Datuk Wira Soh Chin Ann (or Soh Chin Aun due to misspelling by Malaysian media; ; born 28 July 1950) is a Malaysian former

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 ...

. He was affectionately known as ''Tauke'' or '' Towkay'' ( en, Boss) by his teammates and fans.

RSSSF The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF) is an international organization dedicated to collecting statistics about association football. The foundation aims to build an exhaustive archive of football-related information from around th ...

and

IFFHS The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) is an organisation that chronicles the history and records of association football. It was founded in 1984 by Alfredo Pöge in Leipzig. The IFFHS was based in Abu Dhabi for s ...

recognised Soh as the player with the most international caps in men's football with 219 caps. He formerly held the record of all-time most appearances in FIFA international recognized matches with 195 caps, before being overtaken by Kuwait's

Bader Al-Mutawa Bader Ahmed al-Mutawa ( ar, بدر أحمد المطوع; born 10 January 1985) is a Kuwaiti professional footballer who plays for Qadsia and the Kuwait national team, where he usually operates as a second striker. He wears the jersey number ...

in 2022.

Club career

Soh started his football career with

Malacca Malacca ( ms, Melaka) is a state in Malaysia located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, next to the Strait of Malacca. Its capital is Malacca City, dubbed the Historic City, which has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site sin ...

in 1969. He joined

Selangor Selangor (; ), also known by its Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 Malaysian states. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east, Negeri Sembilan ...

in 1971 and played for them until 1978 winning six

Malaysia Cup The Malaysia Cup ( ms, Piala Malaysia), formerly known as ''Malaya Cup'', is an annual football tournament in Malaysia, held at the end of the calendar year. The cup was first held in 1921. Despite its prestige and popularity as the nation's ol ...

titles. He returned to star for Malacca in 1979 and won the League Cup title in 1983 but was inactive for two years due to a one-year suspension in 1985. He captained Malacca in 1988 which was also his last appearances in the domestic league.

International career

National team

At the age of 19, Soh earned his full international caps for Malaysia at the

1969 King's Cup The 1969 King's Cup finals were held from November 19 to November 28, 1969, in Bangkok. This was the second edition of the international football competition. Indonesia were set to defend the championship they won in 1968. In the final, South Kore ...

. In 1971, when he played in the Olympic qualifier in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its ea ...

, he was the youngest member of the national team at the age of 21. He participated in the

1972 Munich Olympic Games The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

and playing all three group games. He also was the captain of the team that qualified for the

1980 Moscow Olympic Games The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...

. Unfortunately, Malaysia did not participate in boycott of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. However, because of his contribution for helping Malaysia to qualify for the Olympics, he was awarded the Ahli Mangku Negara by the

Yang di-Pertuan Agong The Yang di-Pertuan Agong (, Jawi: ), also known as the Supreme Head of the Federation, the Paramount Ruler or simply as the Agong, and unofficially as the King of Malaysia, is the constitutional monarch and head of state of Malaysia. The of ...

. He later took part in the

1980 AFC Asian Cup The 1980 AFC Asian Cup was the 7th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were hosted by Kuwait between 15 and 30 September 1980. The f ...

, where his Malaysia was eliminated from the group stage, yet Malaysia produced one of the finest performance ever under his leadership, with the team gaining a famous 1–1 draw over powerhouse

; Soh gained fame as well for having an exceptional tournament, allowing him to be named into the Team of the Tournament by the AFC, the first Southeast Asian to receive such honour, a record which would stand until the

2019 AFC Asian Cup The 2019 AFC Asian Cup was the 17th edition of the AFC Asian Cup, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Asia organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It was held in the United Arab Emirates from 5 January to 1 F ...

Malaysia Selection

On 11 May 1975, Soh is part of the Malaysia Selection that played against

Arsenal FC Arsenal Football Club, commonly referred to as Arsenal, is a professional association football, football club based in London Borough of Islington, Islington, London, England. Arsenal plays in the Premier League, the top flight of English ...

in a friendly match which his team won by 2-0 at

Merdeka Stadium The Stadium Merdeka (also known as Merdeka Stadium/; English: Independence Stadium) is a stadium based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is known as the site of the formal declaration of independence of the Federation of Malaya on 31 August 1957. ...

Retirement

He retired from international football in 1984 and made 252 international appearances as recorded by Football Association of Malaysia.

Asian Football Confederation The Asian Football Confederation is the governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal in some countries/territories in Asia and Oceania. It has 47 member countries most of which are located in Asia. Australia, formerly i ...

recognised his achievements and included him into AFC Century Club in February 1999.14 EX-INTERNATIONALS INDUCTED INTO AFC CENTURY CLUB
- BERNAMA, 11 February 1999.National Library of Singapore.
/ref>

Post-playing career

He was appointed as the chairman of the referees' committee on 13 March 2007. He was the team manager (not head coach) of

Malaysia national football team The Malaysia national football team () represents Malaysia in international football and is controlled by the Football Association of Malaysia. The national team is recognised by FIFA as the successor of the defunct Malaya national football ...

from 2007 until 2009.

Political career

He once tried to make it in politics by contesting to be the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members ofte ...

for Kota Melaka representing

Malaysian Chinese Association The Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA; zh, 马来西亚华人公会; ; ta, மலேசிய சீனர் சங்கம், initially known as the Malayan Chinese Association) is a uni-racial political party in Malaysia that seeks to ...

(MCA) of

Barisan Nasional The National Front ( ms, Barisan Nasional; abbrev: BN) is a political coalition of Malaysia that was founded in 1973 as a coalition of centre-right and right-wing political parties. It is also the third largest political coalition with 30 se ...

(BN) in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 **Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal ent ...

but he suffered a defeat of 17,606 votes to

Lim Guan Eng Lim Guan Eng (; born 8 December 1960) is a Malaysian politician and accountant from the Democratic Action Party (DAP), a component party of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Bagan, Member of ...

Democratic Action Party The Democratic Action Party (abbreviation: DAP; ms, Parti Tindakan Demokratik; ; ta, ஜனநாயக செயல் கட்சி) is a Centre-left politics, centre-left social democracy, social democratic political party in Malaysia. ...

(DAP). Percentage figures based on total turnout.

Election results

Personal life

In 2016, he made a cameo appearance in ''

Ola Bola ''Ola Bola'' is a 2016 Malaysian sports football film directed by Chiu Keng Guan. The film was inspired by the glories of the Malaysia national football team which successfully entered the 1980 Summer Olympics. The film was released in Malaysia ...

'' as Chow Kok Keong, a character based on himself in the

1980 Moscow Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...

qualification campaign.

Career statistics

International

:''Scores and results list Malaysia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Ann goal.

Honours

Selangor *

: 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1978 Malacca *

Malaysian League The Malaysian League or also known as the M-League ( Malay: ''Liga Malaysia'' or ''Liga-M'') is a terminology used to describe the professional association football league in Malaysia. The terminology was mainly used to describe the league and ...

: 1983 Malaysia *

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 ...

Bronze Medal:

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

SEA Games The Southeast Asian Games, also known as the SEA Games, is a biennial multi-sport event involving participants from the current 11 countries of Southeast Asia. The games are under the regulation of the Southeast Asian Games Federation with supe ...

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic Re ...

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

Pestabola Merdeka Merdeka Tournament or Pestabola Merdeka is a friendly football tournament held in Malaysia to commemorate the Independence Day. The competition bears the Malay word for independence. As of 2022, it has been held 40 times, and decreasingly in ...

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

* King's Cup: 1972, 1976, 1978 *

Jakarta Anniversary Tournament The Jakarta Anniversary Tournament was a football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most ...

: 1970 Individual * All-Star Team AFC Asian Cup:

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – In ...

* AFC Asian All Stars: 1982 * AFC Century Club: 199914 EX-INTERNATIONALS INDUCTED INTO AFC CENTURY CLUB
- BERNAMA, 11 February 1999.National Library of Singapore.
/ref> * OCM Hall of Fame: 2004 * Asian Football Hall of Fame: 2014 *

Goal.com GOAL is an international association football news website for FC Barcelona fans founded in 2004 by Chicco Merighi and Gianluigi Longinotti-Buitoni. It is published in 19 languages, with 38 national editions and 600 contributors. It is owned b ...

The best Malaysia XI of all time: 2020 *

Men’s All Time Malaysia Dream Team: 2022 Records * Malaysia national football team all-time most appearances:

219 __NOTOC__ Year 219 ( CCXIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Antonius and Sacerdos (or, less frequently, year 972 ''Ab ...

* The first men's footballers to reach 200 or more international caps:

20th century The 20th (twentieth) century began on January 1, 1901 ( MCMI), and ended on December 31, 2000 ( MM). The 20th century was dominated by significant events that defined the modern era: Spanish flu pandemic, World War I and World War II, nucle ...

most international caps in men's football (1901–2000):

* The first Asian footballers to reach 100 or more international wins for national team: 108 * The first footballers to reach 100 or more international wins for national team (1969–1984): 108 Order * : ** Member of the

Order of the Defender of the Realm The Most Esteemed Order of the Defender of the Realm ( ms, Darjah Yang Mulia Pangkuan Negara) is a Malaysian federal award presented for meritorious service to the country. The Order Motto are 'Dipeliharakan Allah-Pangkuan Negara' (By the Grace o ...

(AMN) (1980) * : ** MY-PAH Order of the Crown of Pahang - Knight Companion - DIMP

Knight Companion of the

Order of the Crown of Pahang The Esteemed Order of the Crown of Pahang ( Malay: '' Darjah Kebesaran Mahkota Pahang Yang Amat Mulia'') is a knighthood order of the Sultanate of Pahang. History The order was founded by Sultan Abu Bakar on 27 December 1968. It is awarded ...

(DIMP) – Dato' (2000) * : ** MY-SEL Order of Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah - lower classes - DSIS - SIS - AIS

Knight Companion of the Order of Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah (DSIS) – Dato' (2016) * : ** MY-MAL Exalted Order of Malacca

Knight Commander of the

Exalted Order of Malacca ''Exalted'' is a high fantasy tabletop role-playing game originally published by White Wolf Publishing in July 2001. The game is currently in its third edition. It was originally created by Robert Hatch, Justin Achilli and Stephan Wieck, and ...

(DCSM) – Datuk Wira (2021)

References

External links

Malaysian torchbearers of the Olympic Flame

{{DEFAULTSORT:Soh, Chin Ann 1950 births Living people People from Malacca Malaysian sportspeople of Chinese descent Malaysian footballers Malaysia international footballers Olympic footballers of Malaysia Footballers at the 1972 Summer Olympics 1980 AFC Asian Cup players Malacca FA players Selangor FA players Members of the Order of the Defender of the Realm Malaysian sportsperson-politicians Malaysian Chinese Association politicians Asian Games bronze medalists for Malaysia Asian Games medalists in football Southeast Asian Games gold medalists for Malaysia Southeast Asian Games medalists in football Southeast Asian Games bronze medalists for Malaysia Association football defenders Footballers at the 1974 Asian Games Medalists at the 1974 Asian Games Competitors at the 1973 Southeast Asian Peninsular Games FIFA Century Club Malaysian political candidates