Ahsanullah Montu (; 7 February 1962 – 26 June 2018) was a Bangladeshi

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player and coach. He represented the Bangladesh national team from 1986 to 1989, and spent most of his club career playing for Mohammedan SC.

Club career

In 1981, Montu began his career in the Dhaka First Division League with

Farashganj SC Farashganj Sporting Club commonly known as ''Farashganj SC'' is an association football club based in Farashganj, Dhaka, Bangladesh. It will compete in the Dhaka Senior Division League following relegation from the 2023–24 Bangladesh Champi ...

. He also had short stints with

Brothers Union Brothers Union () is a professional association football, football club based in Gopibagh, Dhaka, Bangladesh. It currently competes in the Bangladesh Premier League (football), Bangladesh Premier League, the top flight of Football in Bangladesh, ...

and

Sadharan Bima CSC Sadharan Bima CSC () is a Bangladeshi football club based in Dhaka. It currently competes in the Dhaka Senior Division League, the third-tier of Bangladeshi football. History Founded in 1973 by employees of Sadharan Bima Corporation as a recreat ...

. In 1986, Montu joined Mohammedan SC and under the coaching of Iran's

Nasser Hejazi Nasser Hejazi (Persian: ناصر حجازی, ''nāser hejāzi''; 14 December 1949 – 23 May 2011), nicknamed "the legendary Iranian goalkeeper", was an Iranian football player and coach who most notably played for Esteghlal (Taj). Considered ...

, Montu established himself as one of the best defenders in the country with the Black and Whites. He won the league title in 1986, 1987, 1988–89 and 1993. In 1988, he played for Mohammedan in India's Sait Nagjee Trophy. On 7 October 1988, Montu scored the equaliser in a 2–2 draw against Qatar's

Al-Sadd Al Sadd Sports Club () is a Qatari sports club based in the Al Sadd district of the capital city Doha. It is best known for its association football team, which competes in the top level of Qatari football, the Qatar Stars League. Locally, it i ...

, in the semi-final group round of the

1988–89 Asian Club Championship The 1988–89 Asian Club Championship was the 8th edition of the annual Asian club football competition hosted by Asian Football Confederation. Al-Sadd of Qatar won the final and became Asian champions for the first time. Qualifying Group rou ...

. After a long absence from football, he officially retired after playing fifteen minutes in the first half for Prantik KC against Mohammedan in the Federation Cup on 19 August 2000.

International career

He got a place in the Bangladesh U19 team while playing for

in 1984. The following year, he represented Bangladesh Green team in the 1986 President's Gold Cup. In the same year, he was part of the Mohammedan team which played as Bangladesh in the Nepal Panchayat Silver Jubilee Cup. He also represented the Bangladesh Red team in the 1987 and 1989 editions of the President's Gold Cup. He also played in the qualifiers for the

1990 FIFA World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second ...

and

1988 AFC Asian Cup The 1988 AFC Asian Cup was the 9th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international association football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were held in Qatar between 2 December and 18 Decembe ...

Coaching career

In 2014, Montu served as the head coach of the Bangladesh U12 team which participated in the U-12 Super Mokh Cup held in

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

. He also worked as a football trainer at the

Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protishtan Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protishtan (BKSP) (, Bangladesh Institute of Sports Education) is the national sports institute of Bangladesh. It is residential and is located at Savar Upazila, Savar, about north-west of the capital, Dhaka, and about ...

(BKSP).

Death

On 26 June 2018, Montu passed away after suffering a

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest (also known as sudden cardiac arrest CA is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. When the heart stops beating, blood cannot properly Circulatory system, circulate around the body and the blood flow to the ...

Honours

Mohammedan SC * Dhaka First Division/ Premier Division League: 1986, 1987, 1988–89,

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

* Federation Cup: 1987, 1989 * Ma-O-Moni Gold Cup: 1990

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Montu, Ahsanullah 1962 births 2018 deaths Bangladeshi men's footballers Bangladesh men's international footballers Bangladesh men's youth international footballers People from Brahmanbaria district Men's association football defenders Mohammedan SC (Dhaka) players Brothers Union players Farashganj SC players Bangladeshi football coaches Footballers from Chittagong Division 20th-century Bangladeshi sportsmen