The Algerian players welcomed as “heroes” by hundreds of thousands of fans in Algiers

The Algeria football squad returned yesterday at around 5 pm to the country coming from Khartoum, Sudan after snatching their ticket to the 2010 World Cup versus the Egyptian side in the play off match which witnessed the defeat the “Pharaohs” by one goal to nil.

• The personal representative of the Algerian president, Abdelaziz Belkahdem was present at the airport along with officials from the youth and sports ministry to welcome the heroes of a whole nation.
• On this occasion, a double-decker bus adorned with Algerian colours has been made available to transport the players from Algiers international airport to the “People’s Palace”  on the heights of the capital where the president  of the republic Abdelaziz Bouteflika was waiting for them for an official reception.
• Rafik Saifi: “I’ll accomplish pilgrimage to the holy places of Islam after the 2010 World Cup
• The Algerian sticker Rafik Saifi has declared “ I was expecting the presence of a large public on our arrival at Algiers especially after having fulfilled the dream of the qualification for the world Cup after all these years, thank God I will retire after participating in the upcoming World Cup in south Africa and I will go to pilgrimage soon after my return from south Africa”.
• Karim Matmour: “Our people deserves more than a qualification to the world Cup”.
• For his part, Karim Matmour added “ our fans do not deserve to be disappointed, whoever has such fans is lucky; at long last we have fulfilled the dream of millions of Algerians and booked our ticket to the World Cup and proved to the world that we have a strong and talented team. I offer this qualification to the Algerian people and the fans who were injured in Cairo”.