Maula Bakhsh Gotai (; 1947 – 30 August 2021), alternatively spelled Maula Bux,
Early life
Bakhsh was born in Saifi Lane, in the Lyari locality of
Karachi in 1947.
He started playing football at an early age for the local Saifi Sports Club.
A graduate of Karachi University, Bakhsh played for the NJV School and SM Government Arts & Commerce College school football teams until eventually getting selected for the Karachi Division 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
Team BJMC.
Turkey
After making a good impression with the national team in a match against Turkey at the 1967 RCD Cup,
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.
Bakhsh made two appearances with the team against
Ankara Demirspor and
Bursaspor during the 1967–68 Turkish First Football League.
Both stayed at the club for six months.
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.
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
Bakhsh represented the Pakistan national football team from 1965 to 1973. 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 died on 30 August 2021 at the age of 73.
Career statistics
International goals
- Scores and results list Pakistan's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Bakhsh goal.
| 1 | 15 November 1967 | Bogyoke Aung San Stadium, Rangoon, Burma | | | 1–1 | 1968 AFC Asian Cup qualification | |
| 2 | 10 September 1969 | Ankara 19 Mayıs Stadium, Ankara, Turkey | | 1–0 | 2–4 | 1969 RCD Cup | |
See also
-
List of Pakistan national football team captains
External links
