Saleh bin Rabia.. The march of the Yemeni football defender
One of the most prominent defenders that Yemen gave birth to, he entered history from its widest gates through a journey that spanned more than 23 years, and his fame spread at the local and regional levels, after he succeeded in beating China in the 1994 World Cup qualifiers, and achieving the first Yemeni victory On the team of a billion people.
He is the star Saleh Saeed bin Rabia, who was born in Mukalla in 1967. He started his football career early, during his middle school studies, when he joined the October School team in Des Mukalla, then the October Youth team to play for it in the center of the attack. He joined the youth team of the Hadramout People Club and graduated in the categories age group and play for 18 year olds group stage team, then he was moved to the first team that he dreamed of playing for, and the first official match he played in the 1986 season was against the Shorta team, in which he played as a defender and left injured, after which he participated in the midfield in two other matches, moving between all positions except for goalkeeper, to find himself back in defense again. He was stationed as a center back until the end of his football career.
In the 1986/1987 season, he became an important element of the team after fellow defender Jamaan Bahashwan left for Saudi Arabia, and the club put its trust in him despite his young age, but he was at the good expectation of everyone, and at the end of the season he was called up to the ranks of the national team for the junior category to play in Kuwait in the Asian qualifiers after an external camp held in Djibouti, he then participated with the youth team in Palestine and the first team in the Friendship and Peace Tournament in Kuwait in 1989.
He continued his career with the national teams until 1996, during which he played 90 international matches, during which he scored two goals, one of which was against the Chinese national team in the 1994 World Cup qualifiers from a distance of 35 meters, in the match that was held in the Jordanian city of Irbid.
He received many professional offers after his brilliance with the national team in the World Cup qualifiers, where he received an offer from the Qatari Al-Rayyan, but his love for Hadramout made him stay and give up the opportunity to become a professional.
His retirement festival was held in a match that brought together the veterans of Yemeni football and the veterans of Hadramout at the deceased Baradim stadium in the city of Mukalla.