Sheikh Ghulam Rabbani (31 December 1936 – 10 December 2010), was a Pakistani professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a

right winger In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

. Rabbani represented the

Pakistan national football team The Pakistan national football team () represents Pakistan in men's international Association football, football in FIFA-authorized events and is controlled by the Pakistan Football Federation, the governing body for football in Pakistan. Paki ...

from 1954 until the 1960s, captaining the team in 1961.

Early life

Rabbani was born on 31 December 1936 in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

. He moved to

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

in the newly formed

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

following the partition.

Club career

National Football Championship

Rabbani started his career with Pakistan Mughal Football Club in 1953, and won the National Football Championship with Punjab four times. He represented

East Pakistan East Pakistan was the eastern province of Pakistan between 1955 and 1971, restructured and renamed from the province of East Bengal and covering the territory of the modern country of Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Burma, wit ...

at the 1960 edition of the Championship helping the side win their maiden title, and latter won two titles with Dacca Division in 1961 and 1962. He also won the national title with the Karachi Division in 1963 and 1965. He later played briefly for Pakistan Airlines joining the departmental side on 4 April 1963 before his eventual retirement.

Dhaka League

Dhaka Wanderers Club at the 1960 Aga Khan Gold Cup

In 1960, Rabbani joined

Dhaka Wanderers Club Dhaka Wanderers Club () is a Bangladeshi professional football club from Motijheel area of Dhaka, Bangladesh. It currently competes in the Bangladesh Premier League, the top flight of Bangladeshi football, having gained promotion from the 2023 ...

in the

Dhaka First Division Football League Dhaka Senior Division Football League (), or the First Division Football League, is the third tier football league in Bangladesh. Until 2006, it was the top-tier league of the country. It was established in 1948 as part of the Dhaka League, while ...

, where he spent three years. During his time in Dhaka, Rabbani represented

Victoria SC Victoria Sporting Club (), commonly known as Victoria SC, is a football club based in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Founded in 1903, the club competes in the Dhaka Second Division Football League, Dhaka Second Division League, the fourth tier of football i ...

as a guest player at the 1962

Aga Khan Gold Cup The Aga Khan Gold Cup was a tournament played in Dhaka, Bangladesh which invited the club sides from leading football nations of Asia to compete. Many renowned football pundits regard this competition as a predecessor of the AFC Champions League ...

International career

Rabbani was first selected for the Pakistan national team at the

1954 Asian Quadrangular Football Tournament 1954 Asian Quadrangular Football Tournament was the third edition of the Asian Quadrangular Football Tournament held in Calcutta, India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries ...

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

featuring against

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, his performances playing for the

selected him once again for the national team for the

1958 Asian Games The 1958 Asian Games, officially the Third Asian Games () and commonly known as Tokyo 1958 (), were a multi-sport event held in Tokyo, Japan, from 24 May to 1 June 1958. It was governed by the Asian Games Federation. A total of 1,820 athletes repr ...

. He featured in the

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...

and 1962 Merdeka Tournament. In the later edition under the leadership of

Muhammad Umer Muhammad Umer Baloch Tamgha-e-Imtiaz, TI FIFA Order of Merit, FIFAOM (; 1935 – 21 March 2004), alternatively spelled Mohammad Omer and popularly known as Captain Umer, was a Pakistani professional footballer who played as a Striker (association ...

, he played a key role in Pakistan finishing as runner-ups of the tournament. He captained the national team in 1961, during Burma national team tour to

with matches played 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 ...

and

Chittagong Chittagong ( ), officially Chattogram, (, ) (, or ) is the second-largest city in Bangladesh. Home to the Port of Chittagong, it is the busiest port in Bangladesh and the Bay of Bengal. The city is also the business capital of Bangladesh. It ...

Post–playing career

After his eventual retirement as player, Rabbani became member of the coaching staff of Pakistan Airlines. He is one of the key figures responsible to launch the Pakistan Airlines football team in the late 1960s, which eventually became the most successful team in the National Football Championship. Rabbani also served the

Pakistan Football Federation The Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) is the national governing body of association football in Football in Pakistan, Pakistan. It is a member of FIFA, the international governing body of Association football, football, and affiliated to the A ...

Selection Committee as a member.

Playing style

A right winger, Rabbani was praised for his speed and dribbling skills, and was often regarded as one of the fastest runners in Pakistani football. He was also praised for his ability to create space, bring the ball into the danger zone and send pin-point crosses.

Death

Rabbani died on Friday of 10 December 2010.

Career statistics

International goals

:''Scores and results list Pakistan's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Rabbani goal.''

Honours

Pakistan *

Merdeka Tournament Merdeka Tournament () is an international friendly football tournament held in Malaysia to commemorate the Independence Day. It is mainly played at Independence Stadium, in Kuala Lumpur. "Merdeka" is the Malay word for independence. As of 202 ...

runner-up:

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

Punjab * National Football Championship (4)