Rizvi Karim Rumi (; born 18 May 1968) is a retired Bangladeshi

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 either as a winger or as a striker. Rumi captained the

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 ...

for a brief period in 1992 and 1993. He spent most of his career with Abahani Limited and also had a brief stint in the

Calcutta Football 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 ...

with

East Bengal East Bengal (; ''Purbô Bangla/Purbôbongo'') was the eastern province of the Dominion of Pakistan, which covered the territory of modern-day Bangladesh. It consisted of the eastern portion of the Bengal region, and existed from 1947 until 195 ...

Club career

Rumi started his career in the

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

with Sadharan Bima CSC, in 1984. In his debut season he scored a hat-trick against Azad Sporting Club and finished top-scorer in the DMFA Cup with 6 goals. In 1987, he joined another office club, BRTC. In the same year, Rumi finished joint top scorer alongside Rumman Bin Wali Sabbir, in the Federation Cup. His performances led to him being scouted by

Dhanmondi Dhanmondi () is an upscale residential and commercial neighbourhood and a Thanas of Bangladesh, thana (police jurisdiction) in Dhaka, Bangladesh, known for its central location, cultural vibrancy and being home to the country's founding president, ...

giants

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 ...

, and he signed for the club on 16 August 1988. During the next 3 years, Rumi went onto win the First Division in 1989–90, the Federation Cup in 1988 and, also the 1990 Independence Cup where Rumi scored a brace against rivals Mohammedan SC in the final. Rumi also finished the 1990 league season as the league's second top goal scorer. In 1991, during the BTC Clubs Cup held in Bangladesh, to aid cyclone and flood victims, Rumi scored the winner against India's East Bengal Club in the semi-final (2–1). Abahani then went onto defeat rivals Mohammedan in the final to secure the trophy. Rumi's brilliant performances with the Abahani earned him a chance to move abroad, he signed for

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 ...

in the

. He was one of three players from Bangladesh that signed for the "Red and Gold Brigade", with Monem Munna and

Sheikh Mohammad Aslam Sheikh Mohammad Aslam (; born 1 March 1958), popularly known as Aslam, is a Bangladeshi former footballer. He played as a specialist striker and was one of the most lethal marksmen in domestic league during the 1980s and 1990s. He gained fame w ...

joining him in Kolkata in 1991. He won the league title during his lone year at the club, and returned to Abahani the same year. In 1993 he was named the club's captain. In 1994, Rumi joined fellow title challengers

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 ...

, after the gentleman's agreement between the country's three biggest clubs, Abahani, Mohammedan SC and

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, ...

, to lower the salaries of their star players. Nevertheless, Rumi returned to Abahani after two years and won the Federation Cup in 1997. The subsequent season, after suffering from continuous injuries for the past few years, Rumi retired, as one of the finest forwards Bangladesh ever produced.

Transfer drama

In 1989, Abahani's greatest rivals,

Mohammedan ''Mohammedan'' (also spelled ''Muhammadan'', ''Mahommedan'', ''Mahomedan'' or ''Mahometan'') is a term for a follower of Muhammad, the Islamic prophet. It is used as both a noun and an adjective, meaning belonging or relating to, either Muhamm ...

wanted to sign Rumi. However, their Iranian coach

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 ...

who was also the coach of the

at the time, went against the club's officials, as he did not want to sign the player without Abahani's permission. Rumi, later stated that he did not want to leave as well, as he wanted to play alongside teammate Monem Munna, who was seen as the biggest talent in the country at the time.

International career

Rumi made his debut for

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

during the 1988 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers. He was a member of the Bangladesh Red team which defeated South Korea University in the 1989 President's Gold Cup. He is well known for scoring a brace 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 ...

in the 1991 South Asian Games. Rumi was named the national team captain during the 1992 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers, held in Thailand. His most memorable goal for the country came against

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

during the 1994 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, a game Bangladesh ended up losing 4–1. He also represented the team during a disappointing 1993 South Asian Games, where hosts Bangladesh were knocked out in the group stages. Rumi's last international tournament was the Qatar Independence Cup 1994, where the Bangladesh national team was represented by

International goals

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

International goals for club

Abahani Limited Dhaka

:''Scores and results list Abahani Limited Dhaka goal tally first.''

Personal life

After retiring from playing professional football in 1998, Rumi moved to Canada with his wife and son.

Honours

Club

Abahani Limited Dhaka * Dhaka First Division League: 1989–90, 1992 * Federation Cup: 1985, 1986, 1988 * Sait Nagjee Trophy: 1989 * Independence Cup: 1990 * Azmiri Begum Gold Cup: 1990 * BTC Club Cup: 1991 * DMFA Cup: 1994 * Charms Cup: 1994 East Bengal Club *

: 1991 Muktijoddha SKC * Federation Cup: 1994

International

Bangladesh *

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 ...

; Bronze medal:

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

Awards and accolades

*1992 − Sports Writers Association's Best Footballer Award.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Karim Rumi, Rizvi 1968 births Living people Bangladeshi men's footballers Bangladesh men's international footballers Abahani Limited Dhaka players Muktijoddha Sangsad KC players Men's association football forwards Men's association football wingers Sportspeople from Khulna Footballers from Khulna Division Bangladeshi expatriate men's footballers Bangladeshi expatriate sportspeople in India Expatriate men's footballers in India Calcutta Football League players East Bengal Club players Asian Games footballers for Bangladesh Footballers at the 1990 Asian Games South Asian Games silver medalists for Bangladesh South Asian Games bronze medalists for Bangladesh South Asian Games medalists in football Medalists at the 1989 South Asian Games Medalists at the 1991 South Asian Games People from Kushtia District 20th-century Bangladeshi sportsmen