Nayim
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| Nayim | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mohammed Ali Amar | |
| Date of birth | 5 November 1966 | |
| Place of birth | Ceuta, Spain | |
| Playing position | Midfielder | |
| Youth career | ||
| AD Ceuta | ||
| Senior career1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1986–1988 1986–1988 1988–1993 1993–1997 1997–2000 |
FC Barcelona B FC Barcelona Tottenham Real Zaragoza Logroñés |
7 (0) 144 (18) 123 (5) 67 (5) |
| National team | ||
| 1985 1985 1987 |
Spain U19 Spain U20 Spain U21 |
1 (0) 4 (0) 1 (0) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
Mohammed Ali Amar, aka Nayim (born 5 November 1966 in Ceuta, Spain), is a former Spanish–Moroccan footballer, who played mainly as a central midfielder.
He is best remembered for scoring one of the most famous last minute goals in European football when scoring the winner for Real Zaragoza in the 1995 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final,[1][2]capitalizing on an ambitious lob over the Arsenal goalkeeper David Seaman from 40 yards out in the final minute of extra time, with the irony being the goal came from a former Spurs player. Tottenham subsequently made a fanzine based on this moment, dubbed "One Flew Over Seaman's Head".
[edit] Club career
At almost 20, Nayim left his hometown and joined La Liga giants FC Barcelona,[3]then managed by Terry Venables, but had very few opportunities in two seasons with the first team, and came to Tottenham Hotspur F.C. originally on loan, in November 1988 (11 league appearances during the 1988-89 campaign, scoring twice), signing the following year for £400,000. His first goal for the club came in a 2–0 win at Southampton F.C. and he also found the net in Spurs 3–0 home win over West Ham United. Nayim's marvellous skills and deft touches made him a crowd favourite.
In 1989–90 Nayim made a total of 23 appearances, helping the North London club to a third-place finish. The League Cup offered Nayim his first experience of English cup competition, playing in four games en route to the semi-final and scoring three goals.
The following season proved to be Nayim's most successful campaign in English football. Although Spurs finished in only 11th, he enjoyed 33 league outings and scored five times. His path to a Wembley final was again halted at the League Cup semi-final but, in the FA Cup, Spurs overcame Nottingham Forest 2–1 in the final, with Nayim replacing injured Paul Gascoigne early in the match - after a series of reckless challenges by the Geordie threatened to end his own career - and set up both Spurs goals to bring success to White Hart Lane.
In 1991–92, Nayim appeared in 31 league games, adding six appearances in the League Cup campaign, including both legs of the semi-final where Nottingham Forest, this time, bested the Spurs. The following season, he won the Goal of the month competition for October with a spectacular volley against Liverpool F.C.. Later in the season, Nayim scored a hat-trick in the FA Cup quarter-final at Manchester City, helping to a 4–2 success.
In May 1993, after 144 appearances and 18 goals for Spurs, Nayim signed for Real Zaragoza for £500,000. His most notable moment in football came in the final seconds of extra time in the 1995 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final by lobbing David Seaman from close to the halfway line to score a last-minute goal and win the Cup Winners' Cup against Spurs's arch rivals Arsenal F.C..
Nayim retired in 2000, after a stint with Spanish second division side CD Logroñés. He took up coaching afterwards, managing Atlético Ceuta, and serving as assistant to AD Ceuta.[3]In 2006 the Aragonese village of Trasmoz named a street 'Gol de Nayim' ('Nayim Goal Street').
[edit] References
- ^ "Nayim's bolt from the blue sinks Arsenal". UEFA. 2001-08-12. http://www.uefa.com/competitions/ecwc/news/kind=8192/newsid=3429.html. Retrieved on 2007-06-10.
- ^ Nayim goal, on YouTube
- ^ a b Qué fue de Nayim... el héroe de la Recopa del Zaragoza (What happened to Nayim...Zaragoza's Cup Winners' Cup hero); El País, 6 February 2009
