Mohamed Abdullaziz Al-Deayea (Arabic: محمد عبد العزيز الدعيع; born 2 August 1972), also known as Mohammed Deayea al-Shammari, is a Saudi Arabian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He participated in four FIFA World Cups for the Saudi Arabia national team and earned a total of 173 officially recognised caps. Al-Deayea played for al-Tai FC and al-Hilal SFC and was represented in all Saudi national teams. He is considered one of the prominent goalkeepers in the history of Saudi sports.[2]

Mohamed Al-Deayea
Al-Deayea with Al-Hilal in 2010
Personal information
Full name Mohamed Abdullaziz Al-Deayea
Date of birth (1972-08-02) 2 August 1972 (age 52)
Place of birth Ha'il, Saudi Arabia
Height 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Youth career
Al-Ta'ee
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1989–1999 Al-Ta'ee 176 (0)
1999–2010 Al-Hilal 230 (0)
Total 406 (0)
International career
1993–2006 Saudi Arabia 178[1] (0)
Medal record
Representing  Saudi Arabia
Men's football
AFC Asian Cup
Winner 1996 United Arab Emirates
Runner-up 2000 Lebanon
FIFA U-17 World Cup
Winner 1989 Scotland
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Early life and club career

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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.[3]

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.

Retirement

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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 FC, 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.

Career statistics

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Club

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Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup ACL Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Al-Ta'ee 1991–92 22 0 22 0
1992–93 22 0 22 0
1993–94 22 0 22 0
1994–95 22 0 22 0
1995–96 22 0 22 0
1996–97 22 0 22 0
1997–98 22 0 22 0
1998–99 22 0 22 0
Total 176 0 0 0 0 0 176 0
Al-Hilal 1999–00 22 0 4 0 7 0 33 0
2000–01 22 0 2 0 24 0
2001–02 22 0 5 0 27 0
2002–03 22 0 4 0 26 0
2003–04 22 0 4 0 3 0 29 0
2004–05 22 0 5 0 4 0 31 0
2005–06 22 0 5 0 27 0
2006–07 21 0 4 0 6 0 31 0
2007–08 21 0 5 0 6 0 32 0
2008–09 21 0 4 0 7 0 32 0
2009–10 20 0 1 0 4 0 25 0
Total 230 0 38 0 39 0 306 0
Career total 413 0 38 0 39 0 489 0

International

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Appearances and goals by national team and year[4]
National team Year Apps Goals
Saudi Arabia 1993 16 0
1994 21 0
1995 6 0
1996 21 0
1997 23 0
1998 22 0
1999 15 0
2000 15 0
2001 12 0
2002 13 0
2003 0 0
2004 4 0
2005 0 0
2006 7 0
Total 177[1] 0

Honours

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Al-Ta'ee

Al-Hilal

Saudi Arabia U17

Saudi Arabia

Individual

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Vote for your best Asian team at the FIFA World Cup: Goalkeeper | Football | News | FIFA World Cup 2022".
  2. ^ "Mohammed al-Deayea". Saudipedia. 28 August 2024. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  3. ^ "Mohammed al-Deayea". Saudipedia. 28 August 2024. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  4. ^ Mamrud, Roberto (28 January 2011). "Mohamed Al-Deayea – Century of International Appearances". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
  5. ^ Velappan, Peter (31 July 2012). "Asia's best Goalkeeper of the Century". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation.
  6. ^ "Asian Player of the Year". RSSSF. 18 January 2018.
  7. ^ "The best Asian team at the FIFA World Cup announced!". Asian Football Confederation. 7 July 2020. Archived from the original on 16 January 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  8. ^ "IFFHS ALL TIME ASIA MEN'S DREAM TEAM". IFFHS. 11 June 2021. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
  9. ^ "#AsianCup2023 five-month countdown: Fan-voted all-time AFC Asian Cup Dream XI revealed". Asian Football Confederation. 12 August 2023. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
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