Tedj Bensaoula (Arabic: تاج بن سحاولة) (born 1 December 1954) is an Algerian football manager and former footballer who played as a forward. He currently manages CR Témouchent in the Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 2. Tedj Bensaoula was a classic Algerian centre-forward known for his potent goalscoring, powerful presence, and versatility, capable of playing centrally or wide, often described as a fierce, warrior-like striker with good combination play and aerial ability, making him a key attacker for clubs like MC Oran and the Algerian national team in the 80s. Widely recognized as one of the best centre-forwards of all time.
The player was born in the Algerian countryside, and in 1958 the family moved to Hammam Bouhadjar, where Bensaoula learned to play football. He first worked as a French teacher. It was not until 1977 that he moved to MC Oran and began his career as a footballer there. There he had to prevail against various competitors and scored a lot of goals, but received no payment in his first time. After the successful 1982 World Cup, many Algerian players moved to Europe, including Bensaoula. In 1983, he signed for French second division club Le Havre AC. In his first season as a midfielder, he scored eight goals and also assisted numerous goals for Philippe Prieur and Patrick Martet. As third in the second division, which was divided into two divisions at the time, the team reached the play-offs for promotion in 1984, but failed. In the following year, they were promoted to the first division. Due to injury, Bensaoula only played 18 times in his only first division season. In 1986, he left the club and signed for the second-tier USL Dunkerque. Again he suffered from injuries and only made 14 appearances, after which he ended his active career a year later. In 1993 he got his coaching license. From then on, he coached several Algerian clubs, and around 2000 he was assistant to the Algerian national coach Rabah Madjer a few times.
Bensaoula made his first appearance for his home country in Africa Cup of Nations qualifying on 24 June 1979, when he played in a 3–1 win over Libya. In the same year, he scored his first unofficial international goal in a 1-1 draw against France during the Mediterranean Games in Yugoslavia. The first official goal followed on 16 March 1980 against Guinea (3-2), when he scored a brace. At the 1982 World Cup, he played in all three of Algeria's games and scored one goal. Four years later, he was allowed to play at a World Cup again. This ended his career in the national team.
Bensaoula was also a member of the Algerian team that took part in the 1980 Olympic football tournament in Moscow, where they were eliminated in the quarter-finals.
Coaching career
He began his coaching career, returning to football after a long break, in 2001, heading the coaching staff of the Algerian national team, with which he worked for only one year. In 2002, he also headed the coaching staff of the Oran club team.
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