Amir Jang Ghaznavi

Amir Jang Ghaznavi
	Post-retirement portrait of Ghaznavi
Personal information
Full name	Abu Anwar Mohammed Amir Jang Ghaznavi
Date of birth	17 June 1933
Place of birth	Bhola, Bengal (present-day Bangladesh)
Date of death	22 August 1995 (aged 62)
Place of death	Los Angeles, United States
Position(s)	Full-back
Senior career*
Years	Team
1952–1954	Wari Club
1954–1956	Dhaka Wanderers
1956–1963	Dhaka Mohammedan
1956	George Telegraph
1957	Kolkata Mohammedan
International career
1955–1959	East Pakistan
1958	Pakistan
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Amir Jang Ghaznavi (Bengali: আমীর জাং গজনবী; 1933 June 17 – 22 August 1995) was a former Bangladeshi footballer and sports organizer.

Early life

Amir Jang Ghaznavi was born on 17 June 1933, in Daulatkhan Thana of Bhola District, Bengal.^[1]

Club career

Early career

Ghaznavi enrolled in the junior commission of the East Pakistan Army while studying in ninth grade at Daulatkhandi High School. In 1949, he represented the Army team in the Ronald Shield in Dhaka. In 1952, he joined Wari Club in the Dhaka League, where he remained for the next two seasons. In 1954, Ghaznavi joined East Pakistan's strongest club, Dhaka Wanderers Club, and won the league title for consecutive years, while in 1955, he represented the club in the IFA Shield held in Calcutta, India.^[2] In 1956, he played six games for George Telegraph SC as a guest player in the latter stages of the Calcutta League, helping the club escape relegation. Prior to that, a fallout with Dhaka Wanderers officials saw many top players depart the club alongside him.^[3]

Dhaka Mohammedan

In 1956, Ghaznavi along with numerous teammates from Dhaka Wanderers, including Fazlur Ragman Arzoo, Ashraf Chowdhury and Kabir Ahmed joined mid-table team Dhaka Mohammedan. In his second season at the club, in 1957, Mohammedan won its first Dhaka League title. In the same year, Ghaznavi again participated in the Calcutta League, this time representing Kolkata Mohammedan.^[1]

In 1959, Ghaznavi played a pivotal role as Dhaka Mohammedan won the treble, remaining unbeaten champions in the Dhaka League, Ronald Shield and the Aga Khan Gold Cup. However, in 1960, during an Aga Khan Gold Cup match against Karachi Mughals Club, Ghaznavi was involved in a brawl after being subjected to rough challenges. This led to the abandonment of the game and the suspension of five players from Mohammedan by the East Pakistan Sports Association. Ghaznavi, who was initially handed a five-year suspension,^[4] had his punishment reduced. However, he played fewer games thereafter before retiring in 1963.^[1]

International career

Ghaznavi first represented East Pakistan during the 1955 National Football Championship held in Bahawalpur.^[3]

In 1957, he was part of the runners-up East Pakistan White team that lost the National Championship final, held on home soil in Dacca, 2–1 to Punjab. The team, captained by Chinghla Mong Chowdhury Mari, was heavily applauded, although the region would win its first National Championship in 1960, which Ghaznavi missed due to suspension. Ghaznavi's final appearance for the team came during the 1959 edition in Hyderabad, during which the team once again finished as runners-up.^[5]

In 1958, Ghaznavi, although not selected in the initial squad for the 1958 Tokyo Asian Games, was contacted through a telegram and flown to Tokyo on a private plane to join the Pakistan national team.^[6] The team consisted a record six Bengali players including captain Nabi Chowdhury.^[7]^[8] Pakistan tied the first game 1–1 with South Vietnam and lost its final game 1–3 to the Republic of China.^[9]

Organizing career

In the early 60s, during which Victoria Sporting Club dominated Dhaka football, Ghaznavi took on the role of coach, team manager and organizer of Dhaka Mohammedan upon the request of the club's president at the time, Moinul Islam.^[1]

As the club's organizer, Ghaznavi brought in players from West Pakistan, notably central defender Turab Ali from Karachi Port Trust and Pakistan's national captain, Qayyum Changezi. He also had an eye for local talents. Assisted by former teammate Kabir Ahmed, Ghaznavi brought in a 16-year-old, Balai Dey from Khulna in 1962, and Victoria's winger Bashir Ahmed, helping the club clinch the title in 1963.^[10] The Black and Whites continued their dominance in the league, becoming champions in 1965, 1966, and 1969.^[1]^[11] In 1966, he acted as the team manager during Mohammedan's Mohammad Ali Bogra Shield triumph.^[3]

In the late 60s, he brought in Bengali forward Golam Sarwar Tipu and Hafizuddin Ahmed to Mohammedan. Both players helped the club win the 1968 Aga Khan Gold Cup and the 1969 league title as unbeaten champions and later represented the Pakistan national football team.^[12]^[13]

It would be wrong to say he (Ghaznavi) was only a coach, he was Mohammedan's heart
— Moinuddin Ahmed, former Dhaka Mohammedan player.^[14]

Following the Independence of Bangladesh, Ghaznavi served in the Bangladesh Football Federation from 1972 to 1979. He was part of the committee which selected the first Bangladesh national football team in 1973.^[3] In 1980, Ghaznavi brought Azad Sporting Club forward Abdus Salam Murshedy to Mohammedan, who would repay his faith by scoring a record 27 league goals in 1982, as Mohammedan won its fifth league title after the country's independence. In the same year, they would become the first Bangladeshi club to win a title on foreign soil, clinching the Ashish Jabbar football tournament in Durgapur, India.^[15]

Personal life

Ghaznavi died on 22 August 1995 while undergoing treatment for hepatitis for four years in Los Angeles, US. He is buried in Banani graveyard in Dhaka, Bangladesh.^[1]^[3]

Honours

Dhaka Wanderers

Dhaka League: 1954, 1955
Pakistan Day Football Tournament: 1955

Dhaka Mohammedan

Dhaka League: 1957, 1959, 1961, 1963
Independence Day Cup: 1958, 1960, 1961, 1963
Aga Khan Gold Cup: 1959
Ronald Shield: 1959

East Pakistan White

National Football Championship runner-up: 1957

East Pakistan

National Football Championship runner-up: 1959

Individual

1996 − National Sports Awards.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Tipu, Shah Mateen (23 August 2020). "ভোলার কিংবদন্তি ফুটবলার গজনবীর কথা" [About Bhola's legendary footballer Ghaznavi]. bdmetronews24.com (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 8 June 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
^ Alam, Masud (18 October 2020). টানা ৬ লিগজয়ী ওয়ান্ডারার্সের বর্তমানটা লজ্জার [The Wanderers, who recorded 6 league wins in a row, are now in shame]. Prothom Alo (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 14 March 2024. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Dulal, Mahmud (2014). পাকিস্তান জাতীয় দল বাঙালি খেলোয়াড় (transl. Bengali players in the Pakistan national team) (in Bengali). Bishhoshahitto Bhobon.
^ "Civil & Military Gazette (Lahore) - Wednesday 05 October 1960". p. 8. Retrieved 20 September 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ "Organisers wake up". The Daily Star. 13 February 2006. Archived from the original on 8 August 2023. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
^ "Civil & Military Gazette (Lahore) - Tuesday 20 May 1958". p. 14. Retrieved 20 September 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
^ এশিয়ান গেমস অনেক দূরে চলে গেছে [The Asian Games going far away]. Kaler Kantho (in Bengali). 19 September 2014. Archived from the original on 13 February 2023. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
^ এশিয়ান গেমস হোক সাফের প্রস্তুতি [Asian Games should be preparation for SAFF]. Kaler Kantho (in Bengali). 2 August 2018. Archived from the original on 28 November 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
^ বাঙালির ফুটবল-সাফল্য এখন কেবলই স্মৃতি. U71news (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 6 April 2022. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
^ "ভারত-পাকিস্তানের জার্সি গায়ে মাঠে নেমেছিলেন বলাই দে" [Balai Dey, who played for both the India and Pakistan] (in Bengali). ETV Network. 16 June 2019. Archived from the original on 4 April 2022. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
^ ফুটবলের জন্যই এক জীবনে এত সম্মান [It is because of football that I have received so much honor in life]. Kaler Kantho (in Bengali). 17 October 2014. Archived from the original on 8 December 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
^ বড় মনের বরেণ্য ফুটবলার টিপু [Tipu is an elite footballer with a big heart]. Janakantha (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 8 August 2023.
^ শুধু ফুটবল খেললে আমার ধারেকাছে কেউ থাকত না [If I only played football, there would be no one near me]. Kaler Kantho (in Bengali). 16 June 2016. Archived from the original on 28 October 2022. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
^ ‘চোখের সামনে ফুটবল ধ্বংস হয়ে গেল’ [Football destroyed before our eyes]. Jugantor (in Bengali). 15 May 2020. Archived from the original on 15 March 2024. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
^ আমার অর্থ অর্জন সম্মান সব কিছুর মূলে ফুটবল [All my money and respect are because of football]. Kaler Kantho (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 29 December 2022. Retrieved 28 August 2018.

Bibliography

Dulal, Mahmud (2014). পাকিস্তান জাতীয় দল বাঙালি খেলোয়াড় (transl. Bengali players in the Pakistan national team) (in Bengali). Bishhoshahitto Bhobon.
Dulal, Mahmud (2020). খেলার মাঠে মুক্তিযুদ্ধ (transl. Liberation war in the playground) (in Bengali). Bishhoshahitto Bhobon. ISBN 978-984-8218-31-0.
Alam, Masud (2017). ফুটবলের গল্প ফুটবলারদের গল্প (transl. The story of football the story of footballers) (in Bengali). Bishhoshahitto Bhobon. ISBN 9789849134688.