AS Saint-Etienne legend and former French international, Rachid Mekhloufi has died at the age of 88. He is the second top scorer in the history of the Greens.
AS Saint-Etienne announced the sad news this Friday.
“Stéphanois tears flow. A great man, an immense footballer is gone. Rachid Mekhloufi is no more, but his legacy will never leave us »indicated the Greens on their social networks after the death of the 88-year-old Franco-Algerian striker.
Rachid Mekhloufi was a class player, who marked his era. “He knew how to do everything. And do everything well. Ball at his feet, microphone in hand, he expressed himself with insolent ease, arousing the admiration of his teammates, the fear of rivals whom he could outplay at any moment, with a precise pass, a brilliant opening, of a surgical strike »describes ASSE in the article written in tribute to its former player.
Mekhloufi, second top scorer in the history of the Greens
“My master, the one who was my example as a professional. He was a huge player, my role model”reacted, very moved, Jean-Michel Larqué on RMC. Rachid Mekhloufi wore the colors of the Greens high between 1954 and 1958 then from 1962 to 1968. With his 25 goals, he largely contributed to ASSE's first French championship title, in 1956-1957. With 152 goals in 339 matches, he is the second top scorer in the history of the Greens, behind Hervé Revelli and his 212 goals.
Rachid Mekhloufi has worn the French team jersey 4 times. He was expected to be part of the adventure with the Blues for the 1958 World Cup but he decided, in April 1958, to join the FLN team, the Algerian National Liberation Front. The native of Sétif played with this FLN team, of which he was one of the emblems, until 1962, before returning to Europe. It is not only with the ball that Mekhloufi, a genius player and great man, marked his era.
