Greens: Like Madjer, Mahrez inspires many players!

Oct 20, 2026

How can we recognize that a player has joined the exclusive circle of those who leave a lasting impression for future generations?

Few footballers leave such a significant mark on collective memory that parents decide to name their children after them in tribute.

This is the case with Zinedine Zidane, whose first name has seen a remarkable rise in France since 1998, and there are even footballers with Zizou as their official first name. There are also players in South America with the name Zidane, as well as the Egyptian international who chose the nickname Zizo.

The same phenomenon occurs with Maradona, Pelé, Ronaldo, Cristiano, and Messi, where many technical players bear such nicknames, sometimes even adopting them themselves.

Regarding Algerians, Lakhdar Belloumi certainly dreamed of generations, but his influence struggles to cross the borders of his country, as the child of Mascara never played outside his homeland.

The situation is different for Rabah Madjer, who left a lasting impression on millions of fans thanks to his famous backheel in 1987 while playing for Porto in the European Cup final against Bayern Munich.

He too has seen children receive his name as a first name. This is the case for Madjer Lukoki, born in Kinshasa, but more notably, he has inspired the greatest Beach Soccer player of all time.

Indeed, João Victor Saraiva, nicknamed Madjer, born in Angola in 1977, is regarded as a beach football legend with his three World Championship titles with Portugal and his 1,082 goals in 587 appearances.

Yesterday, the Algerian Futsal team was defeated by Angola in the semi-finals of the 2026 AFCON with a score of 3-2, after leading 2-0 at halftime. This remains a commendable performance for a still marginalized discipline and for a first participation in this tournament.

On the other side, Angola, competing in its second consecutive continental final, featured star player Jo Mahrez (although on the jersey, the H and R were reversed).

João Josemar Cambangula, 28 years old, plays for Inter Movistar, a Spanish club based in Madrid, which holds the record for the UEFA Futsal Champions League. He has already participated in the World Cup of this discipline with his country.

Although he is right-footed, he claims to have chosen the nickname Jo Mahrez in honor of the former Algerian international aged 35, whom he greatly admired during his time at Leicester and Manchester City!

DZfoot