Murad Bakhsh (footballer)

Murad Bakhsh

Bakhsh in the 1960s
Personal information
Full name	Murad Bakhsh Makwa
Date of birth	1951
Place of birth	Lyari, Pakistan
Date of death	11 January 2011 (aged 59)
Place of death	Lyari, Pakistan
Position(s)	Forward
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
	Karachi Port Trust
	PPWD
	KMC
	Habib Bank
1960–1963	Dhaka Wanderers
1962	Victoria SC
1978–1991	Sharjah Army
International career
1960s	Pakistan
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Murad Bakhsh Makwa (1951 – 11 January 2011) was a Pakistani footballer who played as a forward.

Club career

Nicknamed as Pencil due to his lanky physique, Bakhsh played as a left-in.

Bakhsh sitting at the far right with Dhaka Wanderers Club at the Pakistan President's Gold Cup in Karachi in 1961

He represented the Karachi Port Trust, Pakistan Public Works Department, Karachi Municipal Corporation and Habib Bank football teams while also playing for clubs in Dhaka in East Pakistan.

In 1960, Dhaka Wanderers brought Bakhsh in, winning their seventh First Division League title. In 1963, the club finished as runner-up of the Aga Khan Gold Cup after defeating Police AC, Nepal XI, Pakistan Western Railway and Indonesia XI in the semi-final. In the final, held on 29 October 1963, Wanderers lost 1–2 to Pakistan Railways, with Bakhsh included in the starting eleven of the game.

In 1962, Bakhsh represented eventual winners, Victoria SC, at the Aga Khan Gold Cup in Dhaka.

Bakhsh sitting second from right to left with 1963 Aga Khan Gold Cup runners-up Dhaka Wanderers Club

In 1978, he left for the United Arab Emirates and represented the Sharjah Army football team for 13 years.

International career

Bakhsh was part of the Pakistan national football team in the late 1960s. In 1967, he featured in the 1968 AFC Asian Cup qualification in Burma. In the late 1960s, he capained the national team during a tour to Russia.

Coaching career

Bakhsh served as head coach of the Pakistan Blues team at the 1982 Quaid-e-Azam International Cup.

Death

Bakhsh died after a prolonged illness on 11 January 2011, aged only 59. Suffering from cancer for the past several years, he was living in precarious conditions in Lyari, forcing his lone son to leave his football career in favour of becoming a motor mechanic. He left behind his son and a daughter. A-minute silence was observed before a regional league football match, three hours after his death.

Honours

Dhaka Wanderers

• Dhaka League: 1960

Victoria SC

• Aga Khan Gold Cup: 1962