Zoubir Bouadjadj

One of the veteran players of USM Alger looks back on his early footballing days, which began in 1939 in the youth category. At that time, he and his teammates went to a field in “Menghassan” to take a physical education test, and then continued the activity with swimming at the “Padovani” pool. Although the relationship between USM Alger and MC Alger was friendly, he did not join MC Alger because his brother played there.^[4] Instead, he preferred to watch their matches from the stands after finishing his own team’s games. He also briefly played for the Hydra team, and among his youth teammates were Aliouach, Mohamed Samghouni and Zaaf. His spell with USM Alger lasted until 1952, when he left shortly after the team failed to achieve promotion to the Honor Division in the 1951–52 season.^[4] According to those close to him, he played football out of passion and love for the sport, not for money, as he was in a comfortable financial situation and worked in another field unrelated to sports income.^[4]

Bouadjadj and his team had two attempts to secure promotion to the Honor Division, the first in 1948 and the second in 1952, but they failed both times due to poor preparation, lack of training, and frequent interference from club officials in choosing the starting lineup. Nevertheless, Bouadjadj was known for his commitment to training and his excellent physical condition, never tiring or losing focus no matter how strong the opponent. In contrast, most players at the time lacked sporting spirit and discipline in training, and many engaged in negative habits such as staying out late at night and smoking, as he recalled.^[4]

According to his recollections, the team’s meetings were held at Abdelrahmane Boulenjass’s café on Lallier Street. Throughout his career at USM Alger, Bouadjadj played in several positions on the pitch, including centre forward, right winger, midfielder, and defender. Coach Abderrahman Ibrir even played him once as a left winger. He got along well with most of his teammates, except for Allel Ouaguenouni, with whom he could not find any understanding due to his different temperament unlike his brother Mustapha, with whom he had a good relationship, according to his testimony.^[4]

• Hammouche, Chabane (2014). الجزء الأول مسيرة الفريق خلال فترة الاحتلال 1937 - 1956 (in Arabic). دار كرم الله للنشر والتوزيع.