Algeria coach combining the best of both Europe and Africa
Djamel Belmadi
T
he prototype for a
coach of an African
national team used to
be pretty standard. The
grizzly, hardened local
veteran; the cynical
import whose options
had largely run out elsewhere; or the
young Frenchman seeking to make a
name for himself.
However, the success of this year’s
Africa Cup of Nations winner opens the
door for a new wave of leaders who have
their feet planted firmly in both Africa
and Europe.
Belmadi is a member of a diaspora
generation that is increasingly the
bedrock of African football. Born in
Europe to African parents, they are
schooled in a professional structure,
but with a feel and an empathy for
the peculiarities of the continent.
It was no accident that the 43-year-
old from the suburbs of Paris – whose
footballing education took in spells with
Paris Saint-Germain, Marseille, Celta
Vigo, Manchester City and Southampton- was able to galvanise a talented group
whose ability had been obvious for
years but who lacked the conviction to
do anything substantial with it.
Eleven months after being appointed,
Belmadi led Algeria to victory at the
2019 AFCON, ending a near three-
decade drought for a country that
has frequently flattered to deceive.
“He gave the team a new soul in a few
months; he dared to make changes and
he also acted with fairness,” explains Ali
Fergani, who was in charge of Algeria’s
previous Nations Cup winning team, in- “He instilled in the squad his desire
to win. That’s what allowed him to win.”
Algeria had been through a succession
of coaches since their last decent
performance – when Vahid Halilhodzic
led them to the last 16 at the 2014 World
Cup in Brazil, where they took Germany
to extra time.
Christian Gourcuff, Nabil Neghiz,
Milovan Rajevac, Georges Leekens, Lucas
Alcaraz and Rabah Madjer all proved
unable to build on that despite plenty of
individual quality that suggested Algeria
could dominate the African landscape
for years to come. Missing out on Russia
last year was particularly galling and the
testy Madjer, whose coaching career has
been the antithesis of his glorious playing
days, managed to antagonise many of
the key elements in the squad,
particularly those born in France to
Algerian parents.
Belmadi was Algeria’s captain at the
Cup of Nations in 2004 and had shown
a natural appetite for coaching when his
playing days came to an end in 2009.
He quickly proved a winner, claiming
four Qatar league titles with Lekhwiya/Al
Duhail and also had a spell in charge of
the Qatari national team, leading them
to the Gulf Cup in 2014, before losing
his job after a poor showing at the 2015
Asian Cup.
Algeria had wanted Carlos Queiroz,
Marc Wilmots or Halilhodzic to take
the national job last year and there was
much scepticism when they settled on
Belmadi. The main complaint was thatHeadliners
Roots...Belmadi (above) was born in France to Algerian parents“He gave the team a new soul
...he instilled his desire to win”
Algeria’s 1990 AFCON-winning coach, Ali Fergani