Pashto
Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani ().
Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official languages ...
: ; born on 20 November 1983) is a Pakistani former footballer who played as a
forward
Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward.
Forward may also refer to:
People
* Forward (surname)
Sports
* Forward (association football)
* Forward (basketball), including:
** Point forward
** Power forward (basketball)
** Sm ...
. Essa is one of the most well known faces in Pakistani football, due to his regular goal scoring at international level.
Club career
Born in the football-mad city of
Chaman
Chaman ( Balochi, Pashto and ur, ) is a city and recently claimed as a new district of Balochistan named Chaman District as it was earlier a part of district Qila Abdullah District located on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. It is the capital ...
in Pakistan's
Balochistan
Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...
province, he played in the Afghan Club Chaman youth team before signing for
PTCL FC
Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd., commonly known as PTCL ( ur, ) is the national telecommunication company in Pakistan.Pakistan National Football Challenge Cup, PFF President's Cup with
PTCL FC
Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd., commonly known as PTCL ( ur, ) is the national telecommunication company in Pakistan.Pakistan Premier League, PPL season he returned to his home town club Afghan Club Chaman with his goals helping them to survive relegation. The following season, the striker transferred to WAPDA FC but could not help them retain their Pakistan Premier League, PPL title; finishing second to
Pakistan Army FC
The Pakistan Army Football Club is a Pakistani professional football club based in Rawalpindi, Punjab. The club was established in 1950 by Pakistan Army and is third oldest existing club in Pakistan after K-Electric (1913) and Pakistan Navy (194 ...
.
In 2005, he was offered a playing contract from major Indian football team
East Bengal Club
East Bengal Club, commonly referred to as East Bengal (), is an Indian professional Sports club, multi-sport club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. It is best known for its professional men's association football, football team that competes in t ...
, but the PFF seemingly turned it down. He moved to KRL and helping them finish 3rd in the 2006–07 season. Essa played in the
Geo Super Football League
The Geo Super Football League or SFL is the first proper professional inter-city football league of Pakistan, with the support of the PFF. It was established in 2007 and is the first time that Pakistani club football matches are telecast live on ...
for Quetta Zorawar as captain with the club coming second in the league round and losing semi-finalists in the knock-out round of the tournament, although he was awarded the SFL 2007 Player of the Tournament trophy.
On 13 August 2007, was awarded the 'Salaam Pakistan Award' alongside tennis star
Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi
Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi ( Punjabi, ; born 17 Mar 1980) is a Pakistani professional tennis player who specialises in doubles. He is the only Pakistani player ever to reach a Grand Slam final, having done so in both men's and mixed doubles at the ...
and female squash player
Maria Toor Pakay
Maria Toorpakai Wazir ( ps, ; ur, ; born November 22, 1990 in South Waziristan, FATA) is a professional Pakistani squash player. She dressed like a boy for the first 16 years of her life in order to participate in competitive sports as a Musli ...
for their contributions to sport by the
President of Pakistan
The president of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=s̤adr-i Pākiṣṭān), officially the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is the ceremonial head of state of Pakistan and the commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces.Pervez Musharraf
General Pervez Musharraf ( ur, , Parvez Muśharraf; born 11 August 1943) is a former Pakistani politician and four-star general of the Pakistan Army who became the tenth president of Pakistan after the successful military takeover of the ...
.
In 2009, he opened an academy at his home town in Chaman, called the Essa Khan Academy.
International career
He was discovered by then Pakistan youth team and Under 23 manager
John Layton
John Henry Layton (born 29 June 1951) is a former English footballer and coach who spent much of his career at Hereford United, both as a player and a manager. He played centre back.
Layton was manager of Hereford United during the 1994−95 ...
back in early 1999 and found his way into the
Pakistan national football team
The Pakistan national football team represents Pakistan association football in FIFA-authorized events and is controlled by the Pakistan Football Federation, the governing body for football in Pakistan. Pakistan became a member of FIFA in 19 ...
soon enough, receiving his first cap in 2000. In 2004, Essa was called up to the Pakistan U23 squad for the
2004 South Asian games
The 2004 South Asian Games, officially known as the IX South Asian Federation Games, were held in Islamabad, Pakistan from 29 March to 7 April 2004. Originally scheduled for 2001, the games were postponed in the wake of the 9/11 attacks on the Un ...
. He ended the tournament as top scorer and was player of the tournament, and helped Pakistan win Gold.
Essa’s most famous moment came when he scored from a free-kick against
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
in the first match of the 2005 Pakistan-India friendly series, at the
Ayub National Stadium
Ayub National Stadium, formerly known as the Baluchistan Cricket Association Ground, is a multi-purpose stadium in Quetta, Pakistan. It is used for football and cricket matches. The first One Day International (ODI) cricket match between Pakist ...
,
Quetta
Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه) is the tenth List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in Geography of Pakistan, south-west of the country close to the ...
to tie the game 1–1 with minutes to go before the final whistle. He scored again in the 3-0 win against India at the
Punjab Stadium
The Punjab Stadium is a football stadium in Lahore, Pakistan. It was nicknamed the "Ian Rush Stadium" after the Liverpool striker visited Pakistan to promote grassroots football in the country. Muhammad Essa was the first man to score an internati ...
in
Lahore
Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...
. In 2006, he captained Pakistan for the
2006 South Asian Games
The 2006 South Asian Games (also known as the 10th South Asian Games) were held in Colombo, Sri Lanka from 18 August to 28 August 2006, in the Sugathadasa Stadium with more than 2000 sportspersons competing in the record 20 disciplines of Sports ...
winning another gold medal. He retained his captaincy for the
2008 AFC Challenge Cup
The 2008 AFC Challenge Cup football tournament was organised by AFC and was hosted by India.The tournament was played from 30 July – 13 August 2008. India won the final against Tajikistan. India was also the winner of the fair play award and ...
qualifying campaign. Despite a 2–0 win against
Chinese Taipei
"Chinese Taipei" is the term used in various international organizations and tournaments for groups or delegations representing the Republic of China (ROC), a country commonly known as Taiwan.
Due to the One-China principle stipulated by th ...
in the first match, they lost 7–1 to
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
which made Pakistan's 9–2 demolition of
Guam
Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...
meaningless as they finished behind on points to Sri Lanka, thus failing to qualify for the main round. Because of injury, Essa had to miss the SAFF Cup 2008.
He retired from the national team during the
2009 SAFF Championship
The 2009 South Asian Football Federation Championship was hosted by Bangladesh from 4 to 13 December 2009. Bangladesh was awarded to host the tournament after the withdrawal of original hosts India.
After India's reluctance to host the tourname ...
, after a fallout with the international team manager George Kottan.
International statistics
Honours
Pakistan Telecommunication
*
Pakistan National Football Challenge Cup
The PFF National Challenge Cup is an annual semi-professional knockout football competition in men's domestic Pakistani football within the Pakistan football league system. It is organized by and named after the Pakistan Football Federation.
...
: 2003
Khan Research Laboratories
*
Pakistan Premier League
The Pakistan Premier League (PPL; ur, پاکستان پریمیئر لیگ) is a Pakistani professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the Pakistan football league system, it is the country's primary football compe ...
National Challenge Cup
The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in that country.
The 2023 U.S. O ...
:
2009
File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
K-Electric
*
Pakistan Premier League
The Pakistan Premier League (PPL; ur, پاکستان پریمیئر لیگ) is a Pakistani professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the Pakistan football league system, it is the country's primary football compe ...
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
,
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...