The Algerian international defender Djamel Benlamri (34 years old, 32 international matches), whose media interventions are relatively rare, took advantage of a live broadcast on the social network TikTok, on Friday, October 25, to give his opinion on various topics related to the national team. national. The player, currently looking for a club after his hasty departure from Al-Shorta (Iraq), spoke in particular of the case of players with dual nationality, the vast majority in the Fennecs squad for several years.
The 2019 African champion, born in Algeria, spent part of his career in his country, playing in particular for NA Hussein Dey, ES Sétif and JS Kabylie, before continuing it in the Persian Gulf and in France (Lyon). Asked about Algeria’s elimination at the hands of Cameroon in the last qualifying round for the 2022 World Cup, Djamel Benlamri does not mince words: “This is what happens when you call players who don’t know the national anthem. They play and leave, knowing that they will be called back, even if they play badly. We give the home team twenty minutes: either they play well right away or they don’t see the team again.” he judged.
These statements have not gone unnoticed in a country where everything related to the national team is especially commented on. And, as expected, Djamel Benlamri, who has not played for the national team since this match in March 2022, has attracted more or less virulent criticism. “This may flatter the patriotic fiber, please certain people who believe that there are not enough locals in the team, but it is not a very mature reflection. “Djamel Benlamri is clumsy when attacking players who were his teammates”judge Nasser Bouiche, former midfielder for Mouloudia Club d’Algiers and Fennecs (42 caps from 1981 to 1986). To date, no binational player who played with him has publicly reacted to the defender’s comments.
“He got it all wrong”
However, they greatly upset Nordine Kourichi, an Algerian international in the 1980s and born in France, in Ostricourt (North). “Since when does knowing the national anthem win games?” Those who have dual nationality are as involved as the locals, because although they were born in France, Algeria is the country of their parents, they are attached to it, as was my case at that time.explains the one who was also assistant to coach Vahid Halilhodzic between 2011 and 2014. When I was on the recruiting staff, I saw many dual nationals and they all had a very professional and respectful demeanor. Above all, Benlamri forgets an essential point: that of his sporting contribution. »
Like other African teams, Algeria relies heavily on internationals born and trained abroad. During the last two games against Togo (5-1, 1-0, October 10 and 14) in the qualification for the 2025 African Cup of Nations, Vladimir Petkovic, the Bosnian-Swiss coach, had only called up four players who were competing the local championship. .
“I know Djamel Benlamri, who is a lovely guy, but he is completely wrong: without the national doubles, whose performances are judged without complacency, Algeria would have an above-average team. He probably would not have won CAN 2019 and would not have qualified many times for this competition or for the World Cup. says Nasser Sanjak. The former national coach (2000) is surprised that Djamel Benlamri can “Deny this evidence. »
Abandoned training in Algeria
To back up his words, Nasser Sandjak remembers the difference in levels between the Algerian championship and the best European leagues. “For forty years, only ES Sétif [1988 et 2014] and J.S. Kabylie [1990] He gave Algeria a Champions League. Furthermore, the majority of dual nationals were born in France, where education is one of the best in the world. Therefore, his contribution is enormous for the national team. There are people in Algeria who are stuck in the generation that beat West Germany during the 1982 World Cup, with Rabah Madjer, Lakhdar Belloumi, Ali Fergani and Salah Assad, trained in the country. But at that time there was a real training policy in Algeria. » Since then, almost all clubs have abandoned this fundamental mission.
“Instead of attacking the national doubles, Djamel Benlamri should ask the Algerian federation and the clubs why, in a country with such strong potential, we neglect young people and training so much. And why is the level of the local championship so mediocre? Because training players takes time, it is expensive and the clubs do not want to make this investment.” laments Nordine Kourichi. And Nasser Bouiche concludes: “Algeria cannot do without people with dual nationality, and this will continue! »
