Monem Munna
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Mohammad Monem Munna (; 9 June 1966 – 12 February 2005) was a Bangladeshi footballer who mainly played as a
center back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...
. He is often regarded as the best defender that ever played for Bangladesh. He was well known by his nickname "The King-Back".


Early life

Munna started playing football through his school team, Narayanganj Zilla School, which became the champions in the National School Championship, where he was adjudged the best player. He then played for Sirajuddoullah Club of Narayanganj. He started his career in Dhaka through the Pioneer Division team Gulistan Club in 1981. In 1982, he moved to the second division team of Shantinagar Club.


Club career

Munna came in the limelight at first in 1982 during a match between Narayanganj and the Bangladesh national team. He joined the
Muktijoddha Sangsad KC Muktijoddha Sangsad KC () is a Bangladeshi professional football club based in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The club plays in the Bangladesh Championship League, the second level of Bangladeshi football league system, as they suffered relegation from th ...
in 1983 and became the second division champion. During these two seasons, 1984–85, Munna displayed extraordinary skill in the first division on behalf of the Muktijoddha Sangsad. In 1986 he moved to
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, ...
for one season. At that time, Abahani officials noticed him because of his great performance for the Brothers. As a result, he joined
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 ...
in 1987. In 1991, Munna received a record fee, 20 lakh taka, for Abahani, which was a unique record for the whole of South Asia at that time. He led Abahani for 1993–1995 as captain and won two consecutive titles in 1993 and 1994. During 1991 and again in 1993, Munna played for Kolkata's
East Bengal Club East Bengal Club, commonly referred to as East Bengal (), is an Indian professional multi-sports club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. It is best known for its professional men's association football, football team that competes in the Indian ...
. On both occasions East Bengal emerged champions in the Calcutta League. Monem Munna was inducted into the East Bengal Club's "Hall of Fame" for his outstanding performance. Munna later served as the manager (team leader) of Abahani. He earned the Sky Blues premier division league titles both as captain and as manager.


International career

Munna played for
Bangladesh national football team The Bangladesh national football team () is the national recognised football team of Bangladesh and is controlled by the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF). It is a member of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) since 1973 and of FIFA sin ...
from 1986 until 1997. He served as the captain of the national team three times. In 1995, under his leadership, Bangladesh won the 4-nation Tiger Trophy in Myanmar, the first-ever international trophy won by the country. Bangladesh also became runners-up in 1995 SAFF games, under his captaincy.


Personal life and health

Munna was married to Yasmin Monem Surovi. Together they had one daughter, Eusra Monem Dania and one son, Azman Salid. Munna left his football career in 1997 due to kidney complications. He died on 12 February 2005. He had had a kidney transplant in March 2000 after both his kidneys were damaged. On 9 June 2008 the Dhanmondi Road No 8 was officially renamed as the "Monem Munna Bridge" as a remembrance of Monem Munna illustrious career on his 42 birthday.


Career statistics


International goals


Honours

Abahani Limited Dhaka *
Dhaka 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 ...
: 1989–90, 1992, 1994, 1995 * Federation Cup: 1988, 1997 * Independence Cup: 1990 *
DMFA Cup The Dhaka Metropolitan Football Association Cup or DMFA Cup was an association football tournament held in Dhaka and organized by Dhaka Metropolitan League Committee under the supervision of the Bangladesh Football Federation Bangladesh Footba ...
: 1994 * Sait Nagjee Trophy: 1989 * Azmiri Begum Gold Cup: 1989 * BTC Club Cup: 1991 * Charms Cup: 1994 East Bengal Club *
Calcutta League The Calcutta Football League (CFL) is a ladder-based football competition in the Indian state of West Bengal, organised by the Indian Football Association (WB) as part of the state leagues. It is the oldest football league in Asia. The CFL ...
: 1991, 1993 Bangladesh * 4-nation Tiger Trophy: 1995 *
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:
1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...
,
1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Munna, Monem 1966 births 2005 deaths Bangladeshi men's footballers Bangladesh men's international footballers Footballers from Dhaka Abahani Limited Dhaka players East Bengal Club players Brothers Union players Muktijoddha Sangsad KC players Men's association football central defenders Footballers at the 1986 Asian Games Footballers at the 1990 Asian Games Recipients of the Bangladesh National Sports Award Asian Games footballers for Bangladesh Bangladeshi expatriate men's footballers Bangladeshi expatriate sportspeople in India Expatriate men's footballers in India South Asian Games medalists in football South Asian Games silver medalists for Bangladesh South Asian Games bronze medalists for Bangladesh Medalists at the 1989 South Asian Games Medalists at the 1995 South Asian Games People from Narayanganj District Calcutta Football League players Footballers from Dhaka Division 20th-century Bangladeshi sportsmen