Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Date of birth | 26 January 1956 | ||
Place of birth | Hyderabad, Hyderabad State, India | ||
Position(s) | Striker | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
–1972 | Hyderabad Arsenal Club | ||
1972 | Tata Sports Hyderabad | ||
1978–1979 | East Bengal | (35) | |
1973–1984 | Mohammedan | ||
1984–1985 | Victoria Sporting Dhaka | ||
International career | |||
1974 | India U19 | 6 | (5) |
1974–1984 | India | 66 | (23 [1] ) |
Managerial career | |||
1985–1992 | Mohammedan | ||
1992–1993 | Rajasthan Club | ||
1993–1995 | Peerless SC | ||
1997–2000 | Salgaocar | ||
2000–2001 | Mahindra United | ||
2004 | Churchill Brothers | ||
2005 | Salgaocar | ||
2006–2007 | Vasco | ||
2007–2010 | Mohammedan | ||
2011–2012 | Southern Samity | ||
Telangana | |||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Shabbir Ali (born 26 January 1956) is an Indian football manager and former player. [2] [3] [4] He was awarded the Dhyan Chand Award, the highest award in Indian sports for lifetime achievement, given by Government of India in 2011. [5] [6] He is the first footballer to be named for the Dhyan Chand Award. [7]
As a footballer, Shabbir Ali was rated as the best player in India during the 1970s and 1980s. [8] Arguably the finest striker of his time, Shabbir was a prolific goal scorer both at the national and international level. He rose to fame at a very early age when he captained India to win the Asian Youth championships in Bangkok jointly with Iran in 1974, a performance which even earned praise from the then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi. [2]
After playing with Tata Sports Club in Bombay for a few years, Shabbir Ali was lured away by the top Calcutta club, East Bengal in the late seventies. Later he joined Mohammedan Sporting and took the club to a great height before retiring from the same club in the mid-1980s.
During his captaincy, in 1983–84, the club won 9 trophies including back to back wins in Indian Federation Cup. Later in his playing days, he went to Bangladesh to play for Dhaka Football League side Dhaka Victoria Sporting, [9] where he stayed for a season only. [10] [11]
Shabbir Ali scored 23 goals in international matches and remains one of India's all-time top scorers, ahead of Chuni Goswami, PK Banerjee, Inder Singh and Baichung Bhutia among others. In the 1976 Merdeka international football tournament in Kuala Lumpur, Shabbir Ali scored a hat-trick against Indonesia in the first 35 minutes. Only five footballers in India have scored an international hat-trick; of those, Shabbir Ali's is the fastest. [2]
On his 65th birthday, Ali said, "Whatever I have become today because of football. Before retiring I was thinking I got everything from football. Now I have to give something back to the game. So, that is why I became a coach. Before retiring in 1987, I was player-cum-coach of Mohammedan Sporting. In 1988–89, I have pursued a diploma from NIS."
For 12 years between 1972 and 1984, Ali was an automatic choice with the national team of India, be it Asian Youth, Asian Games, pre-Olympics, Asian Cup, Merdeka Cup tournament, Nehru Gold Cup, [12] King's Cup or any other goodwill tour. He also captained India in Asian Youth, pre-Olympics, Nehru Cup, Merdeka and King's Cup tournaments. [2] He gained fame when Arun Ghosh managed India U-20 team under his captaincy, went on to share the 1974 AFC Youth Championship title with Iran-20, in which he scored five goals. [13] [14]
One of his best moments came in the 1976 Merdeka international football tournament in Kuala Lumpur, [15] where he scored a hat-trick against Indonesia within the first 35 minutes. Among Indians who have scored a hat-trick, Shabbir Ali's was the fastest. [16] [17] [18]
He also appeared in 1976 Jasson Cup held in Afghanistan, with Indian team managed by Jarnail Singh. [19] He played 66 international matches for India and scored 23 goals from 1974 to 1984 and was one of the highest ranked goal scorers on the basis of strike rate per match. [20]
After retiring as a footballer in 1985, Ali became a coach. [21] He earned a first class diploma from the Sports Authority of India. He successfully passed the German football association B License coach and also their four-week coaching course, which is equivalent to A License. [2]
As a coach, Ali proved to be a great success within a short period of time. Appointed the Technical Director of the India, Shabbir Ali steered the team to the gold medal in the 1995 South Asian Games in Chennai. It was a superb achievement considering the fact that India failed to win in the three previous South Asian Games at Colombo, Islamabad and Dhaka. He remained the Technical Director till the pre-World Cup tournament in Qatar next year. [2]
In the 1991–92 seasons, he made Mohammedan Sporting the Champion Club of India having won four tournaments and finished runners-up in two others. Next season, he took up the challenge of coaching a relatively smaller club when he accepted the assignment with Peerless SC. It took him only one season to promote the club to the Calcutta Super Division. [22]
Between 1997 and 1999, Shabbir Ali managed top Goan outfit Salgaocar and established himself as India's best coach. [23] [24] Barring a few like PK Banerjee and Syed Nayeemuddin, no other coach in India could win so many titles in such a short span as Shabbir Ali did. [2]
It started in 1998 when Salgaocar won the Goa Professional League under his guidance and went on to win the Indian Super Cup defeating the National League champions, Mohun Bagan AC. [25] Next Salgaocar won the National League title, [26] the only time a Goan team could win it till date. [27] Shabbir Ali then took the team to Bombay and won the Rovers Cup. Thereafter, the team flew into Delhi to bag the Durand Cup beating both Mohun Bagan and East Bengal and then tamed Mohun Bagan again in the Super Cup contest. No other teams in India have been given such a great run in Indian football in recent years. [2]
He also managed Churchill Brothers in 2004. [28] In 2006, he succeeded Mridul Banerjee as manager of another NFL side Vasco. [29] In 2008, he was again appointment head coach of Mohammedan. [30] In 2011–12 season, he managed Calcutta Football League side Southern Samity. [31]
On 2 September 2022, he was unanimously appointed as the Chairman of the All India Football Federation Advisory Committee. [32] He is also included in the board of eminent players of the AIFF. [33] [34]
In February 2021, Ali launched a football academy in Hyderabad named Shabbir Ali Football Academy, that became operational from 1 March. [35] The academy is also affiliated with Telangana Football Association.
Beside football, Ali was appointed and worked as Scale-I officer of Allahabad Bank. [36] In September 2013, he suffered a massive heart-attack and recovered. [36]
India
India U20
Mohammedan Sporting
Individual
Mohammedan Sporting [43]
Salgaocar
Mahindra United Football Club was an Indian professional football club based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Founded in 1962, the club competed in the I-League, then top tier of Indian football league system, before closing down at the end of 2009–10 season. Affiliated with Mumbai Football Association, the club participated in both the National Football League, and MDFA Elite League.
Clube de Desportos Vasco da Gama is an Indian professional football club based in Vasco da Gama, Goa, part of the same named multi-sports club. Incorporated in 1951, the club is nicknamed "The Port Towners", and competes in the Goa Professional League.
The National Football League (NFL) was the men's highest level of the Indian football league system from 1996 to 2007. Founded by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) in 1996, the NFL was the first football league in India to be organized on a national scale. The AIFF then added a second division in 1997 and a third division was soon added by the governing body in 2006. The NFL was eventually replaced by the I-League for the 2007–08 season in order to professionalize the sport in India.
Salgaocar Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Vasco, Goa. Being one of the country's most successful clubs, it is currently operating youth teams. Until the disfunction of club's senior team in June 2023, Salgaocar competed in the Goa Professional League.
Jagatjit Cotton & Textile Football Club is an Indian football academy based in Phagwara, Punjab. Founded in 1971, the club was sponsored by Jagatjit Cotton and Textile Mills under the leadership of Samir Thapar and participated in the National Football League which was later rebranded as I-League. The club currently participates in Punjab State Super Football League after disbanding their senior squad in 2011.
Churchill Brothers Football Club Goa is an Indian professional football club based in Margao, Goa, that competes in the I-League, alongside the Goa Professional League. Founded in 1988 in Margao, the club usually participated in the National Football League, then top tier of the Indian football league system.
Tata Football Academy is a football academy based in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, sponsored by Tata Steel, which owns ISL outfit Jamshedpur FC. It is one of the renowned and leading football academies in the country.
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Sporting Club is an Indian institutional multi-sports club based in Bangalore, best known for its football team. It was named after the company Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The club has competed in the top tiers of Karnataka football — the Bangalore A Division and the BDFA Super Division.
FC Kochin was an Indian professional football club based in Kochi, Kerala. In the late 1990s, it was the only football club from Kerala to participate in National Football League, then top tier of Indian football league system.
Air India Football Club is a football section of the same-named Indian institutional multi-sports club. Founded by Anand Prajapati in 1952, the club is based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Sponsored by Air India, the club previously played in the Mumbai Football League, and now in the MFA Elite Corporate League.
Punjab Police Football Club is an Indian institutional multi-sports club based in Jalandhar, Punjab. Affiliated with the Punjab Football Association, club's football section competes in the Punjab State Super Football League.
Syed Nayeemuddin, known as Nayeem, is an Indian football coach and former player. He played for and captained the India national team. He later managed Mahindra United, Brothers Union, Dhaka Mohammedan, and Bangladesh national team.
Karim Bencherifa is a Moroccan football manager and former player, who is head coach the Singapore women's national team. Bencherifa has coached teams in his native Morocco, Malta, Brunei, Singapore, India and the Republic of Guinea. He received some of his training in Germany.
Kalyan Chaubey is an Indian politician of Bharatiya Janata Party and a former professional football goalkeeper. He is the current president of the All India Football Federation.
Sukhwinder Singh is an Indian football manager and a former international footballer. He was the manager of the Cuttack based Indian Women's League side, Rising Students for the 2013–14 season and was also the coach of the India U-23 side and formerly of the Pailan Arrows of the I-League.
Derrick Pereira is an Indian association football manager and former player, who managed then I-League 2nd Division club FC Goa Reserves and the India national under-23 football team. He serves as the technical director of Indian Super League club FC Goa.
Prasun Banerjee is an Indian former professional footballer and politician who is serving as an MP in the Lok Sabha from Howrah. He is an Arjuna Award winner (1979). Younger brother of the Pradip Kumar Banerjee, Prasun had also captained the India national football team in international tournaments.
Syed Shahid Hakim was an Indian footballer, football manager, FIFA official and referee. Hakim also acted as assistant manager of India national team during the 1980s. He was awarded by the prestigious Dhyan Chand Award in 2017 for his contributions to the sport.
Roberto Fernandes is a former Indian football player who played as a defender. He appeared in 29 international matches for India national team. Fernandes spent his majority of career by playing for Goan club Salgaocar FC.
Peerless Sports Club, or simply Peerless, is an Indian professional football club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. Founded in 1993, the club is owned by Peerless Group and currently competes in the Calcutta Premier Division A.
Bibliography
Others