Sheikh Mohammad Aslam

Bangladeshi footballer

Sheikh Mohammad Aslam (; born 1 March 1958), popularly known as Aslam, is a Bangladeshi former professional footballer. He played as a specialist striker and was one of the most lethal marksmen in the Dhaka domestic league during the 1980s and 1990s. He gained fame while playing for Abahani Krira Chakra, one of Dhaka's two major football clubs. He was a linchpin of several league winning Abahani sides, and was the league's leading scorer several times. He is said to have scored more than 300 goals in domestic and international football combined. He later worked for the Bangladesh Football Federation after retiring.

Aslam first came to Dhaka to participate in the 100m run, long jump and javelin throw events for the Team BJMC athletics team in 1976. Along with athletics he got involved with football, starting his journey in 1974 for Town Club in the Khulna Second Division Football League. The next year he played for Bangladesh WAPDA and earned promotion to the First Division Football League as the runner up. While playing for WAPDA in 1976, he managed to attract interest from Dhaka's top tier.

Aslam reached the zenith of his career while playing for Abahani, as from 1984 until 1987 he was Dhaka League's top goal scorer for a record four consecutive seasons. During this time, he had Kazi Salahuddin, Samrat Hossain Emily, PremLal and Karim Allawi as his striker partner at different stages. He scored 17 goals in 1984, 18 goals in 1985, 20 goals in 1986, 14 goals in 1987 and 17 goals in 1988. His record was later broken by Muktijoddha SKC captain Imtiaz Ahmed Nakib. In the 1989–1990 season, he scored 11 goals and set a new record of becoming the top scorer five times. From the 1984 to 1988–1989 seasons, he achieved the rare feat of scoring a hat trick in each league for five consecutive seasons. He scored 103 goals for Abahani in seven consecutive seasons until the 1991–1992 season. Aslam won three league trophies alongside a hat trick in the Federation Cup (from 1985 to 1988) during his first spell at the club.

Alsam left a huge mark in continental football for Abahani, scoring a hat trick as Abahani defeated India's Gurkha Brigade 4–1 in the DCM Trophy in New Delhi in 1984. Aslam's five goals helped Abahani beat Club Valencia from Maldives 8–1 in the 1985–86 Asian Club Championship held in Colombo. With nine goals for Abahani during the tournament, he became the highest scorer jointly with PremLal of Saunders SC of Sri Lanka. During Abahani's 1991 BTC Clubs Cup triumph, they managed to defeat Indian giant Kolkata Mohammedan in the group stage, with Aslam scoring one of the two goals in a 2–1 win. In the semi final they defeated another Indian team in East Bengal Club, with goals from Aslam and Rizvi Karim Rumi. Abahani went onto defeat Dhaka Mohammedan SC in the final. Aslam was named the best player of the tournament with three goals in four matches, thus attracting interest from abroad. And as the Dhaka League was not held in 1991, East Bengal Club signed Aslam along with his teammates Monem Munna and Rizvi Karim Rumi for the 1991 Calcutta Football League. Regarding his injury, Aslam said during an interview, "After scoring a goal against George Telegraph, their goalkeeper hit me so hard that I passed out. I was taken to the hospital."

After a falling out with Abahani authorities, Aslam joined Mohammedan in 1993 and scored seven goals during his year long spell at the club. He returned to Abahani in 1994 and scored 16 goals during his last spell at the club. Aside from Khurshid Alam Babul, Aslam is the only player to win seven Dhaka League trophies. Aslam hung up his boots in 1996, ending his illustrious league career with record 177 goals in domestic football in Dhaka from which 119 goals were for Abahani Limited, making him the club's all time leading goalscorer. India's goalkeeper during the game, Atanu Bhattacharya, later told Aslam during his time at East Bengal, "Dada, you have ended my career!" Aslam's strike in the 1986 Asian Games against Nepal gave Bangladesh their only second ever victory in the competition. On 27 February 1989, Aslam scored a bullet header for Bangladesh against Iran during the 1990 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. Nonetheless, Bangladesh failed to make it a memorable draw, as Rumman Wali Sabbir missed a crucial penalty towards the end of the game. During the 6th President's Gold Cup Football final, Aslam scored the equalizer against Korea University as the game ended 1–1, with Bangladesh winning the title on penalties. Aslam was left out of the Bangladesh squad by Iranian coach Nasser Hejazi for the 1989 South Asian Games, a decision which was criticized by both media and fans. The 1991 South Asian Games was Aslam's last ever tournament for Bangladesh, as his career with his country ended without a trophy. He scored his last international goal for his country during the tournament against Nepal. He was selected as the best footballer by Bangladesh Sports Writers Association in 1984 and by National Sports Council in 1998. In 1997, on the occasion of its Silver Jubilee, Bangladesh Football Federation selected the best XI of post independence Bangladesh and in 2005, he was one of the 10 footballers honored by the football federation.