Former Algerian goalkeeper, Mehdi Cerbah, passed away, today, Friday, at the age of 68, after a long illness, according to the news agency which quoted his close relatives.
Cerbah, born on January 3, 1953, began his football career in the USM Algiers in 1969, as a junior, before joining JS Kabylie in 1972, where he spent eight seasons, after which he was hired by RC Kouba (1980-1982) which won its only National Title (1981).
The deceased counted in his football record full of titles, one experience abroad, with the Manic-Montreal Canadian club (1982-1983), before returning to the ranks of RC Kouba, where he put an end to his football career in 1986 at the age of 33 years.
With the national team, Cerbah won the gold medal at the 1975 Mediterranean Games, which took place in Algeria. He also participated in the 1982 World Cup finals in Spain, contributing to a great journey with the “greens” with whom he played, 62 international matches.
Cerbah also worked in many clubs in Algeria as an assistant coach or goalkeeper coach, such as USM Blida and JSM Bejaia, and his last experience was with the Qatari club Al Sadd (2007-2013), as a goalkeeper coach.
For his part, the President of the Algerian Football Federation, Charafeddine Amara, offered his sincere condolences for the loss of the football family of one of its pillars who made the “Gijon” epic in the 1982 World Cup.
It’s worth recalling that the body of deceased will be buried tomorrow, Saturday, in Sidi Yahia cemetery in Algiers.
