Ali Asghar (footballer)
.jpg) Asghar with Pakistan youth team at the 1973 AFC Youth Championship | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 1950 | ||
| Place of birth | Lahore, Pakistan | ||
| Date of death | (aged 50–51) | ||
| Place of death | Lahore, Pakistan | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| WAPDA | |||
| Pakistan Airlines | |||
| International career | |||
| 1970–?? | Pakistan | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Ali Asghar (Urdu: علی اصغر; 1950 – 4 January 2001) also known as Asghar Tony, was a Pakistani footballer who played as a midfielder. Asghar played for the Pakistan national football team in the 1970s,[1][2][3] and played for Pakistan Airlines for the major part of his domestic career.
Early life
[edit]Asghar was born in 1950 in Lahore, Pakistan. He started playing football from an early age as a right winger from Al-Fatah Football Club of Lahore. Later, he also played for Wohaib and Sir Amin Academy in Karachi. Asghar received his initial coaching from his father, and later from national team coaches Mohammad Amin and Géza Kalocsay.[1]
Club career
[edit]Asghar started his football career with National Football Championship departmental side WAPDA, and later became a part of the Pakistan Airlines football team, for which he was associated with the organisation for the rest of his life. In his first match for PIA, he scored 6 goals against his former club WAPDA, while in the 1975 National Football Championship held in Multan, Asghar scored 14 goals and was declared the top scorer for Pakistan Airlines, playing a crucial role to win the third club's title.[1]
In 1983, Asghar also played the match between Pakistan Airlines and the German South-West Region XI team at the KMC Stadium during their tour to Pakistan, which ended in a 2–2 draw.[1]
International career
[edit]
Asghar played for Pakistan national team in the 1970s, and toured several countries with the side. He also represented the Pakistan youth team at the 1973 AFC Youth Championship in Iran. He scored a goal against a Chinese team in 1975.[1] Asghar was part of the squad during the 1974 Asian Games held in Iran.[4]
Personal life
[edit]Asghar came from a family of footballers. His father Ustad Ghulam Muhammad also played football at domestic level in Pakistan. Asghar was eldest of ten siblings, and three of his brothers also represented the Pakistan national team.[1] His younger brother Ghulam Sarwar captained the gold winning national team at the 1991 South Asian Games in Sri Lanka.[5][6]
Death
[edit]Asghar died on 4 January 2001 in a traffic collision. At 10:30 in the night, Asghar was returning home on a motorcycle after performing his duty in Pakistan Airlines in Lahore when a speeding motorcycle coming from behind hit him near the railway gate in Mughalpura, Lahore, due to which he lost his life after a ten-day struggle in hospital.[1]
Honours
[edit]Pakistan Airlines
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g "فٹ بال ہیروز کی دنیا" [World of Football Heroes]. Daily Dunya (in Urdu). Retrieved 2025-01-05.
- ^ Ahsan, Ali (2010-12-23). "A history of football in Pakistan — Part II". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2025-01-05.
- ^ "Pakistan Hold Their Heads High After Loss to Roberto Mancini's Saudi Arabia". ProPakistani. 2023-11-18. Retrieved 2025-01-05.
- ^ "Statistics: Iran [ Team Melli]". www.teammelli.com. Retrieved 2025-01-05.
- ^ "فٹبال ٹیم ....داستان اور کچھ عالمی حقائق" [Football team ....story and some world facts]. express.pk. 2014-12-22. Archived from the original on 2014-12-28.
- ^ "سابق مایہ ناز فٹبالر استاد علی اصغر ٹونی کی 17 ویں برسی پر قرآن خوانی و لنگر تقسیم" [Quran recitation and langar distribution on the 17th anniversary of former famous footballer Ustad Ali Asghar Tony]. روزنامہ آزادی | Daily Azadi, Quetta. 2020-01-13. Archived from the original on 2020-11-28. Retrieved 2024-10-12.