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Sheikh Shaheb Ali

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Sheikh Shaheb Ali
Sheikh Shaheb Ali in 1990
Personal information
Full name Sheikh Mohammed Shaheb Ali
Date of birth (1917-07-01)1 July 1917
Place of birth Dacca, Bengal, British India
Date of death 1 June 2004(2004-06-01) (aged 86)[1]
Place of death Dhaka, Bangladesh
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Full-back
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1936–1938 Dhaka Mohammedan
1939–1944 Victoria SC
1945–1947 Wari Club
1945 Kolkata Mohammedan 1 (0)
1948–1951 Dhaka Wanderers
1952–1957 Fire Service SC
International career
1948–1957 East Pakistan
1954 Pakistan
Managerial career
1958–1966 Fire Service SC
1959–1960 East Pakistan
1960 Pakistan
1961–1964 Dhaka Division
1963 Pakistan
1972–1973 Bangladesh
1979 Bangladesh
1983 Victoria SC
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Sheikh Shaheb Ali (Bengali: শেখ সাহেব আলী; 1 July 1917 – 1 June 2004) was a former Bangladeshi football player and manager. He is the only East Pakistani to have both played for and managed the Pakistan national football team. He was the first head coach of the Bangladesh national football team, guiding them at the 1973 Merdeka Cup. He holds the record of coaching Bangladesh to their first ever victory in international football.[1]

Playing career

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Mohammedan SC in 1936, Ali seated furthest to the left, middle row.

Sheikh Shaheb Ali was born in Matuail area of Dacca, on 1 July 1917.[2] He began his football career at Kabi Nazrul Government College, where he was a student and after graduation joined the newly formed Dhaka Mohammedan. During the British regime he played First Division football in Dhaka and also participated in the Ronald Shield with Victoria SC, during which he gained experience playing as a makeshift goalkeeper. Ali represented Dacca in the 1944–45 Santosh Trophy, where his team were defeated by Bengal in the preliminary round held on home ground.[3]

Ali also played one game for Kolkata Mohammedan in 1945, after impressing the club's football secretary Abdul Rashid and captain Mohammad Shahjahan while playing for Dacca XI in an invitational tournament in Bombay, where his team lost 1–3 to the hosts.[4]

Following the partition of India, he played for Dhaka Wanderers in the First Division, and was league champion in both 1950 and 1951. He played in both the 1954 and 1955 editions of the IFA Shield for Dhaka Wanderers and Wari Club, respectively, while employed in the Fire Service. Eventually, Ali was called up to the Pakistan national football team alongside another Bengali player, Nabi Chowdhury, for the 1954 Asian Games in Manila, Philippines.[5][6] He retired from playing in 1957 after captaining the East Pakistan Green team at the National Football Championship.[7][8]

Coaching career

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Pakistan

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Ali sitting third from left with Pakistan national squad for the 1964 Summer Olympics qualifiers

Ali started his career as a referee in 1943 and became a FIFA referee by 1962, while working with the Pakistan Football Federation which he joined in 1958. He later trained both the East Pakistan and Dhaka University football teams.[9] In 1960, under his guidance, East Pakistan won the National Football Championship.[10] Ali was rewarded with the head coach role of the Pakistan national team at the 1960 Merdeka Cup, where Pakistan finished in fourth place by claiming victories against both Japan (3–1) and Thailand (7–0).[2] Ali completed a hat-trick of individual National Football Championship triumphs, this time guiding Dhaka Division to the title in both 1961 and 1962.[11] He again took charge of the Pakistan national team in 1963 for four friendly matches against the touring China national team.[12] Ali remained in charge of Pakistan during the 1964 Summer Olympics qualifiers against Iran, as the team failed to advance to the main round on goal average, losing the first leg in Tehran 1–4 before consolidating a 1–0 victory in the second leg held in Lahore.[13][14] In 1965, he completed advanced coaching and refereeing training in London.[2]

Bangladesh

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Shaheb Ali's chosen starting XI for Bangladesh's first ever international fixture. The team drew 2–2 with Thailand, with goals from Enayetur and Salahuddin. According to FIFA records Bangladesh later lost the tie-breakers 5–6.[15]

After the Independence of Bangladesh, Ali guided the President's XI team against Bangladesh XI, in the first football match in the newly liberated country, on 13 February 1972. Ali's President's XI team won the game 2–0 with goals from Golam Sarwar Tipu and Scooter Gafoor.[16] On 13 May 1972, Ali served as the head coach of "Dhaka XI", the unofficial Bangladesh national team (not affiliated with a FIFA Confederation), in a match against Mohun Bagan. Dhaka XI striker Kazi Salahuddin scored the only goal in front of more than 35,000 spectators at the Dhaka Stadium.[17] Later that year, he again coached Dhaka XI, travelling to India's Guwahati to take part in the Bordoloi Trophy. The team finished runners-up behind East Bengal Club.[18]

In July 1973, Ali travelled to Malaysia as the head coach of the first Bangladesh national football team, when they took part in the Merdeka Cup.[19] Bangladesh tied their first two games, 2–2 against Thailand and 1–1 against South Vietnam. Other than the 0–6 thrashing at the hands of Burma the team managed respectable results losing 1–2 against Kuwait and drawing with Singapore (1–1). They finished their Malaysia tour with a 0–2 defeat against Thailand. On their way back, Ali's side played a friendly in Singapore and earned their first international football win by defeating the hosts 1–0.[15]

In September 1979, Ali was put incharge of the national team again, as Bangladesh partook in the Korean President's Cup, during the tournament Ali guided Bangladesh to only their third ever international victory, with a 3–1 thrashing of Sri Lanka. However, his side also suffered their biggest ever defeat, as hosts South Korea outplayed them with a 0–9 scoreline.[20] Ali was the technical advisor of BJMC in 1979 and head coach of Victoria SC in 1983. He retired from all football activities after working with the executive committee of the Bangladesh Football Federation from 1992 to 1993.[1][8]

Personal life

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Ali was one of the architects behind Sonali Otit Club, which is an organisation made of former footballers.[8] His son, Showkat Ali Selim, is also a retired footballer.[21]

Legacy

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Following his retirement as a football referee in 1971, Ali, a former Kabaddi player himself, began coaching the Bangladesh national kabaddi team and was the team's first coach during their inaugural international match against India in 1974. Ali later served as the chief sports coach of the National Sports Council from 1977 to 1983.[2]

Ali also pioneered the beginning of women's football in Bangladesh, arranging a training camp at Viqarunnisa Noon School and College in 1977.[22][23]

Death

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On 1 June 2004, Ali died in his home in Gopibagh, Dhaka. He left behind his wife, three sons and six daughters.[1]

Managerial statistics

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As of 16 September 1979
Team From To Record
G W D L GF GA GD Win %
 Pakistan 5 August 1960 14 August 1960 4 2 0 2 10 6 +4 050.00
 Pakistan 27 January 1963 3 November 1963 6 2 2 2 6 9 −3 033.33
 Bangladesh 13 May 1972 13 August 1973[15] 7 1 3 3 6 14 −8 014.29
 Bangladesh 15 August 1979 16 September 1979 4 1 0 3 4 16 −12 025.00

Honours

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Captain Ali (middle row, second from right) with East Pakistan Greens at the 1957 National Championship.
Ali (seated furthest to the right) with the 1961 National Championship winning Dhaka Division team.

Player

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Dhaka Wanderers Club

Manager

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Dhaka XI

East Pakistan

Dhaka Division

Awards and accolades

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Shaheb Ali no more". The Daily Star. Archived from the original on 13 February 2023. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d Dulal, Mahmud (2014). পাকিস্তান জাতীয় দল বাঙালি খেলোয়াড় (transl. Bengali players in the Pakistan national team) (in Bengali). Bishhoshahitto Bhobon.
  3. ^ "Bengal beat Dacca". Indian Express. 28 August 1944. Archived from the original on 8 October 2024. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
  4. ^ "Civil & Military Gazette (Lahore) - Sunday 18 April 1954". p. 8. Retrieved 21 June 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ^ এশিয়ান গেমস অনেক দূরে চলে গেছে [The Asian Games going far away]. Kaler Kantho (in Bengali). 19 September 2014. Archived from the original on 13 February 2023. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  6. ^ বাঙালির ফুটবল-সাফল্য এখন কেবলই স্মৃতি. U71news (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 6 April 2022. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  7. ^ Tipu, Golam Sarwar. "Organisers wake up". The Daily Star. Archived from the original on 8 August 2023.
  8. ^ a b c "::Sport::15th Anniversary Special". The Daily Star. Archived from the original on 11 February 2023. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  9. ^ শুধু ফুটবল খেললে আমার ধারেকাছে কেউ থাকত না. Kaler Kantho (in Bengali). 16 June 2016. Archived from the original on 28 October 2022. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  10. ^ Dulal, Mahmud (2020). খেলার মাঠে মুক্তিযুদ্ধ (transl. Liberation war in the playground) (in Bengali). Bishhoshahitto Bhobon. ISBN 978-984-8218-31-0.
  11. ^ a b Ahsan, Ali (23 December 2010). "A history of football in Pakistan — Part II". Dawn. Archived from the original on 23 December 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  12. ^ "China - List of International Matches". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 9 February 2024. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  13. ^ "Civil & Military Gazette (Lahore) - Tuesday 06 August 1963". p. 14. Retrieved 13 June 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  14. ^ "Civil & Military Gazette (Lahore) - Wednesday 21 August 1963". p. 14. Retrieved 13 June 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  15. ^ a b c ১৯৭৩ সালে যাদের হাত ধরে বাংলাদেশ জাতীয় ফুটবল দলের পথ চলা শুরু হয়েছিলো. Kiron's Sports Desk (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 13 February 2023. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  16. ^ Alam, Masud. বঙ্গবন্ধু বলেছিলেন, 'তোরা ভালো খেল'. Prothom Alo (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 29 September 2022. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  17. ^ Alam, Masud (19 April 2022). ৭ কোটি মানুষের জন্য ভালোবাসা নিয়ে ঢাকায় এসেছিল মোহনবাগান [Mohun Bagan came to Dhaka with love for 7 crore people]. Prothom Alo (in Bengali). Dhaka, Bangladesh. Archived from the original on 2 October 2022. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
  18. ^ ফুটবল ইতিহাসে সালাউদ্দিন নামটি বড় করে লেখা থাকবে. Kiron's Sports Desk (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 15 December 2022. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  19. ^ Zubaear, Arafat. ফুটবলের ৫০ বছর : প্রথম দলের ১৭ জনের কে কোথায়?. Dhaka Post (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 26 July 2023. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  20. ^ কোরিয়া গিয়ে কী পেল বাংলাদেশ?. Prothom Alo (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 8 August 2023.
  21. ^ লাল দলের রাঙিয়ে দেওয়া প্রেসিডেন্ট গোল্ড কাপ ফুটবল. Utp al Shuvro (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 17 February 2022. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  22. ^ Alam, Masud (28 June 2022). সাফল্য আছে, আছে কিছু প্রশ্নও. Prothom Alo (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 13 June 2024. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  23. ^ Emon, Kamrul Islam (22 December 2022). বাঘিনীদের ফুটবল ইতিহাস এবং স্বপ্নবাজদের সাফ জয়. RTV (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 23 June 2024. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  24. ^ Kabir, Shajahan (6 January 2024). ফুটবলে তখন নাম ছিল, টাকা-পয়সার ব্যাপার ছিল না. Kaler Kantho (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 7 January 2024.
  25. ^ "Pakistan Sports Board, Islamabad". www.sports.gov.pk. Archived from the original on 8 October 2024.

Bibliography

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  • Dulal, Mahmud (2014). পাকিস্তান জাতীয় দল বাঙালি খেলোয়াড় (transl. Bengali players in the Pakistan national team) (in Bengali). Bishhoshahitto Bhobon.
  • Dulal, Mahmud (2020). খেলার মাঠে মুক্তিযুদ্ধ (transl. Liberation war in the playground) (in Bengali). Bishhoshahitto Bhobon. ISBN 978-984-8218-31-0.
  • Alam, Masud (2017). ফুটবলের গল্প ফুটবলারদের গল্প (transl. The story of football the story of footballers) (in Bengali). Bishhoshahitto Bhobon. ISBN 9789849134688.

Further reading

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