Larbi Benbarek
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Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Haj Abdelkader Larbi Ben M'barek | ||
Date of birth | 16 June 1917 | ||
Place of birth | Casablanca, Morocco | ||
Date of death | 16 September 1992 | (aged 78)||
Place of death | Casablanca, Morocco | ||
Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
Position(s) | Attacking midfielder | ||
Youth career | |||
1928–1930 | FC El Ouatane de Casablanca | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1930–1934 | Wydad AC | ||
1934–1938 | |||
1938–1939 | Marseille | 30 | (10) |
1939–1945 | |||
1945–1948 | Stade Français | 87 | (43) |
1948–1953 | Atlético Madrid | 113 | (56) |
1953–1955 | Marseille | 32 | (13) |
National team | |||
1936–1937 | Morocco | 3 | (?) |
1938–1954 | France | 17 | (3) |
Teams managed | |||
1957 | Morocco | ||
1960 | Morocco | ||
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only |
Larbi Benbarek; also Ben Barek or Ben M'barek (Berber: ⵍⵄⴰⵔⴱⵉ ⴱⴻⵏ ⴱⴰⵔⴻⴽ, Arabic: العربي بن مبارك; 16 June 1917 – 16 September 1992) was a French-Moroccan football player. He represented the French national football team 17 times.[1] He earned the sobriquet of "Black Pearl".
Career[]
Ben Barek was born on 16 June 1917 in Casablanca,[2] then part of French Morocco. The first African star and the first to bear the nickname of "Black Pearl," Ben Barek blazed a trail to the European, and particularly French and Spanish, leagues for African-born players. He arrived in Marseille, France, at the age of 20 and became an instant favorite with fans for his skills and technical abilities. He is largely remembered as the first successful French African footballer in Europe. His career was interrupted by the onset of World War II, but he was soon back to his best with Stade Français FC, eventually moving on to Spain with Atlético Madrid, where his international reputation spread. His nickname with the fans in Spain was "The Foot of God". With the help of Benbarek, Atlético won La Liga in 1950 and 1951. He returned to Marseille in 1953 but joined USM Bel-Abbès shortly thereafter, where he ended his playing career. He makes 78 goals in his career.
One of the finest players ever to represent France, he made 17 appearances for Les Bleus between 1938 and 1954. His comeback in 1954 against Germany in Hanover was curtailed by an injury after half an hour and proved to be the end of his career.
In 17 games he score 35 goals and 14 assists and he’s trainer Adam Miftah was his coach
Later life[]
Larbi Ben Barek died in his hometown on 16 September 1992. Six years after his death, he was awarded the FIFA Order of Merit The FIFA Order of Merit is the highest honour awarded by FIFA FIFA.
Honours[]
Club Moroccan Sports Union
Club Atlético de Madrid[3]
- Spanish League: 1949–50, 1950–51
- Copa Eva Duarte: 1951
Recognitions
- FIFA Order of Merit: 1998
References[]
- Citations
- ^ Frenkiel 2008, p. 100.
- ^ "L'histoire du football se conjugue à tous les temps". La Nouvelle République. 16 September 2020.
- ^ "Ben Barek - BDFutbol" (in Spanish).
- Bibliography
- Frenkiel, Stanislas (2008). "Larbi Ben Barek, Marcel Cerdan et Alfred Nakache : icônes de l'utopie impériale dans la presse métropolitaine (1936–1944)?" (PDF). Staps. 2 (80): 99–113. doi:10.3917/sta.080.0099.
- French people of Moroccan descent
- Moroccan footballers
- French footballers
- France international footballers
- 1914 births
- Sportspeople from Casablanca
- 1992 deaths
- Olympique de Marseille players
- Stade Français (association football) players
- Ligue 1 players
- La Liga players
- Atlético Madrid footballers
- Moroccan football managers
- Morocco national football team managers
- Expatriate footballers in Algeria
- USM Bel Abbès players
- Association football midfielders
- AS FAR (football) managers
- Shilha people
- Moroccan Muslims