Larbi Benbarek

Who is this?

Abdelkader Larbi Ben Embarek (Arabic: العربي بن مبارك; Tamazight: Lɛarbi ben-Bárək), also Ben Barek or Ben M'barek (16 June 1917 – 16 September 1992), was a Moroccan football player, who represented the France national team 17 times. He earned the sobriquet of the "Black Pearl" due to his technique and elegance on the ball, and is considered one of the greatest football players of all time, one of the first great African footballers, and the greatest French footballer prior to Raymond Kopa. Speaking on the Moroccan player, Pelé reportedly said: "If I am the king of football, Ben Barek is the god of football." In a career interrupted by the Second World War, Benbarek became the first French footballer of international renown, as well as the first French footballer whose transfer to a foreign side, namely his move to Atlético Madrid in 1948, was the subject of high-level negotiations. He also represented the arrival of North African players to French football, and was one of the first players sought out by a French side from beyond the borders of Metropolitan France when he was signed by Marseille in 1938. Despite not possessing a French passport, Benbarek led the French national team in the immediate post-war period, earning 17 caps over a span of nearly 16 years, which represented the longest international career by time span at the time, albeit that he only ever appeared in friendly matches for Les Bleus.

Career

1. 1917
   Born
2. 1935
   Joined US Marocaine Casablanca
3. 1936
   Joined US Marocaine Casablanca
4. 1938
   Joined Olympique de Marseille
5. 1938
   Joined France men's national association football team
6. 1940
   Joined US Marocaine Casablanca
7. 1945
   Joined Stade Français Football
8. 1948
   Joined Atlético Madrid
9. 1953
   Joined Olympique de Marseille
10. 1955
    Joined USM Bel-Abbès
11. 1992
    Passed away

Trivia

• •Place of birth: Casablanca
• •Citizenship: Morocco
• •Known as: association football player, association football coach
• •Sport: association football