Muhammad Adil Iqbal ( ur, ; born 9 July 1992) is a Pakistani

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 le ...

who plays as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for

Lyallpur FC Lyallpur Football Club is a Pakistani professional football club based in Faisalabad, Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historica ...

of Pakistan Premier League and the Pakistan national team. A right-footed player, he usually plays as

central midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. Earlier in his career he primarily played as a wide midfielder. Adil is known for his dribbling skills, speed, crossing ability and his accurate right foot long-range shots from the centre of midfield. Adil first came to prominence with

Pak Elektron Pak Elektron Limited (PEL) () is a Pakistani engineering corporation which manufactures major home appliances and electrical equipment. PEL operates in two segments - power and appliances. The former includes manufacturing of transformers, grid ...

, signing a professional contract for the club at the age of 18 - scoring six goals in 25 appearances in his first

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

. The following season he signed for Khan Research Laboratories, where he went on to win three Pakistan Premier League titles, two

Challenge Cup The Challenge Cup is a knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, with the exception of 1915–1919 and 1939–1940, due to World War I and World War II respectively. It involves am ...

titles and finishing runners-up in

2013 AFC President's Cup The 2013 AFC President's Cup was the ninth edition of the AFC President's Cup, a football competition organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for clubs from "emerging countries" in Asia. Istiqlol were the defending champions, but did n ...

.Schedule and Results, 2013 AFC President's Cup
''The-AFC.com''. Retrieved July 12th 2013. Three years later Adil's signature was pursued by a leading Kyrgyzstani club, and after protracted transfer negotiations he joined Dordoi Bishkek in 2014. Adil played a major role in helping the team win a

treble Treble may refer to: In music: *Treble (sound), tones of high frequency or range, the counterpart of bass *Treble voice, a choirboy or choirgirl singing in the soprano range *Treble (musical group), a three-piece girl group from the Netherlands *T ...

; the league title, league cup and

super cup A super cup is a competition, usually but not exclusively in association football, which often forms the 'curtain raiser' to a season, and typically involves only two teams who have qualified through success in other competitions during the prev ...

, scoring four goals and making six assists in the league. Adil received his first international cap in a 2–1 defeat against

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

Career

Pak Elektron & KRL

Early years

placed Adil in their first team for the 2010 season, signing his first professional contract at the age of 18. Adil went on to score six goals in 25 appearances, making a lot of assists, in all competitions. His performances and record made Khan Research Laboratories, the runners-up of the league, caught their attention to sign him permanently. The following season, Adil won the Pakistan Premier League with Khan Research Laboratories in

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

as KRL set a Pakistan Premier League record scoring the most points in a season in the Pakistan Premier League with 77 points. Adil also won the

with KRL (1–0) against rivals

K-Electric Electric (KE) ( ur, ) (formerly known as Karachi Electric Supply Company / Karachi Electric Supply Corporation Limited) is a Pakistani investor-owned utility company based in Karachi. K-Electric is a privately owned and vertically-integrated e ...

in 2011. Later, Adil went on to make his debut AFC President's Cup on 8 May 2012 in a 0–0 draw against

Erchim Khaan Khuns - Erchim FC ( mn, "Хаан Хүнс-Эрчим" Хөлбөмбөгийн Клуб) is a professional football club from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia who have been playing in the Mongolian Premier League, which they have won ten times,

from

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

2012–2013 season

During the 2012 season, Adil played an important in the first-team under then manager

Tariq Lutfi Umar Farooq Tariq Lutfi (born 20 September 1951) is a Pakistani coach and former player. He is the manager of Sui Southern Gas. He played his entire career at Pakistan Airlines. He was also the caretaker manager of the Pakistan national footbal ...

, who replaced Sajjad Mahmood the previous season; Adil established himself as a key player in the midfield and guided the team to clinch a historic

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * Th ...

; winning the league title, the domestic cup and qualified for the AFC President's Cup for the following season – finishing runners-up in the competition losing (1–0) to

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...

Balkan The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

. Adil scored his first goal in the continental competition in the 77th minute in a 2–0 group stage victory over

Philippine The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

's Global and later scoring the second goal in a 2–0 win over

Hilal Al-Quds Hilal Al-Quds Club ( ar, نادي هلال القدس) is a Palestinian sports, cultural, social, scouting, artistic and youth club. It is a club that has many sports activities, one of which is football . It is considered one of the oldest clubs ...

from

in the final group stage. He helped KRL to reach the final, which they eventually lost. In 2013 season, Adil won his third and last league title with the

Rawalpindi Rawalpindi ( or ; Urdu, ) is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad, and third largest in Punjab after Lahore and Faisalabad. Rawalpindi is next to Pakistan's ...

side. During his three years stint at Khan Research Laboratories, Adil scored a total of 24 goals in 65 matches in all competitions before signing for

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the east. ...

i club FC Dordoi Bishkek, managed by former Pakistan national team coach

Zaviša Milosavljević Zaviša Milosavljević (Serbian Cyrillic alphabet, Serbian Cyrillic: Завиша Милосављевић; born 14 July 1961) is a Serbian association football, football Manager (association football), manager. Milosavljević was a professor of ...

, in 2014.

Dordoi Bishkek

Adil completed his move to FC Dordoi Bishkek in 2014, joining his former club and Pakistan national team player Kaleemullah Khan, after successful performances in

, on an initial one-year contract. Since his arrival in Dordoi, he has helped the club win their pre-season tour

friendly 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 * ...

matches in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. He played a major role in helping the team win a

; the league title, league cup and

, scoring four goals and six assists in 13 appearances in the

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

. Adil made his

AFC Cup The AFC Cup is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). Under its current rules, the competition is played primarily between clubs from nations that did not receive direct qualifying s ...

debut on 9 February 2015 in a 1–0 defeat against

side Ahal in the preliminary round. In an interview with Dawn News, it was reported that Adil has got an offer from football club of

Eerste Divisie The Eerste Divisie (, en, First Division) is the second-highest tier of football in the Netherlands. It is linked with the top-level Eredivisie and with the third-level Tweede Divisie via promotion/relegation systems. It is also known as the ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and that "he will travel to Netherlands in May 2015 to attend the trial to show them his skills". He was later offered a two-year contract by Championship side Derby County after he impressed the manager

Paul Clement Paul Drew Clement (born June 24, 1966) is an American lawyer who served as U.S. Solicitor General from 2004 to 2008 and is known for his advocacy before the U.S. Supreme Court. He established his own law firm, Clement & Murphy, in 2022 after le ...

with his performances for Dordoi Bishkek, but by then he had already signed a contract extension with the Kyrgyz side, effectively ending his chances of playing in the English second-tier till January at least. In 2016, he was reported to have undergone a three-week trial for the Maltese Premier League side Pembroke Athleta, after refusing to further extend his contract with Dordoi Bishkek.

KRL

After successfully completing the trial for Pembroke Athleta, the move to the club was put on hold due to visa hurdles. In the meantime, Adil reported to train with former side KRL. After the move failed to materialise, he stayed with KRL, winning the

2016 Pakistan Football Federation Cup The 2016 National Football Challenge Cup or 2016 Pakistan Football Federation Cup was the 26th season of domestic cup tournament in Pakistani football. 24 teams took part in this competition from 28 January 2016 to 22 February 2016, which took p ...

Hawkesbury City

In wake of the crisis of the Pakistan Football Federation in 2017, Adil signed for Australian club

Hawkesbury City FC Hawkesbury City, is a semi-professional soccer club, based and located in the Hawkesbury area of New South Wales. In season 2023, they are set to compete in the NSW League Two The NSW League Two Men is an Australian semi-professional associ ...

in the

NSW League Two The NSW League Two Men is an Australian semi-professional association football league comprising teams from New South Wales. The league sits at Level 3 on the New South Wales league system (Level 4 of the overall Australian league system). The c ...

in a short-term deal, which would allow him play ten matches till the end of next month. He returned to KRL by the end of the deal.

Defenders FC

In 2021, Adil joined Defenders FC in the

Sri Lanka Super League Sri Lanka Super League ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා ප්‍රිමියර් ලීග්; ta, இலங்கை சூப்பர் லீக்), is the men's professional top tier football league in Sri Lankan football league ...

. He finished the season finishing seventh in the table.

International career

Adil started his international youth career in 2006 being part of the under-14 Pakistan team in the AFC U-14 Football Festival held in

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

. Apart from the under-14 team, Adil also represented the under-17, under-19, under-21, and the Pakistan under-23 national sides. Whilst with the under-23 team, Adil also represented Pakistan in the

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until t ...

and

South Asian Games The South Asian Games (SAG or SA Games), formerly known as the South Asian Federation Games (SAFG or SAF Games), is a quadrennial multi-sport event held among the athletes from South Asia. The governing body of these games is South Asia Olympic C ...

, scoring his first goal in the 54th minute in a 2-2 draw against

in Al-Nakba International Football Cup 2012. Adil earned his first senior cap for

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

in a 2–1 defeat against

on 1 March 2011. He has earned over 20 caps for the national team since his debut in 2011, playing in the 2012 and 2014

AFC Challenge Cup The AFC Challenge Cup was an international football competition for Asian Football Confederation (AFC) member countries that was categorized as "emerging countries" in the "Vision Asia" programme. "Vision Asia", created by former AFC president, ...

qualification tournaments, and the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

Personal life

Adil was born in Bahawalpur,

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

and was a

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

and

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with ...

seller, going around the streets of Bahwalpur with his cart, to financially support his family. However, he used to play football whenever he found the time and thus was scouted when he got selected for the regional team in the National U-14 Championship held in 2006. He eventually impressed the coaches to secure a call-up for the Pakistan U-14 side that took part in AFC Festival of Football in

. Adil has described the Argentina national team player Carlos Tevez as his ideal football star and has been compared with

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

ian footballer Roberto Carlos for his quick pace and composure by the local media in

. In an interview with Football Pakistan, Adil said that he enjoys eating the national dish of

Pilaf Pilaf ( US spelling) or pilau ( UK spelling) is a rice dish, or in some regions, a wheat dish, whose recipe usually involves cooking in stock or broth, adding spices, and other ingredients such as vegetables or meat, and employing some techniq ...

, which is a particular favourite of his, and he also enjoys grabbing a slice of pizza or two when possible.Muhammad Adil: I want to continue winning at FC Dordoi
/ref>

Career statistics

Club

:' *1.Includes statistics from

and AFC President's Cup. *2.Includes statistics from

, Kyrgyzstan Super Cup, Ala-Too Cup, and Legend Cup.

International

International goals

:''Scores and results table list Pakistan's goal tally first.''

Honours

Club

;Khan Research Laboratories * Pakistan Premier League:

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

; Runner-up:

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, 2011, 2012 * AFC President's Cup: Runner Up:

;Dordoi Bishkek * Shoro Top League:

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

* Kyrgyzstan Cup:

* Kyrgyzstan Super Cup: 2014 *Ala-Too Cup: 2015

Country

;Pakistan *M.R Cup Sri Lanka: Runners-up: 2012 *

Philippine Peace Cup The Philippine Peace Cup was a four-nation international football competition organized by the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) which involves the national teams of the Philippines and three invitees. The inaugural edition took place in 2012, ...

: Third Place:

References

External links

Pakistan national team profile
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Adil, Muhammad 1992 births Living people Footballers from Bahawalpur Pakistani men's footballers Pakistani expatriate men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Pakistan men's international footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Kyrgyzstan Pakistani expatriate sportspeople in Kyrgyzstan FC Dordoi Bishkek players Footballers at the 2010 Asian Games Khan Research Laboratories F.C. players Asian Games competitors for Pakistan Expatriate men's soccer players in Australia Pakistani expatriates in Australia