Sheikh Shaheb Ali

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)
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.

Playing career

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. 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.

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.

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. He retired from playing in 1957 after captaining the East Pakistan Green team at the National Football Championship.

Coaching career

Pakistan

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. In 1960, under his guidance, East Pakistan won the National Football Championship. 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). Ali completed a hat-trick of individual National Football Championship triumphs, this time guiding Dhaka Division to the title in both 1961 and 1962. He again took charge of the Pakistan national team in 1963 for four friendly matches against the touring China national team. 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. In 1965, he completed advanced coaching and refereeing training in London.

Bangladesh

Shantoo

Nazir

Pintoo (c)

Ali

Hakim

Kaikobad

Nannu

Sunil

Pratap

Enayetur

Salahuddin

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.

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. 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. 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.

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. 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.

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. 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.

Personal life

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

Legacy

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.

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

Death

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

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	3 November 1963	6	2	2	2	6	9	−3	033.33
Bangladesh	13 May 1972	13 August 1973	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

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

Dhaka Wanderers Club

• Dhaka League: 1950, 1951

Manager

Dhaka XI

• Bordoloi Trophy runner-up: 1972

East Pakistan

• National Football Championship: 1960; runner-up: 1959

Dhaka Division

• National Football Championship: 1961–62, 1962

Awards and accolades

• 1966 − Pride of Performance Awards.
• 1977 − National Sports Awards.

See also

• List of Bangladesh national football team managers

Bibliography

• Dulal, Mahmud (2014). পাকিস্তান জাতীয় দল বাঙালি খেলোয়াড় (transl. Bengali players in the Pakistan national team) (in Bengali). Bishhoshahitto Bhobon.transl. Bengali players in the Pakistan national team)&rft.pub=Bishhoshahitto Bhobon&rft.date=2014&rft.aulast=Dulal&rft.aufirst=Mahmud&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Sheikh Shaheb Ali" class="Z3988">
• Dulal, Mahmud (2020). খেলার মাঠে মুক্তিযুদ্ধ (transl. Liberation war in the playground) (in Bengali). Bishhoshahitto Bhobon. ISBN 978-984-8218-31-0.transl. Liberation war in the playground)&rft.pub=Bishhoshahitto Bhobon&rft.date=2020&rft.isbn=978-984-8218-31-0&rft.aulast=Dulal&rft.aufirst=Mahmud&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Sheikh Shaheb Ali" class="Z3988">
• Alam, Masud (2017). ফুটবলের গল্প ফুটবলারদের গল্প (transl. The story of football the story of footballers) (in Bengali). Bishhoshahitto Bhobon. ISBN 9789849134688.transl. The story of football the story of footballers)&rft.pub=Bishhoshahitto Bhobon&rft.date=2017&rft.isbn=9789849134688&rft.aulast=Alam&rft.aufirst=Masud&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Sheikh Shaheb Ali" class="Z3988">

Further reading

• Kiron, Nazmul Amin (11 September 2014). ফেসবুকে খুজে পাওয়া সত্তর দশকের আবাহনীর খ্যাতিমান ঢ্যাশিং ও স্টাইলিশ ষ্ট্রাইকার সোহরাব [Sohrab, Abahani's stylish striker of the seventies found on Facebook]. kironsportsdesk.com (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 8 June 2023. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
• Tipu, Shah Mateen (23 August 2020). ভোলার কিংবদন্তি ফুটবলার গজনবীর কথা [About Bhola's legendary footballer Ghaznavi]. bdmetronews24.com (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 8 June 2023. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
• ফুটবল মাঠের মহানায়ক হাফিজ উদ্দিন [Football field hero Hafiz Uddin]. banglanews24.com (in Bengali). 4 April 2013. Archived from the original on 8 June 2023. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
• Dana, Kamrun Nahar (21 April 2021). বাংলাদেশ মহিলা ফুটবলের যাত্রা [The journey of Bangladesh women's football]. Jugantor (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 23 February 2024. Retrieved 23 February 2024.

External links

• Sheikh Shaheb Ali at Sonali Otit Club.com