Mohamed Abdullaziz Al-Deayea (born 2 August 1972), also known as Mohammed Deayea al-Shammari, is a Saudi Arabian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He participated in four FIFA World Cups for the Saudi Arabia national team and earned a total of 173 officially recognised caps. Al-Deayea played for al-Tai FC and al-Hilal SFC and was represented in all Saudi national teams. He is considered one of the prominent goalkeepers in the history of Saudi sports.

Early life and club career

Mohammed al-Deayea was born in Hail into a family passionate about sports. He initially started as a handball goalkeeper for al-Tai FC at eight years old but switched to football following a recommendation from the club's junior football coach. He joined al-Tai SFC's junior team in 1988, impressing enough to earn a spot on the Saudi junior national team. With this team, he triumphed at the FIFA U-16 World Championship in Scotland in 1989. He progressed to the youth national team and by 1993, he was playing for the senior Saudi national team. Al-Deayea played a pivotal role in the national team's qualification for the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States, where he excelled. In 1999, al-Hilal SFC acquired him in a high-profile transfer, and he defended their goal until retiring in 2010, capping a twenty-two-year career. A testimonial match was organized in 2012 to honor his contributions, featuring a game between Italy's Juventus and al-Hilal SFC. Al-Deayea has split his professional career between the clubs Al-Ta'ee and Al-Hilal. Originally, he started as a handball player, but was convinced by his club and his older brother Abdullah to become a professional footballer. Mohammed was under great pressure of expectations in the beginning of his career because his brother Abdullah was an AFC Asian Cup winner and a highly reputed goalkeeper.

Retirement

On 22 June 2010, Mohamed Al-Deayea announced his retirement from football at the age of 37. On 5 January 2012, a testimonial match for him was organised between his club Al-Hilal and Juventus FC, with 70,000 people attending at the King Fahd Stadium. The match ended 7–1 in favour of Juventus with Al-Hilal's sole goal coming from Saad Al-Harthi. Juventus' goals were scored by Alessandro Del Piero (twice), Eljero Elia, Arturo Vidal, Giorgio Chiellini, Simone Pepe and Fabio Quagliarella.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Al-Ta'ee Al-Hilal Saudi Arabia U17 Saudi Arabia Individual