Muhammad Essa

{{Infobox football biography

| name = Muhammad Essa

| image =

| caption =

| fullname = Muhammad Essa Khan

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1983|11|20|df=y}}

| birth_place = Chaman, Pakistan{{NFT player|id=5001|access-date=}}

| height = {{height|m=1.78|precision=0}}

| position = Centre Forward

| youthyears1 = 1999–2000

| youthclubs1 = Afghan Chaman

| years1 = 2000–2005

| clubs1 = Pakistan Telecommunication

| caps1 = 34

| goals1 = 7

| years2 = 2005–2006

| clubs2 = Afghan Chaman

| caps2 = 22

| goals2 = 12

| years3 = 2006–2007

| clubs3 = WAPDA

| caps3 =

| goals3 =

| years4 = 2007–2009

| clubs4 = Khan Research Laboratories

| caps4 =

| goals4 =

| years5 = 2009–2017

| clubs5 = K-Electric

| caps5 =

| goals5 =

| nationalyears1 = 1999–2006

| nationalteam1 = Pakistan U23

| nationalcaps1 = 11

| nationalgoals1 = 6

| nationalyears2 = 2001–2009

| nationalteam2 = Pakistan

| nationalcaps2 = 39

| nationalgoals2 = 11

| club-update =

| nationalteam-update =

| medaltemplates = {{MedalCountry|{{fb|PAK}}}}

| manageryears1 = 2017–2018

| managerclubs1 = K-Electric (assistant)

| manageryears2 = 2018–2019

| managerclubs2 = Pakistan (assistant)

| manageryears3 = 2019–2020

| managerclubs3 = K-Electric

| manageryears4 = 2023–

| managerclubs4 = Khan Research Laboratories

| currentclub = Khan Research Laboratories (manager)

}}

Muhammad Essa Khan (Urdu, Pashto: {{Nastaliq|محمد عیسیٰ خان}}; born 20 November 1983) is a Pakistani football manager and former footballer who played as a forward. He is the current head coach of Khan Research Laboratories.

A former captain of the Pakistan national team, he is regarded among the most talented football players Pakistan has produced. He was used as a playmaker particularly in support of a striker, or a genuine centre forward because of his ball holding and passing skills.{{Cite web |title=Ex-captain Essa not happy over Pak football affairs |url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/619739-ex-captain-essa-not-happy-over-pak-football-affairs |access-date=2024-07-04 |website=www.thenews.com.pk |language=en}} He was a left-footed free-kick specialist. In his playing days, Essa was one of the most well known faces in Pakistani football, due to his regular goal scoring at international level.

Club career

= Early career =

Born in the city of Chaman in Pakistan's Balochistan province, he played in the youth team of Pakistani club side Afghan FC Chaman before signing for PTCL FC, with whom he won the old PFF President's Cup in 2003.{{Cite web |title=Pakistan 2003 |url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesp/paki03.html |access-date=2024-01-17 |website=www.rsssf.org}} In the inaugural Pakistan Premier League season in 2004, the club finished fifth in the league table.{{Cite web |title=Pakistan 2004 |url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesp/paki04.html |access-date=2024-01-17 |website=www.rsssf.org}}

== Foreign interest ==

In June 2005, Essa was offered a playing contract from major Indian football team East Bengal FC after his stellar performance in the international friendly series against India,{{Cite web |last=Chhaya |first=M |date=2005-06-20 |title=East Bengal eye Pakistan striker |url=https://www.rediff.com/sports/2005/jun/20foot.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221206013336/https://www.rediff.com/sports/2005/jun/20foot.htm |archive-date=6 December 2022 |access-date=2022-12-06 |website=Rediff.com |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2005-06-20 |title=Essa invited to play for East Bengal in Calcutta |url=http://www.brecorder.com/news/3171967 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221206013336/https://www.brecorder.com/news/3171967 |archive-date=6 December 2022 |access-date=2022-12-06 |website=Business Recorder |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2005-07-08 |title=Perfect end to Friendship series |url=https://sportstar.thehindu.com/magazine/perfect-end-to-friendship-series/article29644685.ece/ |access-date=2025-01-16 |website=sportstar.thehindu.com |language=en}} but the deal collapsed after the club decided to retain the striker Bhaichung Bhutia for the next season following the wages demands of Essa.{{Cite web |date=July 25, 2005 |title=Bhutia with us, say East Bengal - Times of India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/bhutia-with-us-say-east-bengal/articleshow/1182425.cms |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221206013336/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/bhutia-with-us-say-east-bengal/articleshow/1182425.cms |archive-date=6 December 2022 |access-date=2022-12-06 |website=The Times of India |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=IN THE CITY 26-07-2005 |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/sports/in-the-city-26-07-2005/cid/1055054 |website=www.telegraphindia.com}} Essa was also later offered to play for JCT in India, and clubs from Oman and Maldives but the move seemingly failed to materialise.{{Cite web |title=Sports, NOS, The News International |url=https://jang.com.pk/thenews/dec2007-weekly/nos-02-12-2007/spo.htm |access-date=2025-01-16 |website=jang.com.pk}}

= Afghan Chaman =

In the second season of Pakistan Premier League season in 2005, he returned to his hometown club Afghan FC Chaman, with his goals helping them to finish fourth in the table.{{Cite web |title=Pakistan 2005 |url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesp/paki05.html |access-date=2024-01-17 |website=www.rsssf.org}}

= WAPDA =

The following season, he transferred to departmental side WAPDA, but could not help them retain their Pakistan Premier League title; finishing second to Pakistan Army.{{Cite web |title=Pakistan 2006/07 |url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesp/paki06.html |access-date=2024-01-17 |website=www.rsssf.org}}

= KRL =

He moved to Khan Research Laboratories, and helped them finish third in the 2007–08 season. The same year, he played in the Geo Super Football League for Quetta Zorawar as captain. Although his team came second in the league round and lost in the semi-final in the knock-out round of the tournament, he was awarded the SFL 2007 Player of the Tournament trophy.

= K-Electric =

In 2009, he moved to K-Electric, where he served both as a player and assistant coach in the last years. He also played in the 2010 season that the Geo Super Football League for Karachi Energy beating Quetta Zorawar 1–0 in final.{{Cite web |last=Ahsan |first=Ali |date=2011-02-02 |title=A history of football in Pakistan — Final part |url=https://www.dawn.com/2011/02/02/a-history-of-football-in-pakistan-final-part/ |access-date=2024-07-04 |website=DAWN.COM |language=en}}

International career

Essa started at the under-16 level in 1995, and went on to play for the under-19 side.{{Cite web |date=2010-08-01 |title=Getting a kick out of football |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/899494/getting-a-kick-out-of-football |access-date=2024-07-02 |website=DAWN.COM |language=en}} He was discovered by then Pakistan youth team and under-23 manager John Layton back in early 1999, and found his way into the Pakistan national football team soon enough, receiving his first cap in 2001. In 2004, Essa was called up to the Pakistan U-23 squad for the 2004 South Asian games. He ended the tournament as top scorer and was player of the tournament, and helped Pakistan win the gold medal.{{Cite web |title=9th South Asian Federation Games 2004 (Pakistan) |url=https://www.rsssf.org/tabless/safg01.html |access-date=2022-12-06 |website=RSSSF |archive-date=6 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221206013333/https://www.rsssf.org/tabless/safg01.html |url-status=live }} His goal in the semi final against Sri Lanka which ultimately ended in a 1–1 draw until the penalty shootout took Pakistan all the way to the final against India, where Abdul Aziz's goal gave Pakistan a 1–0 victory. Essa scored his first senior international goal in a free-kick against India, in the first match of the 2005 Pakistan-India friendly series at the Ayub National Stadium in Quetta to tie the game 1–1 with minutes to go before the final whistle.{{Cite web |date=2005-06-13 |title=Pakistan-India opening match ends in draw |url=http://beta.dawn.com/news/143237/pakistan-india-opening-match-ends-in-draw |access-date=2022-12-06 |website=Dawn |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2005-06-13 |title=Pakistan hold India 1-1 in football series opener |url=http://www.brecorder.com/news/3169654 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221206013338/https://www.brecorder.com/news/3169654 |archive-date=6 December 2022 |access-date=2022-12-06 |website=Business Recorder |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Banerjee |first=Ritabrata |date=2021-06-12 |title=Indian Football: Did Sunil Chhetri score on international debut 16 years ago? {{!}} Goal.com |url=https://www.goal.com/en/news/indian-football-sunil-chhetri-score-international-debut-pakistan/24ieednxdysx1j2zonokuqz80 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221206013335/https://www.goal.com/en/news/indian-football-sunil-chhetri-score-international-debut-pakistan/24ieednxdysx1j2zonokuqz80 |archive-date=6 December 2022 |access-date=2022-12-06 |website=Goal}} He scored again in the 3–0 win against India at the Punjab Stadium in Lahore.{{Cite web |date=2005-06-19 |title=Pakistan beat India, tie football series |url=https://www.rediff.com/sports/report/foot/20050619.htm |access-date=2022-12-06 |website=Rediff.com |language=en}} He was named player of series at the end.

In 2006, he captained the Pakistan under 23 side at the 2006 South Asian Games, winning another gold medal.{{Cite web |title=10th South Asian Federation Games 2006 (Colombo) |url=https://www.rsssf.org/tabless/safg06.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221206013335/https://www.rsssf.org/tabless/safg06.html |archive-date=6 December 2022 |access-date=2022-12-06 |website=RSSSF}}{{Cite web |date=2010-11-06 |title=Jaffar named captain of U-23 soccer team |url=http://www.brecorder.com/news/3816701 |access-date=2024-08-07 |website=Brecorder |language=en}} After advancing from the group stages, Essa's strike against Nepal led Pakistan to the final against Sri Lanka, which ended in a victory for the Green Shirts thanks to a goal by Adeel Ahmed in the half time.{{Cite web |date=2006-08-28 |title=Pakistan defeat Lanka for football gold in SAF |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india/pakistan-defeat-lanka-for-football-gold-in-saf/story-ExZg4UXYebUyTOYIVfo9HL.html |access-date=2023-07-19 |website=Hindustan Times |language=en}} He also captained the under-23 side at the 2006 Asian Games.{{Cite web |date=2010-11-06 |title=Jaffar named captain of U-23 soccer team |url=http://www.brecorder.com/news/3816701 |access-date=2024-07-02 |website=Brecorder |language=en}}

He retained his captaincy for the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup qualification campaign. Despite a 2–0 win against Chinese Taipei in the first match, Pakistan lost 7–1 to Sri Lanka, which made Pakistan's 9–2 demolition of Guam 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 2008 SAFF Championship.{{Cite web |date=2008-05-27 |title=Pakistan to include four overseas players for SAFF championship |url=http://beta.dawn.com/news/304732/pakistan-to-include-four-overseas-players-for-saff-championship |access-date=2024-03-16 |website=DAWN.COM |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2008-04-07 |title=Pakistan thrash Guam in final: AFC Challenge qualifier |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/297033/pakistan-thrash-guam-in-final-afc-challenge-qualifier |access-date=2023-08-14 |website=DAWN.COM |language=en}}

He retired from the national team during the 2009 SAFF Championship, following a fallout with the international team manager György Kottán.{{Cite web |last=Ahsan |first=Ali |date=2018-01-05 |title=The decade-long decline of Pakistani football after a rare high |url=https://thesefootballtimes.co/2018/01/05/the-decade-long-decline-of-pakistani-football-after-a-rare-high/ |access-date=2022-12-06 |website=These Football Times |language=en-GB |archive-date=6 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221206013336/https://thesefootballtimes.co/2018/01/05/the-decade-long-decline-of-pakistani-football-after-a-rare-high/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2011-08-13 |title=Mohammad Essa (footballer) |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/651620/mohammad-essa-footballer |access-date=2022-12-06 |website=Dawn |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Wasim |first=M. |date=2011-01-08 |title=Comment: A year Pakistan football wants to forget |url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/100921/comment-a-year-pakistan-football-wants-to-forget |access-date=2022-12-06 |website=The Express Tribune |language=en |archive-date=10 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110210153622/http://tribune.com.pk/story/100921/comment-a-year-pakistan-football-wants-to-forget/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Hasan |first=Shazia |date=2009-12-13 |title=Coach`s attitude, hectic life led to retirement: Essa |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/508459/coachaes-attitude-hectic-life-led-to-retirement-essa |access-date=2024-01-17 |website=DAWN.COM |language=en}}

Managerial career

Essa served K-Electric both as a player and assistant coach while attaining the AFC B coaching license.{{Cite web |date=2023-01-21 |title=Essa joins KRL as coach, preparing for Challenge Cup |url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/1032652-essa-joins-krl-as-coach-preparing-for-challenge-cup |access-date=2023-07-07 |website=www.thenews.com.pk |language=en}}

He was appointed as assistant coach of the Pakistan national team in 2018,{{Cite web |date=2018-05-28 |title=PFF should expand coaching staff: Nasir |url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/322241-pff-should-expand-coaching-staff-nasir |access-date=2023-07-07 |website=www.thenews.com.pk |language=en}} lasting during the tenure of former PFF president Faisal Saleh Hayat, who was ousted by FIFA in June 2019.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2020-04-12 |title=PFF Normalisation Committee changes composition of provincial bodies |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1548431 |access-date=2023-07-07 |website=DAWN.COM |language=en}}

He returned to K-Electric as head coach until the team got disbanded in 2020. He joined KRL as the head coach in January 2023.

Personal life

Essa came from a family of footballers. Two of his uncles and his two brothers played in the domestic circuit. His older brother Ahmad Shah played at the national level and younger brother Jahangir Khan played for Pakistan national under-19 team. Essa's younger cousin Kaleemullah Khan is also a footballer and represented the Pakistan national team.{{Cite web |last=Wasim |first=Umaid |date=2013-01-07 |title=KRL’s ‘Messi’ sets sights on further glory |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/777027/krls-messi-sets-sights-on-further-glory |access-date= |website=DAWN.COM |language=en |quote=“Football is a family tradition for me,” Kaleemullah, a cousin of former Pakistan captain Mohammad Essa, told Dawn. “I played football at home and Essa was always there to help me in my early days. He was the biggest inspiration for me when I was young.}}

On 13 August 2007, Essa was awarded the Salaam Pakistan Award alongside tennis star Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi and female squash player Maria Toorpakai for their contributions to sport by the President of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf.{{Cite web |date=2007-08-16 |title=Essa gets 'Salaam Pakistan Award' |url=http://thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=68387 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927212936/http://thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=68387 |archive-date=2007-09-27 |access-date=2022-12-06 |website=The News International}} On 7 May 2009, Essa received AFC Distinguished Services Awards from FIFA President Sepp Blatter at Kuala Lumpur during the AFC 23rd Congress.{{Cite web |date=2010-01-01 |title=Vision Asia will strengthen Pakistan football: Faisal |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/511796/vision-asia-will-strengthen-pakistan-football-faisal |access-date=2025-01-16 |website=DAWN.COM |language=en}}

In 2009, he opened an academy at his home town in Chaman, called the Essa Khan Academy. Essa is the co-founder of Pak Afghan Clearing Agency, founded as a hybrid of a department and football club.{{Cite web |title=News |url=http://pakistanprimierleague.weebly.com/news.html |access-date=2024-02-02 |website=pakistanprimierleague.weebly.com}}{{Cite web |last=InpaperMagazine |first=From |date=2013-01-13 |title=In-depth: Pakistan football |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/778489/in-depth-pakistan-football |access-date=2024-02-02 |website=DAWN.COM |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Wasim |first=Umaid |date=2017-11-25 |title=KMC Stadium fills up as team from Chaman plays |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1372635 |access-date=2024-02-02 |website=DAWN.COM |language=en}}

Career statistics

= International =

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" \|+Appearances and goals by national team and year{{NFT player\|id=5001\|access-date=}} !National team !Year !Apps !Goals
rowspan="7" \|Pakistan \|2001 \|6 \|0
2003 \|2 \|0
2005 \|8 \|3
2006 \|9 \|4
2007 \|2 \|0
2008 \|5 \|2
2009 \|7 \|2
colspan="2" \|Total !39 !11

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

|+Appearances and goals by national team and year{{NFT player|id=5001|access-date=}}

!National team

!Year

!Apps

!Goals

rowspan="7" |Pakistan

|2001

2003

2005

2006

2007