Sheikh Mohammad Aslam

Aslam first came to Dhaka to participate in the 100m run, long jump and javelin throw events for the Team BJMC athletics team in 1976. Along with athletics he got involved with football, starting his journey in 1974 for Town Club in the Khulna Second Division Football League. The next year he played for Bangladesh WAPDA and earned promotion to the First Division Football League as the runner-up. While playing for WAPDA in 1976, he managed to attract interest from Dhaka's top tier.[1]

In 1977, Aslam joined Victoria SC in the Dhaka League. Although Aslam had started his career at the club as a defender, it was Abdur Rahim, the shrewd coach of Victoria, who saw the potential of a striker in him, and changed his position in 1979. After three years at the club, he moved to Team BJMC in 1980. Aslam came into the limelight with 13 goals for BJMC in his debut year, falling two goals short of becoming the league's top scorer. He was the captain of BJMC in 1981 and spent another year at the club before making his big move to Mohammedan SC in 1983. Nonetheless, after an injury-hit season, Mohammedan officials decided to release Aslam, with Aslam scoring 7 goals during his lone season at the club. In 1984, he was snatched up by Mohammedan's arch-rivals Abahani Krira Chakra.[10]

Aslam reached the zenith of his career while playing for Abahani, as from 1984 until 1987 he was Dhaka League's top goal scorer for a record four consecutive seasons. During this time, he had Kazi Salahuddin, Samrat Hossain Emily, PremLal and Karim Allawi as his striker partner at different stages. He scored 17 goals in 1984, 18 goals in 1985, 20 goals in 1986, 14 goals in 1987 and 17 goals in 1988. His record was later broken by Muktijoddha SKC captain Imtiaz Ahmed Nakib. In the 1989–1990 season, he scored 11 goals and set a new record of becoming the top scorer five times. From the 1984 to 1988–1989 seasons, he achieved the rare feat of scoring a hat-trick in each league for five consecutive seasons. He scored 103 goals for Abahani in seven consecutive seasons until the 1991–1992 season. Aslam won three league trophies alongside a hat-trick in the Federation Cup (from 1985 to 1988) during his first spell at the club.[1]

One of Aslam's most notable goals came during the 1986 Federation Cup semi-finals against Mohammedan. Abahani trailed 3–4 before Aslam levelled the score by dribbling past three of Mohammedan's defenders and curling a right-footed shot into the net. PremLal scored a hat-trick in the game as Abahani won 8–5 in penalties. In 1987, during the league-deciding match against Mohammedan, Abahani needed a single point to clinch the title, and although Aslam scored, Abahani ended up losing 3–2. With Abahani and Mohammedan tied at the top with equal points, a play-off match was required. On 9 September 1987, three days after their previous encounter, the title-deciding game between Abahani-Mohammedan got underway; the high-voltage game ended 0–0. After the game ended, players and officials from both teams agreed to be crowned joint champions in order to prevent fans from attacking players. However, the Bangladesh Football Federation did not accept the players' agreement and decided to hold a second play-off match. Both captains Aslam and Mohammedan's Ranjit Saha were given a one-year ban, and without their forward Aslam, Abahani suffered a 2–0 defeat in the final play-off match, preventing Aslam from winning three consecutive league titles and Abahani their fourth in a row.[11]

Alsam left a huge mark in continental football for Abahani, scoring a hat-trick as Abahani defeated India's Gurkha Brigade 4–1 in the DCM Trophy in New Delhi in 1984. Aslam's five goals helped Abahani beat Club Valencia from Maldives 8–1 in the 1985–86 Asian Club Championship held in Colombo. With nine goals for Abahani during the tournament, he became the highest scorer jointly with PremLal of Saunders SC of Sri Lanka.[1]

In the three-and-a-half-decade history of India's Sait Nagjee Football Tournament, Abahani became the first foreign team to win the tournament, in 1989. In the first match, Abahani won 1–0 against Kerala club champions Travancore Titanium, Aslam scored in the 80th minute of the game, receiving Ranjit Saha's ball with his chest and beating the goalkeeper with a sharp volley. In the double league semi-final against Goa champions MRF in the 32nd minute, Kazi Kamal's free kick inside the opposition box was maneuvered by Aslam, who scored with a header. In the second match of the semi-final against MRF, "Choto" Munna scored the winning goal from Aslam's cross. In the final, Abahani took on India's Federation Cup champions, Salgaocar FC, with Aslam scoring the lone goal. He won the Man of the Tournament crown and a television set along with the trophy.[12]

During Abahani's 1991 BTC Clubs Cup triumph, they managed to defeat Indian giant Kolkata Mohammedan in the group stage, with Aslam scoring one of the two goals in a 2–1 win. In the semi-final they defeated another Indian team in East Bengal Club, with goals from Aslam and Rizvi Karim Rumi. Abahani went onto defeat Dhaka Mohammedan SC in the final.[13][14] Aslam was named the best player of the tournament with three goals in four matches, thus attracting interest from abroad. And as the Dhaka League was not held in 1991, East Bengal Club signed Aslam along with his teammates Monem Munna and Rizvi Karim Rumi for the 1991 Calcutta Football League.[12] After a few months in India, Aslam returned to Abahani towards the end of 1991. He was the captain of Abahani in the 1987 and 1988–1989 seasons. In 1993, he ended his first spell at the club by returning to Dhaka Mohammedan SC.[1]

He also played for East Bengal in the Calcutta Football League in 1991, but failed to make a significant impact due to a head injury he suffered against George Telegraph SC in the 1991 Durand Cup. His first goal for the club also came during the same match in which he was injured. Aslam's stint with the club lasted a few months after he only managed one goal during the entirety of the league.[15] Regarding his injury, Aslam said during an interview, "After scoring a goal against George Telegraph, their goalkeeper hit me so hard that I passed out. I was taken to the hospital."[16]

After a falling out with Abahani authorities, Aslam joined Mohammedan in 1993 and scored seven goals during his year-long spell at the club. He returned to Abahani in 1994 and scored 16 goals during his last spell at the club. Aside from Khurshid Alam Babul, Aslam is the only player to win seven Dhaka League trophies.[1] In the mid-1990s, many star players started leaving Bangladesh's top three clubs, Mohammedan SC, Abahani and Brothers Union for Muktijoddha SKC, due to the clubs forming a gentlemen's agreement to lower the players' salaries. However, Aslam alongside Monem Munna stayed at Abahani, winning them the league title again in 1992.

In 1994, Abahani defeated Kolkata Mohammedan in the finals of India's Charms Cup, where Aslam and Munna guided a new generation of talents through the tournament.[12] Aslam's goals did not dry out with age, as he scored nine goals in 1995 and finished second top socrer behind Imtiaz Ahmed Nakib, who by many at the time was thought to be Aslam's replacemnet in the national team.[17] Aslam hung up his boots in 1996, ending his illustrious league career with record 177 goals in domestic football in Dhaka from which 119 goals were for Abahani Limited, making him the club's all-time leading goalscorer.[1][4]

• 1984 − Sports Writers Association's Footballer of the Year
• 2000 − National Sports Award

• 1984 − Dhaka League top scorer
• 1985 − Dhaka League top scorer
• 1986 − Dhaka League top scorer
• 1986 − Dhaka League top scorer
• 1989–90 − Dhaka League top scorer
• 1985–86 − Asian Club Championship top scorer
• 1980 − AFC Youth Championship Qualifying Most Valuable Player Award