Dato' Mohd Mokhtar bin Dahari (13 November 1953 – 11 July 1991) was a

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

n football player from

Setapak Setapak is a mukim in Gombak District, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Formerly a tin-mining and rubber estate area, in Malay ''tapak'' means 'step' so ''Setapak'' means 'one step', probably referring to the close proximity of the suburb to Kuala Lu ...

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

, he played for F.A. Selangor for most of his life. He is considered a legendary footballer in Malaysian football history, especially with F.A. Selangor. A prolific forward, he was nicknamed Supermokh due to his playing skills and strength. He scored 89 goals in 142 full international matches for

, and helped the team reach its highest ever Elo ranking of 61 in 1977. Mokhtar is the all-time top scorer for the Malaysian national team. On 29 June 2021, FIFA acknowledged Dahari as the third top scorer of all time at international level, with a total of 89 goals. As of September 2022, his international tally is behind only

Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains the Portugal national team. He is currently a free agent. Widely regarded as one of the greatest p ...

Ali Daei Ali Daei ( fa, ; born 21 March 1969) is an Iranian football manager and former player. A striker, he was the captain of the Iranian national team between 2000 and 2006 and played in the German Bundesliga for Arminia Bielefeld, Bayern Munich ...

and

Lionel Messi Lionel Andrés Messi (; born 24 June 1987), also known as Leo Messi, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Paris Saint-Germain and captains the Argentina national team. Widely regarded as one of the ...

Early life

Born on 13 November 1953 at

, Selangor (present-day in

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

). Mokhtar was the first born son of couple Aminah Sharikan and Dahari Abeng. His father, Dahari, worked as a lorry driver but did not earn very much to support his family. His family moved to

Kampung Pandan Kampung Pandan is a village/settlement located in the Titiwangsa constituency in eastern Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, surrounded by Ampang, Maluri, Pudu and Bukit Bintang. Once a small settlement, Kampung Pandan has now grown and developed tremendousl ...

in Kuala Lumpur when Mokthar was 11 years old. Upon moving, he attended secondary school at

Victoria Institution The Victoria Institution is the oldest secondary school in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is a memorial school, so-called because it was partly funded by public subscription intended for the erection of a permanent memorial to commemorate the Golden ...

in the city and began to show interest and talent in playing football at an early age. He played for his school and later for his home state, the F.A. Selangor.

Career

Playing career

Mokhtar first played for F.A. Selangor in the Burnley Cup, which they won. He was later asked to play for the club regularly where he became the top scorer in his first season playing for F.A. Selangor. He helped the club win many tournaments, mainly the Malaysia Cup with 10 titles and scoring 177 goals altogether.Forever Supermokh - The Mokhtar File
- 12 July 1991, New Straits Times. He also played for Kelab Sultan Sulaiman, PKNS, Talasco and Kwok Yik Bank in the FAM Cup and Selangor League. In proving his loyalty for the team, he was quoted as saying: "I live and die for Selangor". Later, he was selected to play for the national team of Malaysia. He was only 19 years old when he first played for the national team in an international game, with his first game against the Sri Lanka national football team in 1972. He helped Malaysia to win bronze in the 1974 Asian Games and two gold medals in the

Southeast Asian Games The Southeast Asian Games, also known as the SEA Games, is a biennial multi-sport event involving participants from the current 11 countries of Southeast Asia. The games are under the regulation of the Southeast Asian Games Federation with sup ...

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrat ...

and

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...

respectively. He even scored both goals in the 2–0 Malaysia Selection against Arsenal F.C. match

friendly game Friendly may refer to: Places * Friendly, West Yorkshire, a settlement in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England * Friendly, Maryland, an unincorporated community in the United States * Friendly, Eugene, Oregon, a neighborhood in the United States ...

in 1975 that led to rumours that top clubs in England were interested in him. After the game, he had an offer from one of the European giants, the

Real Madrid C.F. Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally worn ...

but declined to join because of his patriotism and love for his home club of Selangor. Known for his speed and accuracy, Mokhtar was named Best Asian Striker by World Soccer magazine when he was 23 years old. Mokhtar was famous for his speed and roars of Supermokh from the crowds were common, with many of the younger generation idolising him with some trying to imitate his moves on the field. Mokhtar once scored a goal for Malaysia from the halfway line beating

Joe Corrigan Joseph Thomas Corrigan (born 18 November 1948) is an English former professional association football, footballer who played as a goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper in the Football League for Manchester City F.C., Manchester City, Br ...

with an incredible shot in a 1–1 draw against England B in 1978, dribbling past half of the opposing team coached by

Bobby Robson Sir Robert William Robson (18 February 1933 – 31 July 2009) was an English footballer and football manager. His career included periods playing for and later managing the England national team and being a UEFA Cup-winning manager at Ipswich ...

. Also memorable was when Gordon Hill praised Mokhtar as "Hero Dahari" in Shoot! magazine in his column after the England B tour in 1978.

Coaching career

After Mokhtar started having injury problems, he became a local coach to help the younger generation become better footballers. One of his trainees was a young Roshan Thiran, future Co-founder and CEO of Leaderonomics, who regularly speaks on his experiences playing under Mokhtar. Mokhtar asked his former F.A. Selangor partner, Reduan Abdullah to write a book about his life and his career. Mokhtar also coached for F.A. Selangor at times. After his retirement, he became a player-coach for Kwong Yik Bank.

Retirement

Mokhtar Dahari retired in May 1986 after winning the Malaysia Cup for F.A. Selangor. After the award giving ceremony, Mokhtar went to the club's president and proceeded to give him his number 10 jersey, telling the president to let the club keep the jersey for him. He came out of retirement in January 1987 to play one more season for F.A. Selangor.

Personal life

Before becoming a professional footballer, he played other sports such as

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players p ...

sepak takraw Sepak takraw, or Sepaktakraw, also called kick volleyball, is a team sport played with a ball made of rattan or synthetic plastic between two teams of two to four players on a court resembling a badminton court. It is similar to volleyball and ...

, and

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

. Mokhtar worked for PKNS in the afternoon and played football in the evening. He earned little during his time with PKNS. He later quit PKNS and worked for Kwong Yik Bank to gain better prospects for himself and his family. Mokhtar met Tengku Zarina Tengku Ibrahim through friends. After knowing her for 10 years, they finally got married on 24 February 1979. He then became the father of three children: Nur Azera (the eldest daughter), Mohd Reza (the eldest son) and Nur Arina (the youngest daughter).

Illness and death

Mokhtar began having throat problems and went to the hospital to find out what the problem was. Doctors diagnosed him as having

motor neurone disease Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or Lou Gehrig's disease, is a neurodegenerative disease that results in the progressive loss of motor neurons that control voluntary muscles. ALS is the most commo ...

(MND) with the discovery only being told to him and his wife. He then went to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

with his wife in an attempt to cure his condition. After three years battling the disease and his condition worsening, Mokhtar died at the Subang Jaya Medical Centre (SJMC) on 11 July 1991. The press reported Mokhtar's suffering from muscular dystrophy as the cause of his death. His body was laid to rest at Taman Keramat Permai Muslim Cemetery in Taman Keramat, Ampang, Selangor. His life journey and the real cause of death was only revealed for the first time in a documentary called "''The Untold Truth About Supermokh''" in the National Geographic Channel on 30 August 2010, about 19 years after his death.

Honours

Club

;F.A. Selangor * First Division (1): :: Champion: 1984 * Malaysia Cup (10): :: Winner: 1972, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1986 * Charity Cup (Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Cup) (2): :: Winner: 1985, 1987

International

* Pestabola Merdeka ::Winners:

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...

, 1974,

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...

* King's Cup ::Winners:

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...

, 1978 *

SEA Games The Southeast Asian Games, also known as the SEA Games, is a biennial multi-sport event involving participants from the current 11 countries of Southeast Asia. The games are under the regulation of the Southeast Asian Games Federation with supe ...

::Winners:

::Runners-up:

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

* Asian Games ::Bronze Medal: 1974

Individual

* National Sportsman Award 1976 * World Soccer: The Best Asian Striker 1976 * AFC Asian All Stars: 1982 * AFC Century Club 1999 *

IFFHS The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) is an organisation that chronicles the history and records of association football. It was founded in 1984 by Alfredo Pöge in Leipzig. The IFFHS was based in Abu Dhabi for so ...

Men Best Malaysian Players of the Century (1901-2000) *

Men's All Time Malaysia Dream Team: 2022 * OCM Hall of Fame: 2004 * Ex-State & Ex-National Footballers Association of Malaysia Honour: 2011 *'' FourFourTwo's'' Top 25 Malaysian Players of All Time (1st Place): 2014 * Goal.com The best Malaysia XI of all time: 2020

Records

Selangor Selangor (; ), also known by its Arabic language, Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 Malaysian states. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east ...

all-time top scorer: 177 goals * Malaysia national football team all-time top scorer: 89 goals *

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...

all-time top scorer for men's national teams: 89 goals * Asia-Pacific all-time top scorer for men's national teams: 89 goals * 20th century all-time top scorer for men's national teams (1901-2000): 89 goals * Former all-time top scorer for men's national teams between 27 October 1980 until 16 June 2004 after surpassing Ferenc Puskás 84 goals. * Former Asian all-time top scorer for men's national teams between 2 May 1979 until 16 June 2004 after surpassing

Kunishige Kamamoto is a former Japanese football player, manager and politician. He won the bronze medal with the Japan national team at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, finishing as the tournament's top scorer with seven goals, and is the all-time leadi ...

75 goals.

Orders

* : ** Member of the

Order of the Defender of the Realm The Most Esteemed Order of the Defender of the Realm ( ms, Darjah Yang Mulia Pangkuan Negara) is a Malaysian federal award presented for meritorious service to the country. The Order Motto are 'Dipeliharakan Allah-Pangkuan Negara' (By the Grace ...

(A.M.N.) (1977) * : ** MY-PAH Order of the Crown of Pahang - Knight Companion - DIMP

Knight Companion of the

Order of the Crown of Pahang The Esteemed Order of the Crown of Pahang ( Malay: '' Darjah Kebesaran Mahkota Pahang Yang Amat Mulia'') is a knighthood order of the Sultanate of Pahang. History The order was founded by Sultan Abu Bakar on 27 December 1968. It is awarded ...

(D.I.M.P.) - Dato' (2000-posthumously) * : ** MY-SEL_Meritorious_Service_Medal_-_PJK

Recipient of the Meritorious Service Medal (P.J.K.) (1977) ** MY-SEL Order of Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah - Knight Companion - DSSA

Knight Companion of the

Order of Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

(D.S.S.A.) - Dato' (2001-posthumously)

Career statistics

International goals

During his international career, Mokhtar scored a total of 125 goals in 167 appearances for Malaysia (including matches played against club sides, national 'B' teams and selection teams). Against other nations' national 'A' teams, he scored 89 goals in 142 appearances. This made him once the world's top scorer for men's national teams.

Malaysia

:''Scores and results list Malaysia's goal tally first.''

Filmography

Legacy

Several places and honours were named after him, including: * The Mokhtar Dahari Community Square (''Dataran Komuniti Mokhtar Dahari''), a community hall located at

, Kuala Lumpur was named after him where Mokhtar used to stay, occasionally playing football there. * There is a

futsal Futsal is a football-based game played on a hard court smaller than a football pitch, and mainly indoors. It has similarities to five-a-side football and indoor football. Futsal is played between two teams of five players each, one of whom is ...

court called Gelanggang Mokhtar Dahari ''(Moktar Dahari Futsal Court)'' located at Putrajaya Futsal Complex in Putrajaya. * There is a national football academy was named after him, Mokhtar Dahari National Football Academy (''Akademi Bola Sepak Negara Mokhtar Dahari'') located at Gambang, Pahang was established on 10 April 2014. * The Shah Alam-Batu Arang Highway which connecting

Shah Alam Shah Alam () is a city and the state capital of Selangor, Malaysia and situated within the Petaling District and a small portion of the neighbouring Klang District. Shah Alam replaced Kuala Lumpur as the capital city of the state of Selangor ...

and

Puncak Alam Puncak Alam is a township in Kuala Selangor District, Selangor, Malaysia. Background Previously developed from a palm estate holding of Felda (Federal Land Development Authority) within the locale of Bukit Cherakah, this township started its init ...

was renamed Persiaran Mokhtar Dahari in 2014. * In 2014,

Google Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...

celebrates his 61st birthday. There is also a theatre showcase his legendary football career in

Istana Budaya The ''Istana Budaya'' or also known as the ''Palace of Culture'', is Malaysia's main venue for all types of theatre including musical theatre, operetta, classical concerts and opera from local and international performances. It is located in he ...

called "Super Mokh" portrayed by Malaysian actor named

Awie Ahmad Azhar bin Othman (born 24 November 1968), better known by his stage name Awie, is a Malaysian singer, musician, and actor. Awie is considered one of the greatest Malaysian vocalist of all time. Born in Datuk Keramat, Kuala Lumpur, Awi ...

Footnotes

References

Bibliography

* ''Mokhtar Dahari Wira Bolasepak Negara''. Zabidi Ismail. (in Malay).

Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka ( en, Institute of Language and Literature, Jawi: ديوان بهاس دان ڤوستاک), abbreviated DBP, is the government body responsible for coordinating the use of the Malay language and Malay-language litera ...

(1999). * ''Mokhtar Dahari: Legenda Bola Sepak Malaysia''. Zinnitulniza Abdul Kadir. (in Malay). Institute of Translation & Books of Malaysia (2013).

External links

* *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mokhtar Dahari 1953 births 1991 deaths Deaths from motor neuron disease Neurological disease deaths in Malaysia Malaysian footballers 1976 AFC Asian Cup players Malaysia international footballers Malaysian people of Malay descent Malaysian Muslims People from Selangor Selangor FA players Association football forwards Asian Games bronze medalists for Malaysia Asian Games medalists in football Southeast Asian Games gold medalists for Malaysia Southeast Asian Games silver medalists for Malaysia Southeast Asian Games medalists in football Southeast Asian Games bronze medalists for Malaysia Members of the Order of the Defender of the Realm Footballers at the 1974 Asian Games Medalists at the 1974 Asian Games Competitors at the 1973 Southeast Asian Peninsular Games FIFA Century Club