Mohamed Sohel Al-Masum ( bn, মোহাম্মদ সোহেল আল-মাসুম; 5 August 1975 – 13 October 2015) was a

Bangladeshi Bangladeshis ( bn, বাংলাদেশী ) are the citizens of Bangladesh, a South Asian country centered on the transnational historical region of Bengal along the eponymous bay. Bangladeshi citizenship was formed in 1971, when the ...

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 mainly played as a

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

. He played for a total of four clubs during his short 10-year career.

International career

Born in Manikganj, Masum spent his youth career with Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protishtan (BKSP). He played for the BKSP U-14 team, which won the Dana Cup in Denmark in 1990 and also the Gothia Cup in Sweden. Masum went to Bangkok in 1990 to play in the

1990 AFC U-16 Championship The 1990 AFC U-16 Championship, was the fourth iteration of the AFC U-16 Championship, a tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and held every two years for Asian under-16 teams. United Arab Emirates was the host nation. T ...

qualifiers, under coach Abdur Rahim. The Bangladesh U16 team defeated Malaysia U16 4–0 and tied 1–1 with Thailand U16. The team also managed to earn a 2–2 draw against giants South Korea U16. Although the team did not qualify for the main competition, they finished second in a group full of higher ranked countries. Masum made his senior international debut for the Bangladesh national team in 1995, during the 4-nation Tiger Trophy tournament held in Myanmar. Coach Otto Pfister named an inexperienced squad, with six new players making their debuts during the tournament, and Masum was one of the standouts. He managed to outplace veteran left-back Masoud Rana, and played every single game during the country's first ever major tournament triumph. Masum also represented Bangladesh during the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

Club career

He started his top-level career with Youngmen's Fakirerpool Club in the 1993 season alongside other famous footballers such as

Hassan Al-Mamun Hassan Al-Mamun ( bn, হাসান আল-মামুন; born 16 December 1978) is a Bangladeshi retired professional footballer who played as a defender. He was mainly deployed as a full back who could play on both sides of the field. He ...

and Amin Rana. Masum played as the left-back at Fakirerpool, which played some tremendous football over the next two seasons in a 5-3-2 formation, which was unique for a Bangladeshi club during that period. In his debut season, the Young Men's Club were promoted to the Dhaka Premier Football League. Masum was an integral part as the Young Men's finished third during their first season in the top-flight, leaving behind traditional powerhouses like Brothers Union and Muktijoddha Sangsad KC. The team also managed to defeat eventual champions Abahani Limited Dhaka. During the 1998–99 season, Masum suffered a knee injury. Due to not receiving proper treatment the injury did not go away and eventually resulted in his retirement in 2000, at the age of only 25. He played from 95 to 99 in Abahani and then went on to play for Rahmatganj MFS and Muktijoddha Sangsad.

Personal life and death

On 13 October 2015, Masum died after suffering a Cardiac arrest. He was buried at his family graveyard in Singair,

Manikganj Manikganj is a district situated in Dhaka Division, Bangladesh. Manikganj is one of the green and pollution free towns in Bangladesh. The recent urbanization and highway built joining Dhaka and Shingair Upazilla has given it an outstanding road ...

Honours

Fakirerpool Young Men's Club * Dhaka First Division League: 1993 Abahani Limited Dhaka * Dhaka Premier Division League: 1995 *

Federation Cup Federation Cup or Fed Cup is the former name of the premier world team competition in women's tennis. Federation Cup may also refer to: * Capital Football Federation Cup, an Australian territory-based association football tournament *Federation Cup ...

: 1997 Muktijoddha Sangsad KC * Dhaka Premier Division League: 2000 Bangladesh * 4-nation Tiger Trophy: 1995

References

{{reflist Bangladeshi men's footballers 1975 births 2015 deaths Bangladesh men's youth international footballers Bangladesh men's international footballers Fakirerpool Young Men's Club players Rahmatganj MFS players Abahani Limited Dhaka players Muktijoddha Sangsad KC players Men's association football defenders People from Manikganj District Sportspeople from Dhaka Division