Sheikh Shaheb Ali

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 is also 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 win in international football.[1]

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 Presidency, British India (present-day Dhaka, Bangladesh)
Date of death 1 June 2004(2004-06-01) (aged 86)
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 Mohammedan SC
1939–1944 Victoria SC
1945–1947 Wari Club
1945 Kolkata Mohammedan 1 (0)
1948–1951 Dhaka Wanderers
1952–1957 Fire Service SC
International career
1954 Pakistan
Managerial career
1959–1960 East Pakistan
1960 Pakistan (caretaker)
1963 Pakistan (caretaker)
1972–1973 Bangladesh
1979 Bangladesh
1983 Victoria SC
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

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

Sheikh Shaheb Ali was born in Matuail area of Dhaka, on 1 July 1917.[2] He started his career at Kabi Nazrul Government College, where he was a student and after graduation joined the newly formed Mohammedan SC. 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. He 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 Dhaka XI in an invitational tournament in India. After the partition of India, he played for Dhaka Wanderers in the Dhaka League, and was league champion in both 1950 and 1951. He played in both the 1954 and 1955 editions of the IFA Shield for Wari Club and Dhaka Wanderers, 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.[3][4] He retired from playing in 1957 after captaining East Pakistan Green team at the National Football Championship.[5]

Coaching career

Pakistan

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.[6] In 1960, under his guidance, East Pakistan won the National Football Championship.[7] Ali was rewarded with the caretaker 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] He again took the charge of the Pakistan national team when the China national team toured Pakistan in 1963.[8] The first test in Dhaka in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) ended in a 0–0 tie. The second match in Peshawar ended in a 3–2 victory for Ali's side, while the third fixture in Lahore ended in a 1–1 draw. The fourth and final match in Karachi saw Pakistan being defeated 2–0.[9][8]

Bangladesh
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 0–1.[10]

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.[11] On 13 May 1972, Ali was head coach of "Dhaka XI", who were the unofficial Bangladesh national team (not affiliated with a FIFA Confederation), against Mohun Bagan. Dhaka XI striker Kazi Salahuddin scored the only goal in front of more than 35,000 spectators at the Dhaka Stadium.[12] 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.[13]

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.[14] 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.[10]

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.[15] 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][5]

Personal life

Ali was one of the architects behind Sonali Otit Club, which is an organisation made of former footballers.[5] His son, Showkat Ali Selim, is also a retired footballer.[16]

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
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 7 February 1963 4 1 2 1 4 5 −1 025.00
 Bangladesh 13 February 1972 13 August 1973[10] 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

Player

Dhaka Wanderers Club

Manager

Dhaka XI

East Pakistan

Awards and accolades

See also

References
  1. "Shaheb Ali no more". archive.thedailystar.net. Archived from the original on 13 February 2023. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  2. "পাকিস্তান জাতীয় দল বাঙালি খেলোয়াড় - দুলাল মাহমুদ". www.rokomari.com. Archived from the original on 13 February 2023. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  3. "এশিয়ান গেমস অনেক দূরে চলে গেছে" [The Asian Games going far away]. kalerkantho.com. কালের কণ্ঠ. 19 September 2014. Archived from the original on 13 February 2023. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  4. "বাঙালির ফুটবল-সাফল্য এখন কেবলই স্মৃতি". উত্তরাধিকার ৭১ নিউজ : মুক্তিযুদ্ধের চেতনায় বাংলাদেশ গড়ার প্রত্যয়. Archived from the original on 6 April 2022. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  5. "::Sport::15th Anniversary Special". archive.thedailystar.net. Archived from the original on 11 February 2023. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  6. "শুধু ফুটবল খেললে আমার ধারেকাছে কেউ থাকত না | কালের কণ্ঠ". Kalerkantho. 16 June 2016. Archived from the original on 28 October 2022. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  7. Dulal, Mahmud (2020). খেলার মাঠে মুক্তিযুদ্ধ (transl. Liberation war in the playground). Bishhoshahitto Bhobon. ISBN 978-984-8218-31-0.
  8. Ahsan, Ali (23 December 2010). "A history of football in Pakistan — Part II". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  9. "China - List of International Matches". www.rsssf.org. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
  10. "১৯৭৩ সালে যাদের হাত ধরে বাংলাদেশ জাতীয় ফুটবল দলের পথ চলা শুরু হয়েছিলো | Kiron's Sports Desk". Archived from the original on 13 February 2023. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  11. আলম, মাসুদ. "বঙ্গবন্ধু বলেছিলেন, 'তোরা ভালো খেল'". Prothomalo. Archived from the original on 29 September 2022. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  12. 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]. www.prothomalo.com (in Bengali). Dhaka, Bangladesh: The Daily Prothom Alo. Archived from the original on 2 October 2022. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
  13. "ফুটবল ইতিহাসে সালাউদ্দিন নামটি বড় করে লেখা থাকবে | Kiron's Sports Desk". Archived from the original on 15 December 2022. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  14. Zubaear, Arafat. "ফুটবলের ৫০ বছর : প্রথম দলের ১৭ জনের কে কোথায়?". dhakapost.com. Archived from the original on 26 July 2023. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  15. প্রতিবেদক, নিজস্ব. "কোরিয়া গিয়ে কী পেল বাংলাদেশ?". Prothomalo. Archived from the original on 8 August 2023.
  16. লাল দলের রাঙিয়ে দেওয়া প্রেসিডেন্ট গোল্ড কাপ ফুটবল. উৎপল শুভ্র :: Utp al Shuvro (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 17 February 2022. Retrieved 24 March 2022.

Bibliography
  • 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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