a place on Al-Hilal’s first team in 1989 and received his first international cap in 1992. Until June 13 2006, Sami had played 163 international matches, scoring 44 goals.
Following his rapid rise to fame with Al-Hilal, and having featured highly in the Saudi national team’s World Cup appearance, Sami received many offers to play with top teams in Asia, the Middle East and Europe — including French team Auxier, Chinese team Dalian, the UAE’s Al-Ain and Egypt’s Al-Ahli.
However, Sami rejected all offers, as the Saudi Football Federation at the time did not permit Saudi players to play for foreign teams.
Once the rule changed, Sami accepted an offer from English team Wolverhampton Wanderers in August 2000. He spent five months on loan but was injured for much of the time and returned to Al-Hilal.
Sami (or Sam 6) is an integral part of the Saudi Arabian national team squad. He is a veteran of the final stages of the 1994, 1998, 2002, and 2006 FIFA World Cup. He made his first real mark as an international player during Saudi Arabia’s qualifying campaign for the USA 94 World Cup, scoring one goal in a crucial Saudi match against Iran, which ended in Saudi winning 4-3. He also scored a crucial penalty goal in an opening round match with Morocco, which Saudi won 2-1.
In 1996 Sami and his team accomplished a dream for Saudi fans by winning the Gulf Cup for the first time in a match against the UAE. In France in 1998, Sami played three matches with the national team. His goal, a penalty shot, against South Africa — a match which ended in a 2-2 draw — made him the first Asian player to score in two consecutive FIFA World Cup finals. Sami played for the Saudi national team’s opening game in the Korea-Japan World Cup in 2002. Saudi Arabia lost 8-0 against Germany and Sami was ruled out of the rest of the competition when his appendix burst and had to be rushed to hospital.
Following his injury and the disastrous World Cup 2002, Sami decided to retire from international football but was tempted back in 2005 to play by Saudi Arabia’s Argentine coach Gabriel Caldeiron.
Aged 33, Sami scored a goal in the 2006 World Cup against Tunisia, which entitled him to become the first Asian footballer ever to score in three different World Cups as well as the fifth player to score in the World Cup 12 years apart. He, therefore, joined Diego Maradona, Michael Laudrup and Henrik Larsson.
Having spent half of his life steering the team to four consecutive FIFA World Cup finals, the outstanding player remains a consistent performer in spite of being in his mid-30s.
Apart from being an incredible player, Sami is a writer and was named goodwill ambassador for the UN in 2005. He has contributed to many development forums.
