Name: Abdullah Al-Deayea



Country: Saudi Arabia
Club: Al-Tai
Position: *GK
Side: RF/BS
Age: 23-29 years (1/12/1961)

Height: 182 cm
Weight: 70 kg

Attack: 30
Defence: 81
Balance: 79
Stamina: 66
Top Speed: 70
Acceleration: 73
Response: 83
Agility: 79
Dribble Accuracy: 50
Dribble Speed: 53
Short Pass Accuracy: 54
Short Pass Speed: 58
Long Pass Accuracy: 58
Long Pass Speed: 60
Shot Accuracy: 44
Shot Power: 78
Shot Technique: 44
Free Kick Accuracy: 44
Curling: 48
Header: 44
Jump: 84
Technique: 56
Aggression: 64
Mentality: 74
Goalkeeper Skills: 79
Team Work: 71

Injury Tolerance: B
Condition/Fitness: 5
Weak Foot Accuracy: 4
Weak Foot Frequency: 4
Consistency: 5
Growth type: Standard

CARDS:

SPECIAL ABILITIES:

Attack/Defence Awareness Card: Defence Minded


INFO:

Abdullah Al-Deayea was one of the best Saudi keepers, older brother of the legendary Mohamed. While he's often forgotten in favour of his superior younger brother, he was also an important player in Saudi football in the 80s and was the starting goalkeeper in the 1984 and 1988 Asian Cup winning teams. He was especially highly recognised for his performances in 1984. He was of a similar style to his brother, quick off his line and agile with good reflexes, but even more erratic, and he also wore long jogging trousers like his brother. He could get down quickly to save low shots and was good from close range but had difficulties catching the ball and wasn't good at organising his defence. Interestingly, he was a defender at the start of his career and only became a goalkeeper because his team's main goalkeeper was unavailable, so as the tallest player he was chosen to become the goalkeeper. Within just a few years he was already voted the best goalkeeper in Asia in 1984.

I think it is good to increase his Response and Goalkeeping skill. His reaction was good, especially when the ball was inside the penalty area. He was quick to respond to the ball, as you can see that in this video.

https://youtu.be/_aWpupXAaT8?si=kgK1cGFn2tGN0-ZC
https://youtu.be/2L5HqIsW4PY?si=zYWze53DGqcM5paw
https://youtu.be/curmVocwUwQ?si=xC2ch20ZMERJmjD9

IMO the stats are already quite generous for the level he was playing at. You can see in those videos that he didn't always clear the ball properly with his saves, pushing them back into dangerous areas, sometimes just throwing his hands at the ball like a volleyball player. Also 83 is not a low number for RES. He can make any of those saves with 83 RES. I think these stats represent him well, he was good in close range situations and an athletic player, he could make some nice acrobatic saves but he wasn't a secure goalkeeper. Of course, a strong player by Saudi standards in that era, but certainly nothing special in the wider world. His brother was a much better player.

Perhaps you are right about the goalkeeper's skill, but I was impressed by his reactions and the speed of his response to the ball. I thought he deserved at least RES: 86, but your analysis is also logical. I believe that he can compete at the Gulf level and can outperform many goalkeepers such as Hammoud Sultan or Mohsen Musabih and others. Let us not forget that he won the Best Goalkeeper in Asia award in 1984, but his younger brother was far superior to him.