sport.wikisort.org - Athlete

Syed Abdus Samad (Bengali: সৈয়দ আবদুস সামাদ; c. 1895 – 2 February 1964) was a Bengali British Indian football player from Bengal.[1] Dubbed Football Jadukor (Football Magician), he played for India national football team in 1924 and captained it in 1926.[2] He played as a forward. Samad's football career lasted from 1915–1938.[2] Government of Bangladesh launched a postage stamp series in his memory.[3]

Syed Abdus Samad

Samad in an undated photograph
Personal information
Date of birth	c. 1895
Place of birth	Purnia, Bihar, Bengal Presidency, British India
Date of death	2 February 1964(1964-02-02) (aged 68–69)
Place of death	Parbatipur, Dinajpur, East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh)
Position(s)	Forward
Youth career
–	Purnia Junior Football Club
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1912–1915	Calcutta Main Town Club
1915–1920	Tajhat Football Club
1918–1918	Calcutta Orients Club
1921–1930	East Bengal Railway Team
1933–1938	Mohammedan Sporting Club
National team
1924–1934	India
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Early life

Samad was born in 1895 in Purnia of Bihar in British India. He left school during his studies in the eighth grade.[2] Samad displayed his talents in football from his early boyhood.[2]

Career

Samad first drew attention of the football club managers of Calcutta when he played for the Purnia Junior Football Club. He joined the Calcutta Main Town Club in 1912. During 1915–1920, he played for Tajhat Football Club of Rangpur. Dukhiram Majumdar was one of founding members of Aryan Club in 1888, was responsible for bringing up players like Samad.[4][5] Samad also too first football training from him.[6]

In 1916, Samad played in a match against Somerset Football Team of England. He played for Calcutta Orients Club in 1918 and for the East Bengal Railway Team during 1921–1930. Samad scored the most memorable trophy-winning goal of his career in 1927 against the Sherwood Forestry Team patronised by the Chief of the British Indian Army Lieutenant General Sherwood Mall.[2]

As a member of Indian national team, he toured Burma, Ceylon, Hong Kong, China, Java, Sumatra, Malay, Borneo, Singapore and Britain. In a match played against China in Peking, he played as a substitute player in the second half and scored four goals in a row to give his side a 4–3 victory after trailing 0–3 in the first half.[7]

At the age of 38, he joined the Mohammedan Sporting Club and played in during 1933–1938, club's "golden age".[8][2] In 1933, Mohammedan qualified for the first division of Calcutta Football League for the first time in its history. Mohammedan became the first native club to capture the Calcutta Football League title in 1934,[9][10][11][12] in their very first year in top division which was a rare feat.[13][14] The club became Senior Division champion five years in a row from 1934 to 1938.[15][16] In 1936, Sporting became the second Indian club to win IFA Shield.[17]

After the partition of India in 1947, Samad settled in Parbatipur Upazila of Dinajpur in East Pakistan. He was employed at the Pakistan Eastern Railway. In 1957, he became a coach of National Sports Council Board. He was the recipient of the President's Award in 1962.[2]

Personal life and legacy

Samad had a son named Golam Hossain. Together they played for Railway Team in 1944.[2][18] He died on 2 February 1964 in Parbatipur. East Pakistan (later Bangladesh) Government released a postal stamp commemorating him in 1969.[19] Bangladesh Football Federation organizes the annual "Jadukar Samad Smriti Football Tournament".[2]

Honours

Mohammedan Sporting[20]

• Calcutta Football League: 1934, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1938
• IFA Shield: 1936

See also

• History of Indian football
• Football in Bangladesh

Bibliography

• Kapadia, Novy (2017). Barefoot to Boots: The Many Lives of Indian Football. Penguin Random House. ISBN 978-0-143-42641-7.
• Martinez, Dolores; Mukharjiim, Projit B (2009). Football: From England to the World: The Many Lives of Indian Football. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-138-88353-6. Archived from the original on 2 July 2022.
• Dutta, P. L., Memoir of 'Father of Indian Football' Nagendraprasad Sarbadhikary (Calcutta: N. P. Sarbadhikary Memorial Committee, 1944) (hereafter Memoir)
• Ghosh, Saurindra Kumar. Krira Samrat Nagendraprasad Sarbadhikary 1869–1940 (Calcutta: N. P. Sarbadhikary Memorial Committee, 1963) (hereafter Krira Samrat).
• Nath, Nirmal (2011). History of Indian Football: Upto 2009–10. Readers Service. ISBN 9788187891963. Archived from the original on 22 July 2022.
• Dineo, Paul; Mills, James (2001). Soccer in South Asia: Empire, Nation, Diaspora. London, United Kingdom: Frank Cass Publishers. ISBN 978-0-7146-8170-2. Archived from the original on 25 July 2022.
• "Triumphs and Disasters: The Story of Indian Football, 1889—2000" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 August 2012. Retrieved 20 October 2011.

References

External links

• "Syed Abdus Samad". Banglapedia. Archived from the original on 7 April 2022.

---