Rabah Saâdane (Arabic: رابح سعدان; born 3 May 1946) is an Algerian football manager and retired professional player whose playing career was abruptly interrupted at the age of 27 by a car accident. His last management job was of the Algerian national team before resigning in September 2010.
It was his fifth separate spell in charge of the team after earlier stints between 1981 and 2004 and was arguably his most successful, given its arduous qualification process. He was in charge when the U-20s qualified for the 1979 FIFA World Youth Championship, Algeria's first participation in a major tournament. He was also part of the 1982 FIFA World Cup backroom staff and head coach in the 1986 FIFA World Cup.
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Saâdane was designated as Africa's best coach by the Africa International Sport Convention (CISA) during its 6th edition held in Bamako, Mali. He was described by the convention as being the only coach in the world to have qualified a team to four Fifa World Cup finals, including one in the junior level.[4]
Playing career
Saâdane was born in Batna. In the mid-1960s, he was promoted to the senior team of the MSP Batna at the age of 16 when he was only a cadet at the time. He continued pursuing his education completing secondary school at the Lycée Ahmed Reda Houhou in Constantine where he had gained a certificate of baccalaureate. He then signed for MO Constantine, he continued pursuing his education in Constantine and gained a Ph.D. He signed for JS El Biar after his brief stint at MO Constantine. He later signed for USM Blida. Saâdane had played for all the youth teams for Algeria, before receiving his first call-up to the senior team by coach Rachid Mekhloufi, but he was forced to end his playing career at the age of 27 years because of an injury gained from a car accident.[5][6]
According to some sources,[7] he would have played for Stade Rennais. However, Saâdane personally confirmed he never played in France, where he attended coaching lessons given by Georges Boulogne.[8]
Managerial career
Saâdane was an assistant coach next to Abdelhamid Kermali who led the Algerian under-20 youth team in 1978, to the 1979 FIFA World Youth Championship. Which in turn was the country's first participation in a major tournament, since gaining its independence from France. He was replaced by Rachid Hanifi for the 1979 FIFA World Youth Championship, where they managed to reach the quarter-finals of the tournament with whom they eventually met Argentina with the young Diego Armando Maradona who played remarkably in the competition showing truly what an exceptional talent he was at the time.
On 1 January 2011, Saadane was appointed as manager of the Yemen national football team until 2014.[17] However, ten days later, it was announced that he would not become the manager because the Yemen Football Association could not meet his financial demands.[18]
