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Rizvi Karim Rumi (Bengali: রিজভী করিম রুমি; born 18 May 1968) is a retired Bangladeshi professional footballer who played both as a winger and as a striker for the Bangladesh national football team.[1] Rumi captained Bangladesh for a brief period between 1992 and 1993. He spent most of his career with Abahani Limited and also had a brief stint in the Calcutta Football League with East Bengal.[2]

Rizvi Rumi

Personal information
Full name	Rizvi Karim Rumi
Date of birth	(1968-05-18) 18 May 1968 (age 54)
Place of birth	Khulna, Bangladesh
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s)	Center forward, Winger
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1984–1988	BRTC Office Football Team
1988–1991	Dhaka Abahani Limited
1991–1993	East Bengal
1993–1996	Dhaka Abahani Limited
1996–1997	Muktijoddha Sangsad KC
1997–1998	Dhaka Abahani Limited
National team‡
1988–1994	Bangladesh	28	(6)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 12 September 1994

Club career

Rumi started his career with the BRTC Office Team, which was one of the many office clubs that were present in the domestic football scene at the time. Rumi finished as the joint top scorer alongside Rumman Bin Wali Sabbir, when his BRTC team took part in the 1987 Federation Cup. This led to him being scouted by Dhanmondi giants Abahani Limited, and he signed for the club on 16 August 1988. During the next 3 years, Rumi went onto win the Dhaka League in 1989–90, the Federation Cup in 1988 and, also the 1990 Independence Cup where Rumi scored a brace against rivals Mohammedan in the final. Rumi also finished the 1990 league season as the leagues second top goalscorer.^{[citation needed]}

In 1991, during the BTC Clubs Cup held in Bangladesh, to aid cyclone and flood victims, Rumi scored the winner against India's East Bengal Club in the semi-final (2–1). Abahani then went onto defeat rivals Mohammedan in the final to secure the trophy. Rumi's brilliant performances with the Abahani earned him a chance to move abroad, he signed for East Bengal Club in the Calcutta Football League. He was one of three players from Bangladesh that signed for the "Red and Gold Brigade", with Monem Munna and Sheikh Aslam joining him in Kolkata in 1991.[3] He won the league title during his first year at the club, and returned to Abahani in 1993 where he was named the clubs captain.[4]

In 1996, Rumi joined fellow title challengers Muktijoddha Sangsad KC, after the gentleman's agreement between the country's three biggest clubs, Abahani, Mohammedan SC and Brothers Union, to lower the salaries of their star players. Nevertheless, Rumi returned to Abahani the following year and again won the Federation Cup in 1997, which ended up being the last trophy he won. And, the subsequent season, after suffering from continuous injuries for the past few seasons, Rumi retired in 1998, as one of the finest strikers Bangladesh ever produced.[5]

Transfer drama

In 1989, Abahani's greatest rivals, Mohammedan wanted to sign Rumi. However, their Iranian coach Nasser Hejazi who was also the coach of the Bangladesh national football team at the time, went against the club’s officials, as he did not want to sign the player without Abahani's permission. Rumi, later stated that he did not want to leave as well, as he wanted to play alongside teammate Monem Munna, who he had been playing with ever since the start of his professional career.[6]

International career

Rumi made his debut for Bangladesh during the 1988 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers. He was a member of the Bangladesh Red team which defeated South Korea University in the 1989 President's Gold Cup. He is well known for scoring a brace against India in the 1991 South Asian Games.[7][8] Rumi was named the national team captain during the 1992 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers, held in Thailand. However, his most memorable goal for the country came against Japan during the 1994 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, a game Bangladesh ended up losing 4–1.[9]

After a disappointing 1993 South Asian Games, where hosts Bangladesh were knocked out in the group stages, he retired from playing international football in 1994. Rumi's last international tournament was the Qatar Independence Cup 1994, where the Bangladesh national team was represented by Muktijoddha Sangsad KC.[10]

International goals

Scores and results list Bangladesh's goal tally first.

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	21 October 1989	Jinnah Sports Stadium, Islamabad, Pakistan	Sri Lanka	1–0	3–0	1989 South Asian Games
2.				2–0
3.	26 December 1991	Sugathadasa Stadium, Colombo, Sri Lanka	India	1–0	2–1	1991 South Asian Games
4.				2–1
5.	13 April 1993	Yokohama, Japan	Sri Lanka	1–0	1–0	1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
6.	30 April 1993	Dubai, United Arab Emirates	Japan	1–1	1–4

International goals for club

Abahani Limited Dhaka

Scores and results list Abahani Limited Dhaka goal tally first.

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	4 June 1991	Dhaka, Bangladesh	East Bengal Club	2–1	2–1	BTC Clubs Cup[11]

Personal life

After retiring from playing professional football in 1998, Rumi moved to Canada with his wife and son.[12]

Honours

Bangladesh

• South Asian Games Silver medal: 1989; Bronze medal: 1991

References

External links

• Rizvi Karim Rumi at National-Football-Teams.com

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