Abdellah Liegeon

Club career

Liégeon played for RC Lons between 1972 and 1975. He began his professional career with Racing Besançon in 1975, following an unsuccessful trial at AS Saint-Étienne, and remained there until 1981, over 100 appearances. He then joined AS Monaco, where he made 136 appearances and scored five goals between 1981 and 1987, winning the French Division 1 title in 1982 and the Coupe de France in 1985. Liégeon ended his playing career with RC Strasbourg, retiring in 1989 after helping the club win the Division 2 championship the year prior. After his retirement, he returned to the Jura prefecture town, where he remained active in local football.

International career

After winning the French Division 1 title with AS Monaco, Liégeon was approached by Michel Hidalgo, then coach of the France national football team, with an invitation to join the squad for the 1982 FIFA World Cup alongside teammate Manuel Amoros. He declined the opportunity and opted to represent Algeria instead. In an interview, Liégeon explained his decision in personal terms, stating:

The day I was contacted by the Algerian Football Federation, I thought only of making my mother proud. When I called her to ask what she thought, she broke down in tears on the phone. You cannot imagine the joy it gave her to learn that her son would represent the colors of his country of origin. For me, it was the heart that spoke, that's all. Liégeon received his first call-up to the Algeria national…

Liégeon was born on 10 December 1957 in Oran. He moved to France a few years later. He was raised by his mother following his parents' divorce, and took the surname of his adoptive father on his mother's decision.

After retiring from professional football, Liégeon suffered a stroke which temporarily impaired his speech. He underwent two and a half years of therapy before regaining normal speech. In 2010, Liégeon returned to football as coach of CS Passenans, a district-level club in Jura. In August 2014, he was appointed coach of another Jura club, FC Macornay, which competed in the district second division. In September 2015, shortly before the start of the season, he stopped coaching the team. Liégeon died on 27 August 2025, at the age of 67, after a long illness.

Monaco

Coupe de France: 1985 Ligue 1 champion: 1982