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Maula Bakhsh
	Bakhsh in 1967
Personal information
Full name	Maula Bakhsh Gotai
Date of birth	1947
Place of birth	Lyari, Pakistan
Date of death	31 August 2021 (aged 73–74)
Place of death	Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
Position(s)	Forward
Senior career*
Years	Team
1960s	Karachi Port Trust
1960s	Pakistan Airlines
1960s	EPIDC
1968	Mersin İdman Yurdu
1974–?	Al-Shaab
International career
1964–1974	Pakistan
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Maula Bakhsh Gotai (Urdu: مولا بخش گوٹائی; 1947 – 31 August 2021) alternatively spelled Maula Bux,^[1] was a Pakistani professional footballer who played as a forward. Bakhsh represented the Pakistan national team from 1964 to 1974, and captained the national team in 1973. He is also one of the first and few Pakistani footballers to play professional football in Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.

Early life

Bakhsh was born in Saifi Lane, in the Lyari locality of Karachi in 1947.^[1]^[2] He started playing football at an early age for the local Saifi Sports Club.^[3] A graduate of Karachi University, Bakhsh played for several school football teams until eventually getting selected for the Karachi youth team.^[2] Most footballers in Pakistan during the early years rose through the ranks from school football.^[4]^[5]

Club career

West and East Pakistan

Bakhsh played for Karachi Port Trust and Pakistan Airlines departmental teams in the domestic setup in the 1960s. Like several notable players of West Pakistan, Bakhsh represented several clubs in East Pakistan at the Dhaka League, where he played for EPIDC.^[2]^[6]

Turkey

After making good impression with the national team in a match against Turkey at the 1967 RCD Cup,^[7] on 6 April 1968, Bakhsh along with national teammate Abdul Jabbar signed for Turkish First Football League club Mersin İdman Yurdu on a two-year contract.^[1]^[8]^[9] Bakhsh made two appearances with the team against Ankara Demirspor and Bursaspor during the 1967–68 Turkish First Football League.^[10] Both stayed at the club for six months.^[11]

Bakhsh had reportedly later claimed that both faced difficulties, and could not match the stamina and fitness required for the Turkish football team, due to the poor level played in Pakistan.^[12]

United Arab Emirates

During the 1970s, several local leagues were launched across the Middle East, where several Pakistani players represented club sides in these leagues and some of these players even coached the clubs’ new youth setups. Subsequently, Bakhsh moved to the United Arab Emirates, where he featured for Al-Shaab CSC in Sharjah in the mid-1970s, later also coaching the team.^[6]^[2]

International career

Bakhsh represented the Pakistan national football team from 1964 to 1974. Bakhsh captained the national side in 1973, when the national team toured the far east, which included several test matches against local teams and a friendly against China ending in a 4–7 defeat.^[6]

Personal life and death

After retiring from football after his last spell in Sharjah, he settled in the United Arab Emirates,^[2] where he passed away on 31 August 2021.^{[citation needed]}

Career statistics

International goals

Note: Exact figures of Pakistani players before 1989 are not yet known and yet to be researched. Below are goals recorded.

List of international goals scored by Maula Bakhsh
No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition	Ref.
1	15 November 1967	Bogyoke Aung San Stadium, Rangoon, Burma	India		1–1	1968 AFC Asian Cup qualification	^[13]
2	10 September 1969	Ankara 19 Mayıs Stadium, Ankara, Turkey	Turkey	1–0	2–4	1969 RCD Cup	^[14]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Lyari boys challenge national team for open contest". DAWN.COM. 19 June 2008. Archived from the original on 17 August 2024. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "مولابخش گوٹائی لیاری کا پیلے" [Maula Bakhsh Gotai, Lyari's Pelé]. Jasarat.com (in Urdu). 19 September 2019. Archived from the original on 12 November 2024. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
^ "گینگ وار سے پہلے" [Before the gang war]. express.pk (in Urdu). 30 January 2014. Archived from the original on 12 November 2024. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
^ "Unique Star School edge Ibrahim Ali Bhai School". thenews.com.pk. Archived from the original on 30 May 2024. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
^ "Leisure Leagues set to hold school football". thenews.com.pk. Archived from the original on 4 June 2024. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c Ahsan, Ali (23 December 2010). "A history of football in Pakistan — Part II". DAWN.COM. Archived from the original on 26 August 2024. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
^ "ورلڈ کپ فٹبال : لیاری والوں کے دل برازیل کے لیے کیوں دھڑکتے ہیں؟" [World Cup Football: Why do Lyari's hearts beat for Brazil?]. BBC News اردو (in Urdu). 27 November 2022. Archived from the original on 27 November 2022. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
^ "روزنامہ دنیا :- کھیلوں کی دنیا:-انٹرنیشنل فٹبالر عبدالجبار کراچی میں انتقال کرگئے" [International footballer Abdul Jabbar passed away in Karachi]. Roznama Dunya: روزنامہ دنیا :-. Archived from the original on 12 November 2024. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
^ "لیاری، جو کبھی یونان تھا اور اب بھی برازیل ہے – DW – 09.12.2022" [Lyari, once Greece and still Brazil]. dw.com (in Urdu). Archived from the original on 12 December 2022. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
^ "Molla Bachs". Mackolik.com. Archived from the original on 28 January 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
^ "لٹل برازیل کا فٹبال کلچر کیسے تباہ ہوا ؟" [How was the football culture of Little Brazil destroyed?]. BBC News اردو (in Urdu). 23 June 2014. Archived from the original on 12 November 2024. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
^ Shah Adil, Nadir (22 December 2014). "فٹبال ٹیم ....داستان اور کچھ عالمی حقائق" [Football team ....story and some world facts]. Archived from the original on 28 December 2014.
^ Nilanjan Datta (2013). India NT Results.
^ "TURKEY PAKISTAN - Match Details TFF". tff.org. Archived from the original on 1 September 2024. Retrieved 1 September 2024.