Masood Fakhri

Masood Fakhri (Punjabi: مسعود فخری; 1932 – 6 September 2016) was a Pakistani professional footballer who played as a left winger.[2][3][4][5] A former Pakistani international, Fakhri was well known for his time with Indian Kolkata clubs East Bengal and Mohammedan.[6][7][8][9] He was the first Pakistani football player to score a hat trick in an international game, and the first player from South Asia to play in England, where he played for Bradford City before retiring.[10]

Masood Fakhri
Fakhri with Mohammedan Sporting in 1955
Personal information
Full name Masood Fakhri
Date of birth 1932
Place of birth Toba Tek Singh, Punjab, British India
Date of death 6 September 2016(2016-09-06) (aged 83–84)
Place of death Bangor, Wales
Position(s) Left winger
Youth career
Pakistan Raiders Club
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1952–1954 East Bengal (25)
1955–1956 Mohammedan
1956–1957 Bradford City
International career
1952–1956 Pakistan[1]
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Early life

Fakhri was born in 1932 in Toba Tek Singh, Punjab, In 1955 Saadat Hasan Manto’s highly-acclaimed short story Toba Tek Singh immortalised this town.[2]

Club career

Early career

He began his career in his home country with Pakistan Raiders Club.[2]

East Bengal

In 1952, when he moved to India, was a 20-year-old youngster and signed with Calcutta Football League side East Bengal.[11][12][13] During his first season with the club Fakhri helped his side win the Calcutta Football League alongside the prestigious Durand Cup.[14][15][2] Fakhri usually played as a left-winger and had scored 14 goals in the Calcutta Football League alongside scoring the winning goals in his first two matches against East Bengal's biggest rivals, Mohun Bagan, and thus became a fan favorite among East Bengal supporters.[2] Fakhri helped the team winning the DCM Trophy and was also part of the East Bengal side to play tournament and friendly matches in Europe.[2][16]

Fakhri went on to play for two more seasons at the club. In 1953, he was part of the senior team's tour to the Romanian Youth Festival in Bucharest, where they faced teams like FC Torpedo Moscow.[17][18] He scored a goal against Lebanon XI in their 6–1 win in that tournament. He was also a part of the team that played against German side Kickers Offenbach in that year.[19]

Mohammedan Sporting

In 1955, Fakhri signed with another Kolkata club, Mohammedan. In 1956, he helped Mohammedan winning the prestigious Rovers Cup title.[2]

Bradford City

Bert Flatley, a coach with the Football Association (FA) in England, communicated to Fakhri the possibility of a move to Bradford City. The club then competed in the third tier of English football league system. After negotiations with the then manager Peter Jackson, Fakhri finally signed for the club on 8 August 1956 In 1956. After playing one season with the club, he prematurely quit football due to personal reasons in 1957.[2][20]

International
Fakhri with the Pakistan national team in 1955 (second from right in middle)

Fakhri had represented Pakistan at international level in the preceding years.[21] Fakhri had most notably scored a hat-trick and became the first player from Pakistan to do so as his national team thumped Singapore 6–2 in a group match at the 1954 Asian Games in Manila, Philippines. He had also scored goals against India and Myanmar during the period.[3]

Personal life

Fakhri married Rhoda Eileen and lived in Llanrwst, North Wales. His brother's family settled in Great Britain as well.

Post-retirement

After retiring from football, Fakhri lived out the rest of his life living in Bangor Teifi, Wales.[2]

He died in September 2016 in Wales.[22]

Honours

East Bengal

Mohammedan Sporting

Pakistan

See also

References
  1. "An uneven rivalry". 11 September 2018. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  2. Sarmah, Bhargab (17 September 2016). "Masood Fakhri: Pakistan's Football Wizard Who Captivated Kolkata Maidan". NDTV Sports. Archived from the original on 19 September 2016. Retrieved 18 September 2016.
  3. Bhattacharya, Nilesh (13 September 2016). "Masood Fakhri, ex-East Bengal football star from Pakistan, no more". Times of India. Archived from the original on 14 January 2017. Retrieved 18 September 2016.
  4. Ahsan, Ali (23 December 2010). "A history of football in Pakistan – Part I". www.dawn.com. Karachi, Pakistan: Dawn. Archived from the original on 4 September 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
  5. "I.C.L. and East Bengal Draw for the Third Time - Pak Players Included in Calcuta Side - Bombay Team Lodge Protest After Match". The Indian Express. 4 October 1953. Archived from the original on 5 July 2021. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  6. soumen78 (31 March 2016). "List of Foreign Players to Play for East Bengal Club from 1942 – East Bengal Club, India – Records, Funs and Facts". Eastbengalclubrecords.wordpress.com. Archived from the original on 19 October 2018. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
  7. "TEAM ARCHIVES - East Bengal FC". Archived from the original on 9 June 2019. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  8. "TEAM ARCHIVES - East Bengal FC". Archived from the original on 8 November 2019. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  9. Masood Fakhri: Pakistan’s Football Wizard Who Captivated Kolkata Maidan [NDTV] Archived 9 July 2021 at the Wayback Machine footballpakistan.com. Retrieved 3 July 2021
  10. "East Bengal Club - Legends". eastbengalclub.co.in. Archived from the original on 27 November 2018. Retrieved 1 July 2021. Masood Fakhri: Left-Out. Played for East Bengal from 1952 - 1954. He hailed from Pakistan and was the first sub-continent Footballer to play professional league in England for a couple of years from 1955. He toured USSR and Romania with East Bengal Club in 1953.
  11. The World Sports Today (1 August 2020). "100 years of East Bengal: A timeline of Kolkata giant's key milestones". The World Sports Today. Archived from the original on 27 June 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  12. Basu, Joydeep (25 January 2021). "Indian football: Fred Pugsley, Chima Okorie, Ranti Martins – the foreign strikers who shone in India". Scroll.in. Archived from the original on 14 May 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  13. Banerjee, Ritabrata (16 May 2020). "Indian Football - The 10 best foreigners to have played for East Bengal". Goal. Archived from the original on 14 February 2021. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  14. Sen, Debayan (1 August 2020). "A century of excellence: East Bengal's greatest hits". ESPN. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  15. Chatterjee, Sayan (6 April 2021). "Top 5 foreign footballers to have played in India". Archived from the original on 27 June 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  16. "The saga of East Bengal – The Hindu". www.thehindu.com. Archived from the original on 2 July 2021. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  17. "Soccer Barefoot 1953 (21.08) Torpedo (Ussr) - East Bengal Club (India)- 3-3. Aleks Chistogan – thewikihow". www.thewikihow.com. Archived from the original on 9 June 2019. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  18. Roy, Gautam; Ball, Swapan (2007). "East Bengal Football Club – Famous Players". www.eastbengalfootballclub.com. Archived from the original on 21 February 2009. Retrieved 25 February 2009.
  19. Neil Morrison (12 November 2015). "Kickers Offenbach (West Germany) Asian tour 1953". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 19 October 2021. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  20. Legendary Pakistani footballer Masood Fakhri silently passes away at 83 in Wales Archived 15 August 2022 at the Wayback Machine sportscrunch.in. Retrieved 3 July 2021
  21. Kapadia, Novy (24 April 1983). "Puran Bahadur Thapa: India's first hat-trick man". Sportskeeda. Archived from the original on 28 October 2021. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  22. Masood Fakhri, ex-East Bengal football star from Pakistan, no more Archived 16 March 2018 at the Wayback Machine The Times of India. Retrieved 3 July 2021
  23. Armband (9 November 2019). "East Bengal Football Club : History and Emergence". Sports-nova. Archived from the original on 9 June 2020. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  24. Banerjee, Ritabrata (12 April 2020). "Indian Football: Down the memory lane – East Bengal's 'Golden era' of 1970s". www.goal.com. Goal. Archived from the original on 1 March 2021. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  25. "Asian Quadrangular Tournament (Colombo Cup) 1952-1955". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 27 July 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  26. "The Indian National Team at the Colombo Cup". indianfootball.de. Archived from the original on 13 June 2003. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  27. Morrison, Neil (1999). "Asian Quadrangular Tournament 1954 (Calcutta, India)". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 27 September 2022. Retrieved 17 August 2022.

Further reading
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