Abdelmajid Dolmy

Debut

He was called up to the first team for the first time by Pál Orosz during the 1971–72 season for a Botola match against Raja Beni Mellal. He made his professional debut the next season against Hassania Agadir, entering in the second half as a libero. He made his starting debut against Maghreb Fès at the Stade Mohammed V. Raja finished the season in third position.

Raja CA legend

His performances ensured him a starting place in Mohamed Tibari's team despite his young age, alongside great names such as Petchou, Houmane Jarir or Saïd Ghandi. He scored his first goal against Tihad Athletic Sport in the 1973–74 season which Raja finished in second position behind Raja Beni Mellal. On 28 July 1974 at Stade Mohammed V, the 1973–74 Throne Cup final was played between Raja who had beaten Wydad AC on penalties, and Maghreb de Fès who had previously eliminated Mouloudia Oujda. Thanks to the goal of Mohamed El Arabi, Raja won the title. Dolmy is thus part of this generation which lifted the first trophy of the club's history. On 17 July 1977, Raja traveled to the FUS Stadium to play the 1976–77 Throne Cup final against Difaâ Hassani El Jadidi. They won the title for the second time thanks to a penalty from Abdellatif Beggar. In 1978, during the Casablanca Derby in the Père Jégo Stadium, Raja goalkeeper Najib Mokhles was sent off in the 83rd minute following a very controversial contact with Mustapha Chahid while the score showed a 1–1 draw. Surprisingly, Dolmy…

In 1971, Dolmy was called-up for the first time with the U20 national team. In 1973, he was called up to the senior national team for a friendly match against Senegal on 17 February 1973 without playing. On 26 February 1975, he made his senior debut under Gheorghe Mărdărescu against Libya in the qualifiers for the 1976 Montreal Summer Olympics (2–1 win). In September 1979, he played in the 1979 Mediterranean Games. The Moroccan squad travelled to Ethiopia for its second participation in the African Cup of Nations. During this edition, CAF applied a new formula which qualifies the first two teams from groups A and B for the final group. Morocco then began the competition on 1 March and scored a draw against Sudan, before triumphing against Zaire thanks to an Abdelâali Zahraoui winner in the 80th minute. Then comes the decisive match against the leader Nigeria. Despite conceding an early goal, the Moroccans managed to win 3–1 and gain qualification for the next round. Dolmy established himself as an indispensable element within Gheorghe Mărdărescu's system by playing all the games. In the final phase, Morocco won in its first match over Egypt, then double African champion, thanks to a late goal from Abdelâali Zahraoui (2–1). In the second round, the Moroccans face Nigeria again. And like their previous match, it was Nigeria who opened the scoring before Ahmed Faras and Redouane Guezzar scored two goals. On 14 March 1976, they needed a win to be crowned champions as they face…

Dolmy started his career as a right-back then as a libero despite his relatively small height, but repositioned himself over the years in the midfield thanks to his great technical abilities. He was usually deployed in the role of a deep-lying playmaker, due to his vision and passing accuracy. He also had great defensive skills; he directed the game, secured his partners and ensured ball recovery, and therefore helped his team to dominate the midfield. He was also known for dribbling after he recovered the ball, he's most favorite dribble being the nutmeg. For these reasons, Dolmy was given the nickname Maestro. Despite all the fame, he was known for being so humble and shy that he did not do any interviews throughout his career. In 2006, Dolmy was selected by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as one of the best 200 African football players of the last 50 years, and by the IFFHS in the all-time Morocco Dream Team in 2022.

Dolmy was born on 20 August 1953 in the popular district of Derb Fokara, in Derb Sultan, Casablanca. He began playing football as a forward in “Terrain Chili”, in the Hermitage district. In 1969, his performances left no one indifferent until the day when Mohamed Rahimi more known as Youaari, famous kit man of Raja Club Athletic and Petchou discovered his talent. A few days later, Dolmy signed his first contract with Raja at the age of 16.