The president of the Algerian Football Federation (FAF) announced Wednesday the departure of coach Djamel Belmadi, the day after the elimination of the national team in the first round of the African Cup of Nations (CAN) in Côte d 'Ivory.
“
I met with national coach Djamel Belmadi to discuss the implications of this bitter elimination, and we reached a friendly agreement to end our relationship and terminate the contract that binds the coach to the Algerian Football Federation
,” indicated the boss of the FAF, Walid Sadi, on his X account.
For the second edition in a row, the Fennecs were eliminated from the CAN in the first round following their defeat on Tuesday evening against modest Mauritania (0-1).
Djamel Belmadi, 46, took charge of the “
Greens
” in August 2018. He was praised after taking Algeria to the top of African football by winning the CAN in 2019 in Egypt.
He was even nicknamed “
minister of happiness
” by the Algerians.
But its star began to fade after Algeria's early elimination from CAN 2022 and then its failure to qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
We promise our supporters that everything that has happened will mark the beginning of a radical change that will take place, it will be a real revolution at the national team level.
Sadi Walid
Since then, a number of analysts had questioned his choices and he was the target of a vast campaign on social networks and in certain media which called for his departure.
But despite these criticisms, in January the FAF renewed its contract until 2026. The federation then set Djamel Belmadi “ clear
” objectives
for the next two African Cups.
In his
message on
We promise our supporters that everything that has happened will mark the beginning of a radical change that will take place, it will be a real revolution at the level of the national team, with the aim of guaranteeing a conducive and exemplary environment for the work and rebuild on this failure
.”
Djamel Belmadi blamed the elimination of his team on Tuesday evening in front of the press on a lack of realism.
To a question about the fact that he became the first Algerian coach to be eliminated twice in the first round, Belmadi replied: “
You did not specify that I am the second to have won the African Cup
”.
In five and a half years at the head of the selection, Djamel Belmadi has managed 64 matches for 41 victories, 17 draws and only 6 defeats.
But the absence of the slightest victory during the last two CAN was fatal to the former PSG and Marseille Olympic player.