"President Teboune learned with great sadness the news of the death of the legendary Algerian football player Rachid Makhloufi, FLN player, national team coach and former president of the Algerian Football Federation" the Algerian presidency said in a statement, without giving details of where he died. Makhloufi .

The president of the Algerian Football Federation, Walid Sadi, sent his "warmest" condolences to the family of the deceased and to the great family of Algerian football.

"This pioneer born in the city of Satifto 1936 leaves an invaluable legacy that goes beyond sports, combining football passion and patriotic commitment," writes the "FennecFootball" website, referring to a "legend of Algerian football and a symbol of the struggle for independence".

Makhloufi, began his career in Algeria before joining Saint-Etienne with whom he won the league in 1957, scoring 25 goals. But in April 1958, in the midst of the Algerian War, he suddenly left France, accompanied by other Algerian players, to join the National Liberation Front (FLN) group, created to promote the struggle for independence.

"Through unofficial but symbolically powerful matches, this team becomes a tool of sports diplomacy, drawing international attention to the struggle for independence," recalls "Fennec Football".

"The tears of St. Etienne are flowing. A great man, a huge footballer has died. Rachid Makhloufi  is no longer with us, but his legacy will never leave us," the French club said in a post on social media, adding: "He was a staunch defender of a country and a cause that was dear to him and to the which did not hesitate, one evening in April 1958, to leave, via Switzerland, to reach Tunisia".

After Algeria's independence in 1962, Makhloufi continued his career, first at Servette and then at Saint-Etienne, winning three new French league titles with the Greens (1964, 1967 and 1968), before becoming captain of their first national team Algeria.