Eric Cantona is a French Football legend but this sport has had many others before him and he never fails to honor them. The sportsman who also became an accomplished actor paid tribute to the footballer Rachid Makhloufi who lost his life at the age of 88. In addition to being a football ace, he was also a symbol of the fight for Algerian independence.
Thus on his Instagram account, Eric Cantona (58 years old), who regularly speaks for tributes or defends political convictions which do not necessarily achieve consensus, wrote: “Rachid Makhloufi was my friend, a great player and a great man. A true rebel who fought for the independence of Algeria. I met him a few years ago for the documentary The foot rebelsI will always remember his kindness and his smile. Rest in peace Rachid.”
His wife, the actress and writer Rachida Brakni, put a broken heart emoji under the publication and shared in a story the strong words of her husband and father of her children Emir and Selma – Eric Cantona is also the father of Raphaël and Joséphine as he had previously with Isabelle Ferrer.
Rachid Makhloufi, former Saint-Etienne striker and symbol of the fight for Algerian independence
Rachid Makhloufi, who played in Saint-Etienne between 1954 and 1958 then between 1962 and 1968, lived between France and Tunisia, according to informed sources. President Tebboune “learned with great sadness the news of the death of legendary Algerian footballer Rachid Makhloufi, FLN player, coach of the national team and former president of the Algerian Football Federation“, indicated the Algerian presidency, without giving details on the place of his death, reports AFP.
The president of the Algerian Football Federation, Walid Sadi, sent his condolences “most saddened to the family of the deceased and to the great family of Algerian football“. “This pioneer born in Sétif in 1936 leaves an invaluable legacy that transcends sport, combining footballing passion and patriotic commitment“, underlined the FennecFootball site, evoking a “llegend of Algerian football and a symbol of the struggle for independence“.
Rachid Makhloufi began his career in Algeria before joining the AS Saint-Etienne club in 1954, where he had become an outstanding attackerspearhead of a team in full construction which he accompanied in its first successes. He became champion of France in 1957 with the Greens at only 21 years oldthe first title for the Saint-Etienne club at the end of a season in which he had scored 25 goals, and wore the French team jersey four times, between October 1956 and December 1957.
But in April 1958, in the middle of the Algerian war, he had suddenly left France, accompanied by other Algerian players, to join the National Liberation Front (FLN) teamcreated to promote the struggle for independence.
“Through unofficial but symbolically powerful matches, this team becomes a tool of sports diplomacy, drawing international attention to the fight.” for independence, recalls FennecFootball.
“Saint-Etienne tears flow. A great man, an immense footballer is gone. Rachid Makhloufi is no more, but his legacy will never leave us“, reacted AS Saint-Etienne on its social networks, accompanying its message with a black and white photo of the player surrounded by footballs.
In a press release, the Saint-Etienne club also recounts Makhloufi's commitment and his “extraordinary personality on the green rectangle of course, but also in his life as a committed citizen“. “He was an ardent defender of a country and a cause which were dear to him and for which he did not hesitate, one evening in April 1958, to flee, hidden in Aronde via Switzerland, in order to reach Tunisia Favoring an ideal in his career which would undoubtedly have seen him set foot on the Swedish pitches at the 1958 World Cup.“, continues the club.
“He was a huge player, my example, my model, my master as a professional“, reacted with emotion another Saint-Etienne legend, Jean-Michel Larqué, figure of the next generation, at the microphone of RMC.
After independence in 1962, Makhloufi resumed his career, first at Servette then again at Saint-Etienne, winning three new French championship titles with the Greens (1964, 1967 and 1968), before becoming captain of the first Algerian national team.
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