Samrat Hossain Emily was a Bangladeshi footballer of the 1980s. After starting his career as a striker, he moved to the role of an attacking midfielder in the 2nd half of the decade. He is among the few footballers who played with equal success for both the giants Mohammedan SC and

Abahani Limited Dhaka Abahani Limited Dhaka (), also referred as Dhaka Abahani or Abahani Limited, is a Bangladeshi professional Association football, football club based in the Dhanmondi area of Dhaka, Bangladesh. The club currently competes in the Bangladesh Pr ...

. Between 1983 and 1988-89 he won a record 6 successive league titles. He also represented the Bangladesh national team from 1982 to 1988.

Club career

Early days

A product of the

Pioneer Football League The Pioneer Football League (PFL) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference which operates in the United States. The conference participates in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I Fo ...

, Emily got his big break while playing for Dhaka First Division League club

Wari AC Wari Athletic Club () is a professional multi-sports club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. It currently competes in the CFL Premier Division. Wari formerly competed in the CFL First Division, second tier of the Calcutta Football League system. ...

in 1982. He was specially impressive in the Super League, scoring against

Abahani Krira Chakra Abahani Limited Dhaka (), also referred as Dhaka Abahani or Abahani Limited, is a Bangladeshi professional football club based in the Dhanmondi area of Dhaka, Bangladesh. The club currently competes in the Bangladesh Premier League, the top ...

in the final matchday. Thanks to his goals, Wari finished fourth in the league, their best finish of the decade.

The tug of war

The beginning of 1983 saw both the Dhaka giants Mohammedan SC and Abahani Krira Chakra engage in a tug of war for his services. At the end he joined the ''sky blues'' from

Dhanmondi Dhanmondi () is an upscale residential and commercial neighbourhood and a Thanas of Bangladesh, thana (police jurisdiction) in Dhaka, Bangladesh, known for its central location, cultural vibrancy and being home to the country's founding president, ...

. Initially there were some concerns about his success at Abahani, as the ''sky blues'' already had the legendary forward

Kazi Salahuddin Kazi Salahuddin (; born 23 September 1953) is a Bangladeshi former football player currently serving as the president of South Asian Football Federation. He previously served as the president of Bangladesh Football Federation from 2008 to 2024. ...

as their premier striker. However, Emily proved a great success in his debut season combining superbly with both Salahuddin and left winger Ashrafuddin Ahmed Chunnu. In his debut match for Abahani, against Calcutta MSC he scored a superb headed goal. He won three successive league titles with Abahani between 1983 and 85, but his contribution in the last two seasons suffered due to successive injuries. In September, 1985, he suffered a career-threatening injury while playing against the Pakistan Air Force team at the

1985–86 Asian Club Championship The 1985–86 Asian Club Championship was the fifth edition of the annual Asian club football competition hosted by the Asian Football Confederation, and was the first such tournament in 14 years. Several clubs played in the qualifying round in t ...

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. After this incident, the club decided to release him.

As a midfielder

After Abahani released him, he joined their rivals Mohammedan SC in 1986. The first season did not go well for Emily, but he played an important part in winning the league and went on to win three successive titles for them. This saw him become the only player in history to win six successive First Division League titles. With the ''Black and whites'' he played a different role, as a no 10 and also scored the only goal in the 1987 Federation Cup final against Dhaka Wanderers. Emily eventually announced retirement after the 1991–92 season due to the injury he suffered during his time with Abahani.

International career

In 1982, he made his international debut playing as an attacker for the Bangladesh Red team, which was the main Bangladesh national team during the President's Gold Cup in

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

. Emily played a similar role for the Bangladesh White team during the 1987 edition of the President's Gold Cup. The team mainly consisting of Mohammedan SC players were considered to be the main national team during the tournament. They were led by

Badal Roy Badal Roy (; born Amarendra Roy Chowdhury; 16 October 1939 – 18 January 2022) was an Indian tabla player, percussionist, and recording artist known for his work in jazz, world music, and experimental music. Biography Roy was born Amarendr ...

to the semi-finals before losing to Chinese club

Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

on penalties. During the tournament Emily found the net once, coming in a 2–2 draw against

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

, scoring a header from a Badal Roy corner in the 85th minute. He also represented Bangladesh in youth level scoring against Hong Kong U19 at the

1985 AFC Youth Championship The 1985 AFC Youth Championship was held in March, 1985 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The tournament was won by for the first time by China PR in the final tournaments in round-robin format. Qualification Qualified teams * (West Asia zon ...

qualifiers. Bangladesh won the game 2–0 with Arif Abdul Khalek scoring the other goal.

Personal life

In October 2013, Emily accused, Shamim Osman, the leader of political party

Awami League The Awami League, officially known as Bangladesh Awami League, is a major List of political parties in Bangladesh, political party in Bangladesh. The oldest existing political party in the country, the party played the leading role in achievin ...

, of physically assaulting him.

Honours

Abahani Krira Chakra * Dhaka First Division League: 1983, 1984, 1985 * Federation Cup: 1985 Mohammedan SC * Dhaka First Division League: 1986, 1987, 1988–89 * Ma-O-Moni Gold Cup: 1990 * Independence Cup: 1991 Bangladesh *

South Asian Games The South Asian Games is a quadrennial multi-sport event held among athletes from South Asia. The South Asia Olympic Council, which was formed in 1983, governs it. The Games consist of seven countries, namely Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, N ...

Silver medal:

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Emily, Samrat Hossain Bangladeshi men's footballers Living people 1966 births Bangladesh men's international footballers Bangladesh men's youth international footballers Mohammedan SC (Dhaka) players Abahani Limited Dhaka players Men's association football midfielders Men's association football forwards Footballers at the 1986 Asian Games Asian Games footballers for Bangladesh South Asian Games medalists in football South Asian Games silver medalists for Bangladesh Medalists at the 1984 South Asian Games People from Narayanganj District Footballers from Dhaka Division 20th-century Bangladeshi sportsmen