Mokhtar Dahari

Dato' Mokhtar Dahari
Dahari in 1975
Personal information
Full name Mohd Mokhtar bin Mahatir
Date of birth (1953-11-13)13 November 1953
Place of birth Setapak, Selangor, Federation of Malaya
(now Setapak, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
Date of death 11 July 1991(1991-07-11) (aged 37)
Place of death Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
Playing position Striker
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1972–1987 Selangor FA 375 (175)
1988–1990 Kwong Yik Bank 13 (20)
Total 388 (195)
National team
1972–1985 Malaysia 111 (50)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Dato' Mokhtar Dahari AMN DSSA DIMP (13 November 1953 – 11 July 1991) was a Malaysian football player from Setapak, Selangor (present-day Kuala Lumpur). He was one of the best players in Asia in the 1970s and was also known as the best Malaysian footballer during that time. During the 1970s, Mokhtar played for Malaysia mainly as a striker, and with his help, the team became one of the best teams in Asia and managed to defeat Asian giants such as South Korea and Japan.[1][2] He was nicknamed "Super Mokh" because of his playing skills, his strength and his ability to score many incredible goals throughout his career. One of his famous moments was when he shook hands with Diego Maradona before a friendly game between Selangor FA against Boca Juniors.[3][4] Although not recognised internationally, Mokhtar scored 175 goals for Selangor and 20 goals in 13 appearances for Kwong Yik Bank.[5][6]

Early life

Born on 13th November 1953 at Setapak, Selangor (present-day in Kuala Lumpur). Mokhtar is the first born son of couple Aminah Sharikan and Dahari Abeng. His father, Dahari, worked as a lorry driver but did not earn very much to support his family. His family moved to Kampung Pandan in Kuala Lumpur when Mokthar was 11 years old.[4] Upon moving, he attended secondary school at Victoria Institution in the city and began to show interest and talent in playing football at an early age. He played for his school and later for his home state, the Selangor FA.[4]

Career

Playing career

If you're ashamed to stand by your colours, you'd better seek for another flag!

— Mokhtar Dahari[7]

Mokhtar first played for Selangor in the Burnley Cup, which they won. He was later asked to play for the club regularly where he became the top scorer in his first season playing for Selangor. He helped the club win many tournaments, mainly the Malaysia Cup with 10 titles and scoring 175 goals altogether. To proving his loyalty for the team, he was quoted as saying: "I live and die for Selangor".[note 1] Later, he was selected to play for the national team of Malaysia. He was only 19 years old when he first played for the national team in an international game, with his first game was against the Sri Lanka national football team in 1972. He helped Malaysia to win bronze in the 1974 Asian Games and two gold medals in the Southeast Asian Games in 1977 and 1979 respectively. He even scored a double winning goals for 2–0 Malaysia League XI against Arsenal F.C. in a friendly game in 1975 that led to rumours of the English top clubs' interest in him. After the game, he had an offer from one of the European giants, the Real Madrid C.F. but declined to join because his patriotism to his country and native club of Selangor.[9][10] Known for his speed and accuracy, Mokhtar was named the best Asian striker by the World Soccer when he was 23 years old.[11][12]

Mokhtar was famous for his speed and roars of "Supermokh" from the crowds were common with many of the younger generation idolised him with some have tried to imitate his moves on the field. Mokhtar once scored a goal for Malaysia from the half way line beaten Joe Corrigan through an incredible shot in a 1–1 draw against England B in 1978, dribbling past half of the opposing team coached by Bobby Robson.[13] Even memorable was when Gordon Hill praised Mokhtar as "Hero Dahari" in Shoot! magazine in his column after the England B tour in 1978.[14]

Coaching career

After Mokhtar started getting injury problems, he became a local coach to help the younger generation become better footballers.

One of his trainees was a young Roshan Thiran, future Co-founder and CEO of Leaderonomics, who regularly speaks on his experiences playing under Mokhtar. Mokhtar asked his former Selangor partner, Reduan Abdullah to write a book about his life and his career. Mokhtar also coached for Selangor at times. After his retirement, he became a player and mainly a coach for Kwong Yik Bank after his career.

Retirement

Mokhtar Dahari retired in May 1986 after winning the Malaysia Cup for Selangor FA. After the award giving ceremony, Mokhtar went to the club's president and proceeded to give his number 10 jersey, telling the president to let the club keep the jersey for him.[4] He came out of retirement in January 1987 to play one more season for Selangor FA.

Personal life

Before becoming a professional footballer, he played other sports such as badminton, sepak takraw and hockey.[4] Mokhtar worked for PKNS in the afternoon and played football in the evening. He earned little during his time with PKNS. He later quit PKNS and worked for Kwong Yik Bank to gain better prospects for himself and his family. Mokhtar met Zarina Ibrahim through friends. After knowing her for 10 years, they finally got married. He then became the father of three children: Nur Azera (the eldest daughter), Mohd Reza (the eldest son) and Nur Arina (the youngest daughter).[15]

Illness and death

Mokhtar began having throat problems and went to the hospital to find out what the problem was. Doctors diagnosed him as having motor neurone disease (MND) with the discovery was only told to him and his wife.[4] He then went to London with his wife in an attempt to cure his condition. After three years battling the disease and his condition getting worsened, Mokhtar died at the Subang Jaya Medical Centre (SJMC) on 11 July 1991.[4] The press reported Mokhtar's suffering from muscular dystrophy as the cause of his death. His body was laid to rest at Taman Keramat Permai Muslim Cemetery in Taman Keramat, Ampang, Selangor.[4] His life journey and the real cause of death was only revealed for the first time in a documentary called "The Untold Truth About Supermokh" in the National Geographic Channel on 30 August 2010, about 19 years after his death.[16]

Honours

Club

Selangor FA
Champion: 1984
Winner: 1972, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1986
Winner: 1985, 1987

International

Winners: 1973, 1974, 1976, 1979
Winners: 1977, 1979
Runners-up: 1981
Bronze Medal: 1974

Individual

Orders

Legacy

Several places and honours were named after him, including:

  • The Mokhtar Dahari Community Square (Dataran Komuniti Mokhtar Dahari), a community hall located at Kampung Pandan, Kuala Lumpur was named after him where Mokhtar used to stay, occasionally playing football there.[21][22]
  • There is a futsal court called Gelanggang Mokhtar Dahari (Moktar Dahari Futsal Court) located at Putrajaya Futsal Complex in Putrajaya.[23]
  • There is a national football academy was named after him, Mokhtar Dahari National Football Academy (Akademi Bola Sepak Negara Mokhtar Dahari) located at Gambang, Pahang was established on 10 April 2014.[24]
  • The Shah Alam-Batu Arang Highway which connecting Shah Alam and Puncak Alam was renamed Persiaran Mokhtar Dahari in 2014.[25]
  • In 2014, Google celebrates his 61st birthday.[26] There is also a theatre showcase his legendary football career in Istana Budaya called "Super Mokh" portrayed by Malaysian actor named Awie.[27]

Notes

  1. ↑ Original: "Hidup dan mati saya untuk Selangor".[8]

References

  1. ↑ Samantha Khor (3 February 2016). "Road To Moscow 1980: The True Story Of Malaysia's Football Team That Inspired 'Ola Bola'". Says.com. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  2. ↑ Eric Samuel (31 August 2017). "Halcyon days of Malaysian football". The Star. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  3. ↑ "Mokhtar Dahari: The Untold Truth About Selangor Legend (SuperMokh)". selangormalaysia.com. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Alan Teh Leam Seng (14 July 2018). "Supermokh: Remembering our greatest footballer". New Straits Times. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  5. ↑ "Google Malaysia papar seni lakaran 'Supermokh'". Bernama (in Malay). Astro Awani. 13 November 2014. Archived from the original on 29 March 2016. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  6. ↑ Amin Khairuddin (13 November 2014). "Google celebrates SuperMokh's 61st birthday". The Malay Mail. Archived from the original on 29 March 2016. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  7. ↑ Gary Lugard (11 July 2017). "Mokhtar Dahari, Lagenda Bola Sepak Kebanggaan Malaysia" (in Malay). Semuanya Bola. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  8. ↑ Shaukei Kahar (21 December 2016). "Legasi Mokhtar Dahari usah dilenyapkan" (in Malay). Stadium Astro. Archived from the original on 18 July 2018. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  9. ↑ Stephen Wagg (1995). Giving the game away: football, politics, and culture on five continents. Leicester University Press. ISBN 978-0-7185-1677-2.
  10. ↑ Bill Murray; William J. Murray (1998). The World's Game: A History of Soccer. University of Illinois Press. pp. 136–. ISBN 978-0-252-06718-1.
  11. 1 2 Rashvinjeet S. Bedi (7 October 2013). "Striking fear into their opponents". The Star. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  12. 1 2 Zazali Jamian (14 November 2014). "SuperMokh kekal dalam ingatan" (in Malay). Utusan Malaysia. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  13. ↑ Zinitulniza Abdul Kadir (2013). Mokhtar Dahari: Lagenda Bola Sepak Malaysia (in Malay). Institut Terjemahan & Buku Malaysia. pp. 263–. ISBN 978-9-674-30370-9.
  14. ↑ Zinitulniza Abdul Kadir (2013). MOKHTAR DAHARI: Legenda Bola Sepak Malaysia (in Malay). ITBM. pp. 57–. ISBN 978-967-430-370-9.
  15. ↑ "Mohd Reza Bangga Nama Mokhtar Dahari Masih Diingati". Bernama (in Malay). Portal Berita Pahang. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
  16. ↑ "Documentary on Supermokh to premiere on Aug 30". The Star. 28 August 2010. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  17. 1 2 3 Sasha Ray (1 September 2016). "Malaysia's Best Athletes Over the Past 59 Years". Red Bull. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  18. ↑ "Semakan Penerima Darjah Kebesaran, Bintang dan Pingat".
  19. ↑ "Tengku Permaisuri Norashikin ketuai senarai". Fuad Hadinata Yaacob (in Malay). MyMetro. 11 December 2016. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  20. ↑ "Datukship for football legend Mokhtar Dahari". Utusan. 24 October 2000. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  21. ↑ "Dataran Komuniti Mokhtar Dahari Kenang Jasa Super Mokh" (in Malay). Selangor Kini. 20 December 2012. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  22. ↑ Suresh Nair (11 July 2016). "Remembering 'SuperMokh' 25 years later". Sports247.my. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  23. ↑ "Penghormatan buat Mokhtar Dahari" (in Malay). Kosmo!. 9 May 2010. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  24. ↑ "PM rasmi Akademi Bola Sepak Mokhtar Dahari" (in Malay). Utusan Malaysia. 11 April 2014. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  25. ↑ Nurul Ain Mohd Hussain (8 July 2014). "SuperMokh Diabadikan Pada Jalan" (in Malay). mStar. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  26. ↑ "Mokhtar Dahari's 61st birthday". Google Doodle. 2014. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  27. ↑ "Supermokh Sebuah Muzikal Restaging" (in Malay). Istana Budaya. Archived from the original on 13 November 2014. Retrieved 13 November 2014.

Bibliography

  • Mokhtar Dahari Wira Bolasepak Negara. Zabidi Ismail. (in Malay). Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (1999). ISBN 9-836-24959-1
  • Mokhtar Dahari: Legenda Bola Sepak Malaysia. Zinnitulniza Abdul Kadir. (in Malay). Institute of Translation & Books of Malaysia (2013). ISBN 978-9-6743037-0-9

Further reading

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