Football is a global sport, and what made this sport get the global tag is its popularity. It is played in almost every country in the world, and each country has its own stars who are taking this sport forward. Not only are current footballers are treated as stars in their country as there were also footballers who brought forward this sport in their country. We will talk about Mokhtar Dahari, a renowned Malaysian footballer of his time. Keep reading.
Mokhtar Dahari, also known as “Super Mokh”, was the reason that made many youngsters pick Football as a profession in Malaysia. He was a professional Malaysian footballer having played for the Malaysian national team from 1975 to 1985. When we talk about star footballers in Malaysian history, you can’t keep Mokhtar Dahari’s name out of the list. During his football career, he scored 89 goals.
Mokhtar Dahari’s Role in Lifting Malaysian Football
As said, Mokhtar was one of the reasons that made many youngsters during his playing days choose football as a professional sport over other sports that were played in Malaysia. One can’t deny his role in lifting this sport in the country. During Mokhtar’s playing days, the Malaysian national team achieved a ranking of 61 in the World Football Elo Ratings in 1977.
If you were born in the 21st century in Malaysia, and see people going crazy after football matches. However, it was not the case, and players like Mokhtar Dahari should be credited for this, which, through their football talent, made this sport popular in the country. Now, you see football as one of the sports among the top 10 trusted online casino in Malaysia and sports wagering sites. However, it was footballers like Mokhtar Dahari who made football popular, that forced sports wagering sites to include it as one of the sports to wager on their platform.
How Mokhtar Dahari Got the Name Supermokh?
If you are an old Malaysian Football fan, you may know that Mokhtar Dahari was known with the name of “Supermokh”, but do you know how he got this name? It was his superhuman speed and prolific goal-scoring ability that made him the best footballer of his time in the Malaysian football team. During his playing days, he was capable of scoring from anywhere and dominating the world’s best defence, which earned him the moniker of Supermokh, which was almost supernatural.
The Supermokh name was made from taking ‘Super’ from ‘Supernatural’ and ‘Mokh’ from his own name. He once scored from the halfway line against England B in 1978, which was also one of the reasons for naming him Supermokh. Mokhtar remains the top goal scorer for the Malaysian national team, and his name also features on the list of the world’s highest international goal scorers. Mokhtar’s name remains as the most lethal striker the Malaysian football team has ever seen.
Mokhtar belongs to Selangor, one of the 13 states of Malaysia, and he became a footballer when there was not much scope for footballers in Malaysia. If you talk about current times, footballers receive constant adoration and are even paid hefty sums, but Mokhtar chose football when football hardly provides footballers with an earning to live a day comfortably. At that time, footballers had to do other jobs to survive; however, he united Malaysians which people in other professions like singing and politics couldn’t do.
Important Achievements of Mokhtar Dahari for Malaysia
As a footballer, Mokhtar Dahari did a fantastic job, as his football skills influenced many generations to become professional footballers. However, when we talk about his achievements as a member of the Malaysian football team, those include:
- Asian Games 1974 Bronze Medal
Malaysia won the Bronze Medal at the Asian Games 1974 in Tehran by defeating North Korea, which was rated at the top moment for Mokhtar as a Malaysia Footballer.
- Winning Southeast Asian Games
Apart from winning the Bronze medal at the Asian Games 1974, Mokhtar was a member of the Malaysian team that became the champion at the Southeast Asian Games in 1977 and 1979. Apart from that, the Malaysian team was the runner-up in the 1981 edition of the Southeast Asian Games.
- Merdeka Tournament
Mokhtar Dasari was also a member of the Malaysian team that became the champion at the Merdeka Tournament in 1973, 1974, 1976, and 1979.
Mokhtar’s football skills earned him many awards during his playing days, such as the National Sportsman Award in 1976, the AFC Century Award in 1999, and the Best Asian Striker by World Soccer in 1975.
This is all about Mokhtar Dahari, a renowned former Malaysian footballer, who was behind the uplifting of football in Malaysia. We have discussed about his life in detail, from achievements as a Malaysia footballer. We hope you liked reading the information provided in this post. Share your thoughts in the comments.
