Imran Hussain (footballer)

{{short description|Pakistani association football striker (born 1981)}}

{{Infobox football biography

| name = Imran Hussain

| image =

| fullname = Imran Hussain

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1981|03|10}}

| birth_place = Faisalabad, Pakistan

| currentclub =

| clubnumber =

| position = Striker

| youthyears1 =

| youthclubs1 =

| years1 = 2002–2013

| clubs1 = Pakistan Army

| caps1 = 143

| goals1 = 83

| nationalyears1 = 2005–2006

| nationalteam1 = Pakistan

| nationalcaps1 = 11

| nationalgoals1 = 1

| club-update =

| nationalteam-update =

}}

Imran Hussain ({{langx|ur|عمران حسین}}; born on March 10, 1981{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=Imran Hussain (Player) |url=https://www.national-football-teams.com/player/12931/Imran_Hussain.html |access-date=2023-08-14 |website=www.national-football-teams.com |language=en}}) is a Pakistani former footballer who played as a striker. He played for Pakistan Army F.C. throughout his career, and made his international debut in 2005 against India. Hussain won the golden boot in 2005–06 Pakistan Premier League season, scoring 21 goals in 22 games.

Club career

Hussain played for Pakistan Army throughout his career, starting his career in 2002. He scored 4 goals in a match in his first season at the 2002 PFF National Challenge Cup.{{Cite web |date=2002-10-16 |title=Imran strikes four times to spare Army’s blushes |url=http://beta.dawn.com/news/62012/imran-strikes-four-times-to-spare-army-s-blushes |access-date=2024-03-12 |website=DAWN.COM |language=en}} In 2004, Hussain featured in the National Youth Football Championship.{{Cite web |date=2007-08-28 |title=U-18 Football Championship starts |url=http://www.brecorder.com/news/3428625 |access-date=2024-08-07 |website=Brecorder |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2009-10-01 |title=PFF approves Lahore as championship host |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/493696/pff-approves-lahore-as-championship-host |access-date=2024-09-24 |website=DAWN.COM |language=en}} In the inaugural 2004–05 Pakistan Premier League, Hussain finished as second top-scorer behind Arif Mehmood with 19 goals, as Army finished runner-up of the league.{{Cite web |title=Pakistan 2004 |url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesp/paki04.html |access-date=2024-03-12 |website=www.rsssf.org}}{{Cite web |date=2010-11-07 |title=Pakistan Army to face PEL in Premier Football |url=http://www.brecorder.com/news/3817127 |access-date=2024-08-07 |website=Brecorder |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=NBP Football Challenge Cup conclude – Business Recorder |url=https://fp.brecorder.com/2010/05/201005011051531/ |access-date=2024-08-07 |language=en-US}}

He is a two-time Pakistan Premier League winner, winning the title first in 2005–06 and again in 2006–07. Hussain won the golden boot in the 2005–06 season, scoring 21 goals in 22 games. In the next season he finished as the second highest scorer, behind Arif Mehmood, with 8 goals.{{Cite web |title=Pakistan 2006/07 |url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesp/paki06.html |access-date=2024-03-12 |website=www.rsssf.org}} He also participated in the AFC President's Cup with the club.{{Cite web |date=2007-09-22 |title=Pakistani footballer Imran Hussain vies with Maruf Rustamov of... |url=https://www.gettyimages.be/detail/nieuwsfoto%27s/pakistani-footballer-imran-hussain-vies-with-maruf-nieuwsfotos/76960035 |access-date=2024-03-12 |website=Getty Images |language=nl}}{{Cite web |date=2007-09-20 |title=Pakistani football team player Imran Hussain and Sri Lankan player... |url=https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/pakistani-football-team-player-imran-hussain-and-sri-lankan-news-photo/76906613 |access-date=2024-03-12 |website=Getty Images |language=en-gb}}

= Controversy =

In the 2011–12 Pakistan Premier League, a match between Pakistan Army and Afghan FC Chaman on 26 July 2011 at Sadiq Shaheed Stadium in Quetta was marred by violence started by Hussain towards the match official. Afghan Chaman was leading 2–1 by the 75th minute when Hussain disputed a referee decision on a freekick, leading to his dismissal after a heated argument. Imran's attack on the referee sparked further chaos, with another Army player, Shakeel Ahmed, also getting physical and subsequently sent off. The match ended 2–1 in favor of Afghan Chaman, with Pakistan Army playing the final 15 minutes with only 9 men due to the dismissals.

International career

Hussain made his debut with Pakistan on 12 June 2005 which was the first game in a series of three games against India, the game finished 1–1 draw to Pakistan.{{cite web |url=http://www.indianfootball.de/specials/indopak/match1.html |title=Match 1 |publisher=Indian Football |date=June 12, 2005 |website=indianfootball.de |access-date=January 12, 2019}}{{Cite web |date=2005-06-12 |title=Pakistan confident of football success against India |url=http://www.brecorder.com/news/3169368 |access-date=2024-03-12 |website=Brecorder |language=en}} He was subsequently called for the 2005 SAFF Championship,{{Cite web |date=2005-12-09 |title=Pakistani soccer player Imran Hussain makes an attempt for a goal as... |url=https://www.gettyimages.ae/detail/news-photo/pakistani-soccer-player-imran-hussain-makes-an-attempt-for-news-photo/56399185 |access-date=2024-03-12 |website=Getty Images |language=en-gb}}{{Cite web |title=South Asian Gold Cup 2005 (Karachi, Pakistan) |url=https://www.rsssf.org/tabless/saffgold05.html |access-date=2024-03-12 |website=www.rsssf.org}} where he scored his first goal against Sri Lanka in a 1–0 victory for Pakistan.{{Cite web |date=2005-12-28 |title=Pakistan jumps to 158th spot in FIFA ranking |url=http://beta.dawn.com/news/171818/pakistan-jumps-to-158th-spot-in-fifa-ranking |access-date=2023-08-14 |website=DAWN.COM |language=en}}

Career statistics

= International =

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" \|+Appearances and goals by national team and year !National team !Year !Apps !Goals
rowspan="2" \|Pakistan \|2005 \|7 \|1
2006 \|4 \|0
colspan="2" \|Total !11 !1

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

|+Appearances and goals by national team and year

!National team

!Year

!Apps

!Goals

rowspan="2" |Pakistan

|2005

2006

colspan="2" |Total

!11

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