Mohamed Ali Amar – better known as ‘Nayim’ – was a Spanish footballer who made headlines in the mid-1990s with a spectacular last-minute goal to win a major European final.
It came in the 1995 European Cup Winners' Cup final for Real Zaragoza; with the game 1-1 in extra-time and seemingly heading for penalties, Nayim lobbed goalkeeper David Seaman from inside Arenal's half. To this day, Tottenham fans still chant "Nayim from the halfway line".
Born and raised in the Spanish North African enclave of Ceuta, the 59-year-old was the first Spaniard to play in England for 50 years and the only Muslim to play in England’s first Premier League season in 1992/93. The National met him in his home city.
Tell us about Ceuta
I was born here and all my family are from here. None played football, but my father loved football. He used to take me to the ground when I was a boy. And that was my dream, to be one of these players I was watching. That’s when I started to play football.
When I was 14 we won the league here and we went to play in Seville against Betis. We lost 7-0 but there were agents looking around and they called my team and they told them that Barcelona wanted me for a week’s trial. So I went to Barcelona and after a week, they told me they wanted me to move into La Masia, the home of the youth system. I lived there for four seasons. Fantastic. Brilliant, brilliant time.
Which other players were there with you?
Pep Guardiola, Tito Vilanova, Guillermo Amor, Jordi Roura. These are the big names, but there are other names that didn't make it.
I love the game, I have passion about the game, so it was fantastic for me. I could breathe football 24 hours a day. We slept in the Masia next to the Camp Nou. We opened the window in the morning and saw the stadium. We saw where we wanted to be every single morning, our dream. Forty of us. We could watch basketball, handball, hockey. It was sport all around and I’d been a Barcelona fan since I was a little boy, thanks to Johan Cruyff.
But, in the end, Cruyff was the guy that didn't want me at Barcelona. That’s the other side of football. But Terry Venables, who also coached Barcelona, did want me.
You played some first-team games at Barcelona?
Not many, 15 or so. But I got a cruciate injury and in the 1980s it was nine months to get back to playing. But at the end, I could join Tottenham Hotspur in 1988. I had a great time there; we won the FA Cup in 1991. I played with Gazza (Paul Gascoigne).
In football, it’s about trust and Venables remembered me from Barcelona to sign me, and I moved to London (for £400,000 as part of the deal which took Gary Lineker to Barca).
Not many Spanish players moved to England back then
I was the first one, but I had one advantage. The guy who called me, he trusted my football. He knew me well and that was easier for me. I didn't speak any words of English when I arrived and had to learn amid a group of players who had strong accents. I struggled to understand Gazza, but all the players were great with me. Guys like Paul Walsh, Paul Stewart, Gary Mabbutt. We played some beautiful football.
Gazza was a notorious prankster. What was the best one you saw?
I once saw him drive a car with a caravan on the back and with a man on the roof of the caravan. He was an older man, John, who was at the training ground all the time. I was saying, ‘You could kill him!’ It was crazy. Gazza’s dad had the caravan and brought it to the training ground. He asked the elderly man to climb the ladder and get him something from the roof. And then he started driving with John on the roof. He drove around north London.
How was life in London compared to Ceuta?
The players taught me all the wrong things to say for the first three months. Like to insult the waiters when I thought I was being polite. And they all laughed at me.
But I enjoyed it. Gazza was the best player in the world.
The world?
At that time, yes. He had everything. He could score, play, pass, head, take freekicks. He was powerful and hugely talented in every sense. He took us right to the FA Cup final in 1991 and that’s where he got seriously injured. He was overexcited. I was saying to him ‘Calm down, man. It's just a game. Just enjoy yourself, as always.’ But, you know what Gazza was like. He couldn’t calm down.
After we won the cup, we went to the hospital to take the cup to him. That was the right thing to do as he was the man who took us there.
So the football was going well for you?
Absolutely. I played a lot, but the weather killed me there. After five years, I wanted to come back to Spain. It was grey all the time. Spurs wanted me for three more seasons and they gave me good money. Venables was great with me but I said it's not about money. I wanted to be happy.
When Zaragoza came to buy me, I just said to Terry, ‘Please, just let me go’. Terry was like a father for me, always looking after me. His family looked after me, too. Much of my career is down to him. He gave me a chance to be a professional at a big club and play all the games.
How did English football compare with Spanish football?
Faster, stronger, harder. Less technical, but I was very lucky because I went to a team that usually played good football.
Which other teams do you remember?
Liverpool was the best team with Kenny Dalglish, Peter Beardsley and John Barnes. Bryan Robson of Manchester United was the toughest to play against. He was in my position, he kicked me. I think some thought I would hold back, but I wasn't like that. I said, ‘OK, let's compete’ then. We had some good results against United.
Arsenal were good; Paul Merson, Ian Wright. But it wasn’t just about the players. The pitches were not very good, but some players came alive on them. Chris Waddle was an amazing player, insanely good. Waddle and (Glenn) Hoddle. Waddle has a left foot like a glove.
Vinny Samways was very skillful. Tough. Yeah, he went a bit crazy when he came here to play in Spain. I played against him in the second division in Spain. We won the game and he was sent off. I said, ‘Vinny, what are you doing, man? You're a technical player. You’re good. Just play your football. Don't get involved in it'.
Not many Muslims played in England either
I was the first to play in the Premier League. And I played at a club with a strong Jewish support. And I had no problem at all, none. I usually prayed in private; I wasn’t going to pray with Gazza around.
I’m from Ceuta. It’s half Muslim, half Christian. We've got Jewish and Indian people here. We have four cultures living together in peace, an example for the world.
And you’re a hero in Zaragoza
I moved there because of Victor Munoz, a great player from Zaragoza. I told Venables that I wanted to play in Spain, my country, to prove myself in that league. Zaragoza didn’t have anyone like Gazza, but they were all technically very good.
We beat Barcelona 6-3, we beat Real Madrid 4-1, 3-2. Zaragoza was a hard place to visit. We finished third in 1994 and won the cup on penalties, a year after reaching the cup final.
That meant we played European football in the Cup Winners' Cup and that began the story which changed my life. We beat Feyenoord in the quarter-finals, then Chelsea in the semi-finals – Glenn Hoddle was player/manager there.
Chelsea were in the semi-final. We beat then 3-0 at home and lost 1-3 there. Arsenal were in the final in Paris, at the Parc des Princes. Arsenal, the main rivals of the club I had left – Spurs.
I mean, it was a good game for us. We should have won; we were the better team after half an hour. The first half an hour, Arsenal were physically strong, they’d been playing together for years. I knew them well and told my teammates about them.
We had a teammate, a brilliant player called Santi Aragon, who also played for Real Madrid. He tried to chip the goalkeeper David Seaman from the halfway line but it didn’t go to plan.
We played well in the second half and it finished 1-1. We had many chances in extra time. They had a very good chance; we cleared it from the goal line. But after 119 minutes it was 1-1. Right to the last minute of extra time, the last 10 seconds.
And what happened then?
The ball came to my chest and I put it down on the floor. The ball bounced a couple of times. I saw Miguel Pardeza, my captain. And I saw Seaman off the goal line. So I hit the ball well. I still needed Seaman to make a little mistake. And he did, he paused for half a second and that killed him. He touched the ball as it came down but didn’t have the power to push it over the bar. Goal! Crazy.
I looked for Venables and my dad because Terry was covering the game for TV. But it was impossible to see them; I had about 20 people all over me. I knew we’d won.
And a teammate, he kissed me on the lips as well. I said, 'What are you doing?' It was unbelievable. Paul Merson was the only Arsenal player who came to say anything. He said: ‘Congratulations, great goal’.
The goal made my life. I was known all over the world. It's nice.
Have you been back to England since then?
Yeah, I have. To Tottenham when I stopped playing. The fans sang that song (Nayim from the halfway line) when I went on the pitch. I was with my friends, my family. Hairs standing up. Everyone crying.
And there's a street named after you?
Three in Zaragoza! One is called ‘Mohammed Ali Ammar Naeem’. It's my whole name. That's crazy. I mean, I'm still alive. I'm not Michael Jordan or Steve Curry. It’s because of that goal.
Did you ever get recognised?
Everywhere. It was crazy. Now, less because I’ve got white hair and a beard. But after that game I went on a honeymoon with my wife to New York, and the first guy, literally the first policeman, said: ‘You're the guy that scored the goal’.
I went to Niagara Falls and this guy with an Arsenal shirt looked at me and was like ‘No, that's impossible, man. You just ruined my day, mate’ and laughed.
I remember a guy who was driving the van was Mexican, an old man. And he said, ‘You scored that goal!’ My face was all over the place, you know, on TV, newspapers and everything. It's one action that can change your life and that's what happened.
Do you ever go to Zaragoza?
Yes, I just went for an event about two weeks ago. And it’s non-stop there. Grown men come up to me, their kids.
And does it not sadden you what's happened to that club, bottom of the second division?
It's very sad. It's an unbelievable club and city. The ground is always full. The fans are unbelievable. They travel with the team everywhere.
What did you do after Zaragoza?
I played for my friend, Victor Munoz, at Logrones. I didn't play for money. We struggled to stay in the second division because they promised us that we were going to have a team to fight to go up. But it was a struggle.
After, I returned to Ceuta. Life here is an easy life, it's a quality life, the city is beautiful. Everyone knows me but it’s nice. The people were so proud of that goal. And they’re proud of their team here now, which includes some local boys. I watch them all the time.
