Rachid Mekhloufi

Rachid Mekhloufi is certainly one of the best playmakers of the 1960s. He will have notably marked the French championship, voted best player of this league 3 times.

Trophies

232

Goals

482

Games

1954/58 Saint-Etienne (FRA) 120 matches, 66 goals

(French Championship: 102 matches, 59 goals)

(French Cup: 8 matches, 1 goal)

(Charles Drago Cup: 6 matches, 4 goals)

(European Champions Cup: 2 matches, 1 goal)

(Latin Cup: 2 matches, 1 goal)

1958/62 Algerian National Liberation Front (FLN) 40 matches, 43 goals

1962 Servette Geneva (SUI) 14 matches, 12 goals

(Swiss Championship: 10 matches, 8 goals)

(Swiss Cup: 1 match, 2 goals)

(European Champions Cup: 3 matches, 2 goals)

1962/68 Saint-Etienne (FRA) 218 matches, 86 goals

(French Championship: 192 matches, 78 goals)

(French Cup: 16 matches, 6 goals)

(Champions Challenge: 1 match, 1 goal)

(Charles Drago Cup: 3 matches)

(European Champions Cup: 6 matches, 1 goal)

1968/70 SC Bastia (FRA) 77 matches, 22 goals

(French Championship: 67 matches, 20 goals)

(Play-offs: 4 matches, 2 goals)

(French Cup: 6 matches)

With the National Team :

France

4 caps

(Friendly matches: 3 caps)

(World Cup qualifier: 1 cap)

1st cap: October 21, 1956 against the USSR (2-1)

Algeria

9 caps, 3 goals

(Friendly matches: 8 caps, 3 goals)

(World Cup qualifier: 1 cap)

Last cap: December 29, 1968 against Tunisia (0-0)

Rachid Mekhloufi

Born August 12, 1936 in Sétif (ALG)

Died on November 8, 2024 in Courbevoie (FRA)

Algerian / French, Attacking-Midfielder, 1m74

Nickname: Mek

A player who is much more than talented

Rachid Mekhloufi was born on August 12, 1936 in Sétif, Algeria. A young player playing in the position of Inside-left, a position similar to an attacking midfielder, he began his football career in the club of his hometown, USM Sétif. Finally, he joined the French championship at the age of 18, in the club AS Saint-Etienne.

Only 3 years later, the playmaker will win the Military World Cup. In this position, he will score in the 1956/57 season, the trifle of 26 matches in 32 matches in all competitions, crazy statistics for an attacking midfielder. He won his first French championship and established himself as one of the best players playing in the country.

Pausing his career for his country

An undisputed starter for the Saint-Etienne club, he would once again take on a greater dimension when he became a French international in 1956, in total, he would play 4 matches for France. Supposed to play the 1958 World Cup with France, he decided in the spring of 1958 to join several of his compatriots in Tunisia to create the Algerian national team.

Leaving AS Saint-Etienne at the age of 22, the player would play several matches for the Algerian liberation team between 1958 and 1962. These matches took place in the 4 corners of the world. 40 matches played in total during this period for a total of... 43 goals! The attacking midfielder was one of the most decisive in the world during this period despite the few matches played.

One of the best players in the history of the French championship

When Algeria gained its independence in 1962, the player decided to return to Europe, to Switzerland, to Servette Geneva where he performed exceptionally well, 14 matches, 12 goals, he was unstoppable. In the winter of 1962, he returned to AS Saint-Etienne where he was once again one of the best players in the French championship. For his half-season back, he scored 14 goals in 26 matches.

It was in 1964 that he won a new French championship and this time it was undeniable, the player was the best player playing in France, he was logically elected Etoile d'or France Football after an excellent season, 16 goals in 35 matches. A wonderful playmaker, he was a magician of the round ball, an artist of this sport and one of the best African players in history.

In total, at AS Saint-Etienne, he played 338 matches for 152 goals, completely crazy statistics. He is therefore logically one of the best players in the history of the club, of which he is one of the first great legends. He left the club definitively in 1968 after 10 years playing for the Greens. He won 4 French Championships, 1 second division championship, 1 French Cup, 2 Charles Drago Cups and 1 Challenge des Champions.

And yes, he won a French second division championship in 1963... The club no longer had its main player and had been relegated to the second division. For his return, he will have allowed his club to return to the elite of French football before achieving a feat... Wins the first division championship the following year in 1964. Rachid Mekhloufi was one of those rare players who could transform his team by his simple presence, one of the best players that the French championship has seen play, in total, he will have won the France Football Golden Star 3 times, in 1964, 1966 and 1967, unheard of for the time.

An ability to single-handedly improve his team

As the last club of his career, the player will decide to play in the SC Bastia club, which has just been promoted to the French 1st division. At 32 years old, the player who may seem to be at the end of his career will nevertheless achieve very good performances. Already, he is an undisputed starter and participates in 2 seasons in 77 matches, scoring 20 goals at the same time. The player will never have lost his genius. He also led Bastia to a 6th place in the championship during the 1968/69 season, a surprise. The following year, he saved his team during the relegation play-offs and allowed his team to stay up, scoring 2 decisive goals in 4 matches. He finally retired at the end of this 1969/70 season, at the age of 34.