Maula Bakhsh

{{Infobox football biography

| name = Maula Bakhsh

| image = Maula Bakhsh 1967.jpg

| caption = Bakhsh in 1967

| image_size =

| fullname = Maula Bakhsh Gotai

| birth_date = 1947

| birth_place = Lyari, Karachi, Pakistan

| height =

| position = Forward

| youthyears1 =

| youthclubs1 =

| years1 = 1960s

| clubs1 = Karachi Port Trust

| caps1 =

| goals1 =

| years2 = 1960s

| clubs2 = Pakistan Airlines

| caps2 =

| goals2 =

| years3 = 1968

| clubs3 = Mersin İdman Yurdu

| caps3 = 2

| goals3 = 0

| years4 = 1970

| clubs4 = EPIDC

| caps4 =

| goals4 =

| years5 = 1974–?

| clubs5 = Al-Shaab

| caps5 =

| goals5 =

| nationalyears1 = 1964–1974

| nationalteam1 = Pakistan

| nationalcaps1 =

| nationalgoals1 =

| death_date = {{death date and given age|2021|8|30|df=y|73–74}}

| death_place = Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

}}

Maula Bakhsh Gotai ({{langx|ur|{{Nastaliq|مولا بخش گوٹائی}}}}; 1947 – 30 August 2021), alternatively spelled Maula Bux, was a Pakistani professional footballer who played as a forward. Bakhsh represented the Pakistan national team from 1964 to 1974, and captained the national team in 1973. He was also one of the first and few Pakistani footballers to play professional football abroad, in Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.

Early life

Bakhsh was born in Saifi Lane, in the Lyari locality of Karachi in 1947.{{Cite web |date=2008-06-19 |title=Lyari boys challenge national team for open contest |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/308034/lyari-boys-challenge-national-team-for-open-contest |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20240817163621/https://www.dawn.com/news/308034/lyari-boys-challenge-national-team-for-open-contest |archive-date=2024-08-17 |access-date=2024-09-01 |website=DAWN.COM |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2019-09-19 |title=مولابخش گوٹائی لیاری کا پیلے |trans-title=Maula Bakhsh Gotai, Lyari's Pelé |url=https://www.jasarat.com/2019/09/19/190919-09-21/ |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20241112022210/https://www.jasarat.com/2019/09/19/190919-09-21/ |archive-date=2024-11-12 |access-date=2024-09-04 |website=Jasarat.com |language=urdu}}{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2023-06-21 |title=Kakri Ground ready to host games |url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/2422794/kakri-ground-ready-to-host-games |access-date=2024-12-26 |website=The Express Tribune |language=en}} He started playing football at an early age for the local Saifi Sports Club.{{Cite web |date=2014-01-30 |title=گینگ وار سے پہلے |trans-title=Before the gang war |url=https://www.express.pk/story/222095/gyng-war-se-phle-222095/ |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20241112014921/https://www.express.pk/story/222095/gyng-war-se-phle-222095/ |archive-date=2024-11-12 |access-date=2024-09-04 |website=express.pk |language=urdu}} A graduate of Karachi University, Bakhsh played for several school football teams until eventually getting selected for the Karachi youth team.

Club career

= West and East Pakistan =

Bakhsh played for Karachi Port Trust and Pakistan Airlines departmental teams in the domestic setup in the 1960s. Like several notable players of West Pakistan, Bakhsh represented several clubs in East Pakistan at the Dhaka First Division League, where he played for EPIDC.{{Cite web |last=Ahsan |first=Ali |date=2010-12-23 |title=A history of football in Pakistan — Part II |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/593096/a-history-of-football-in-pakistan-part-ii |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20240826224627/https://www.dawn.com/news/593096/a-history-of-football-in-pakistan-part-ii |archive-date=2024-08-26 |access-date=2024-09-01 |website=DAWN.COM |language=en}}

= Turkey =

After making a good impression with the national team in a match against Turkey at the 1967 RCD Cup,{{Cite web |date=2022-11-27 |title=ورلڈ کپ فٹبال : لیاری والوں کے دل برازیل کے لیے کیوں دھڑکتے ہیں؟ |trans-title=World Cup Football: Why do Lyari's hearts beat for Brazil? |url=https://www.bbc.com/urdu/articles/cz400lq27jgo |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20221127042224/https://www.bbc.com/urdu/articles/cz400lq27jgo |archive-date=2022-11-27 |access-date=2024-09-04 |website=BBC News اردو |language=ur}} on 6 April 1968, Bakhsh along with national teammate and fellow Lyari resident Abdul Jabbar signed for Turkish First Football League club Mersin İdman Yurdu.{{Cite web |title=روزنامہ دنیا :- کھیلوں کی دنیا:-انٹرنیشنل فٹبالر عبدالجبار کراچی میں انتقال کرگئے |trans-title=International footballer Abdul Jabbar passed away in Karachi |url=https://dunya.com.pk/index.php/sports/2014-03-26/334222 |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20241112022623/https://dunya.com.pk/index.php/sports/2014-03-26/334222 |archive-date=2024-11-12 |access-date=2024-09-04 |website=Roznama Dunya: روزنامہ دنیا :- |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=لیاری، جو کبھی یونان تھا اور اب بھی برازیل ہے – DW – 09.12.2022 |trans-title=Lyari, once Greece and still Brazil |url=https://www.dw.com/ur/%D9%84%DB%8C%D8%A7%D8%B1%DB%8C-%D8%AC%D9%88-%DA%A9%D8%A8%DA%BE%DB%8C-%DB%8C%D9%88%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%AA%DA%BE%D8%A7-%D8%A7%D9%88%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D8%A8-%D8%A8%DA%BE%DB%8C-%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%B2%DB%8C%D9%84-%DB%81%DB%92/a-64045975 |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20221212031837/https://www.dw.com/ur/لیاری-جو-کبھی-یونان-تھا-اور-اب-بھی-برازیل-ہے/a-64045975 |archive-date=2022-12-12 |access-date=2024-09-04 |website=dw.com |language=ur}}{{Cite web |last=Cücük |first=Hasan |date=2020-04-24 |title=Neden inanmıyorsunuz: Pakistanlıyım ve futbolcuyum! |trans-title=Why don't you believe: I am Pakistani and a football player! |url=https://www.tr724.com/neden-inanmiyorsunuz-pakistanliyim-ve-futbolcuyum/ |access-date=2025-01-04 |website=Tr724 |language=tr}} Bakhsh made two appearances with the team against Ankara Demirspor and Bursaspor during the 1967–68 Turkish First Football League.{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=Molla Bachs |url=https://arsiv.mackolik.com/Futbolcu/57527/Molla-Bachs |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160128124150/http://www.mackolik.com/Player/Default.aspx?id=57527 |archive-date=28 January 2016 |access-date=2024-10-22 |website=Mackolik.com |language=en}} Both stayed at the club for six months.{{Cite web |date=2014-06-23 |title=لٹل برازیل کا فٹبال کلچر کیسے تباہ ہوا ؟ |trans-title=How was the football culture of Little Brazil destroyed? |url=https://www.bbc.com/urdu/sport/2014/06/140623_liyari_football_culture_zz |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20241112022848/https://www.bbc.com/urdu/sport/2014/06/140623_liyari_football_culture_zz |archive-date=2024-11-12 |access-date=2024-09-04 |website=BBC News اردو |language=ur}}

Bakhsh had reportedly later claimed that both faced difficulties, and struggled to match the stamina and fitness required for the Turkish football team, due to lack of focus on the players' fitness level in Pakistan at the time.{{Cite web |last=Shah Adil |first=Nadir |date=22 December 2014 |title=فٹبال ٹیم ....داستان اور کچھ عالمی حقائق |trans-title=Football team ....story and some world facts |url=https://www.express.pk/story/312263/ |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20141228094144/https://www.express.pk/story/312263/ |archive-date=28 December 2014}}

= United Arab Emirates =

During the 1970s, several local leagues were launched across the Middle East, where several Pakistani players represented club sides in these leagues and some of these players even coached the clubs’ new youth setups. Subsequently, Bakhsh moved to the United Arab Emirates, where he featured for Al-Shaab CSC in Sharjah in the mid-1970s, later also coaching the team.

International career

File:Pakistan national football team in China, 1973.jpg

Bakhsh represented the Pakistan national football team from 1964 to 1974. Bakhsh captained the national side in 1973, when the national team toured the far east, which included several test matches against local teams and a friendly against China ending in a 4–7 defeat.

Personal life and death

After retiring from football after his last spell in Sharjah, he settled in the United Arab Emirates, where he passed away on 30 August 2021.{{citation needed|date= September 2024}}

Career statistics

= International goals =

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

class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"

|+List of international goals scored by Maula Bakhsh

! scope="col" |No.

! scope="col" |Date

! scope="col" |Venue

! scope="col" |Opponent

! scope="col" |Score

! scope="col" |Result

! scope="col" |Competition

! scope="col" class="unsortable" |{{Abbr|Ref.|References}}

align="center" |1

|15 November 1967

|Bogyoke Aung San Stadium, Rangoon, Burma

|{{Fb|IND}}

| align="center" |

| align="center" |1–1

|1968 AFC Asian Cup qualification

|{{Cite book |last=Nilanjan Datta |url=http://archive.org/details/india-nt-results |title=India NT Results |date=2013}}

align="center" |2

|10 September 1969

|Ankara 19 Mayıs Stadium, Ankara, Turkey

|{{Fb|TUR}}

| align="center" |1–0

| align="center" |2–4

|1969 RCD Cup

|{{Cite web |title=TURKEY PAKISTAN - Match Details TFF |url=https://www.tff.org/Default.aspx?pageID=528&macID=3079 |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20240901152726/https://www.tff.org/Default.aspx?pageID=528&macID=3079 |archive-date=2024-09-01 |access-date=2024-09-01 |website=tff.org}}