Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Riyadh: The second most capped men’s footballer in history, Mohamed Al Deayea is among the all-time greats for both Al Hilal and Al Ta’ee as well as the Saudi Arabian national side.
With the legendary goalkeeper celebrating his 45th birthday on August 2, the-AFC.com looks back on a career that few in world football will be able to rival.
Starting at the top
Not many players start their careers at the very top and continue to perform at the highest levels, but for Mohamed Al Deayea, the matches that would define his career came at the tender age of 16.
The young goalkeeper was drafted from the youth ranks of his hometown club Al Ta’ee into the U-16 Saudi Arabia side by Brazilian coach Ivo Wortmann in 1988. The following summer he was on the plane to Scotland, where Saudi Arabia were representing Asia alongside China and Bahrain in the 1989 FIFA U-16 World Championship.
The Young Green Falcons would go all the way to become the first – and to date only – Asian side to lift the trophy as Al Deayea proved to be the standout goalkeeper in the tournament. The highlight of his competition came in the final against hosts Scotland in front of 51,000 fans at Glasgow’s Hampden Park.
“Al Deayea, the goalkeeper, was the match hero for his team in the final. Apart from blocking two penalties, he also pulled off a few other spectacular feats which were applauded not only by his teammates but by the sporting connoisseurs in the crowd as well,” read the official FIFA technical report for the tournament.
The next big step
www.the-afc.com/en/more/photo/saudi_1994_jpeg_1.html
www.the-afc.com/en/more/photo/saudi_1994_jpeg.html
www.the-afc.com/en/more/photo/saudi-arabia_squad_2002_world-cup_afp_jpg.html
www.the-afc.com/en/more/photo/al_hilal_jpeg.html
