Abdul Ghani Minhat

Tan Sri Datuk Abdul Ghani bin Minhat (Jawi: عبدالغني منحت; December 1935 – 28 September 2012) was an association football player who represented Selangor FA and Negeri Sembilan FA from the 1950s to the late 1960s. He played as a striker and winger for both the Malaya and the Malaysia national teams. He was widely known by the nickname Raja Bola ("King of Football") and is regarded as one of Malaysia's greatest football players.

Early life Abdul Ghani Minhat was born on 23 December 1935 in Kampung Solok, Rantau, Negeri Sembilan. He began his education at Princess Road School in 1945 at the age of 10. He was assigned to play as a left winger, despite being right-footed, and used the opportunity to develop his left-foot skills.

In 1955, Abdul Ghani was selected to play for Selangor as the team aimed to win the HMS Malaya Cup for the first time in six years. Selangor met Singapore in the 1956 final. Abdul Ghani contributed to Selangor’s 2–1 victory by scoring a goal and was praised by his teammates for his performance. Following the match, he was called up by national coach Neoh Boon Hean to represent the Malaya national team in a friendly against Cambodia.

He continued to play for Selangor in subsequent years, during which the club became one of the most dominant teams in Malaya and Singapore, earning the nickname "The Red Giants." Alongside players such as M. Chandran, Stanley Gabrielle, Robert Choe, and Arthur Koh, Selangor was considered a powerful and formidable side.

One of Abdul Ghani’s most valuable experiences came in 1962 when he was sent on attachment to train with several clubs in Europe, including West Ham United, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Cardiff City, and Eintracht Frankfurt. Despite the loss, Selangor was commended by the Football Association of Malaysia for being the first Malaysian team to reach the final of the Asian Club Championship.

Abdul Ghani officially retired in 1968, with the 1968 Malaysia Cup final marking his last appearance. Selangor won the match with a decisive 8–1 victory.

International career Abdul Ghani first played for the Malaya national team when he was named among the 17 players which represent Malaya in the 1956 AFC Asian Cup qualification, together with the youngster Ray Crawford. On 17 March 1956, Abdul Ghani's first appearance with the national team was very impressive when Abdul Ghani scored an amazing seven goals to helping Malaya beat Cambodia 9–2.

The following year, he scored his first goal in the first ever edition, inaugural 1957 Pestabola Merdeka from an amazing 40 meters rocket shot against Vietnam in the tournament held at the Padang TPCA, Princess Road in 1957. But Abdul Ghani was disappointed after failing to win the trophy for his country after Hong Kong emerged as champions. Abdul Ghani managed to overcome his disappointment in 1958 when he helped the national squad won the 1958 Pestabola Merdeka after being the group champions above Hong Kong and Indonesia.

Abdul Ghani then helped Malaya to retain the title Pestabola Merdeka in 1959 after beating Indonesia 2–1. He later received the title 'King of ball' from Football Association of Selangor (FAS), a title later used by anyone to refer to him for his brilliant performance for Malaya.

He completed his hat-trick in the 1960 Pestabola Merdeka. Malaya eventually shared the title with Asian Giants, South Korea. On 15 August 1960, he was selected members to form the AFC Asian All-Stars tour of Europe, which never materialized. In 1961, Abdul Ghani help the national team's to won the gold medal in the 1961 SEAP Games (now SEA Games) in Rangoon, the Burmese (now Myanmar) after beating the Burma in the finals.

Abdul Ghani helped Malaya to won the 1962 Asian Games bronze medal after beating South Vietnam 4–1.

After the defunct of Malaya national team in 1963, a combined team with the combination of players from Federation of Malaya and Singapore under the name of new nation, Malaysia was proposed by Tunku Abdul Rahman to compete at the 1963 Merdeka Tournament. Abdul Ghani was selected as the first captain of Malaysia national team. Abdul Ghani officially retired from international football after the Merdeka Cup in 1966.

Coaching career After his retirement, he was sent to Japan by the Football Association of Malaysia to attend a FIFA Coaching School being the first ever Malaysian to have an official training from FIFA. He finally received his FIFA coaching license in 1969. He was appointed to be the coach the national team in 1969. Abdul Ghani managed the national team on an on-off basis starting from 1969 Merdeka Tournament. His last involvement with the national is at the 1976 Olympic Games qualification in Jakarta.

After only coaching the national team, he later coached his favourite team, Selangor in 1970. In 1971, he became the first player and coach to win the Malaysia Cup after being the team coach and also playing in the final and the semi-finals. He again led Selangor Malaysia's Cup victory over Perak 3–0 in 1972. He then resigned as coach in 1973 because his main concentration was on business instead of coaching.

10 years later, Abdul Ghani returned as coach for Selangor after replacing Chow Kwai Lam in 1983. But his coaching career with Selangor only lasted three seasons after being sacked after failing to help the team win the Malaysia Cup in 1985 despite the successful season leading Selangor to win the 1984 Malaysia Cup after a 3–1 victory over Pahang. After Abdul Ghani left as coach, he returned doing business.

In 2004, he returned to Selangor but this time as a Coaching Adviser for the Football Association of Selangor (FAS). He later resigned from the Football Association of Selangor and agreed moved to his birthplace and became a Coaching Adviser for Negeri Sembilan. He resigned later around 2007 after 2006–07 Season ended.

Death He died on 28 September 2012, due to the complications after undergoing coronary bypass surgery at National Heart Institute, in Kuala Lumpur. He left behind wife Puan Sri Tengku Aishah Tengku Ibrahim, two sons and two daughters.

Career statistics

Scores and results list Malaya's and Malaysia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Abdul Ghani goal. + List of international goals scored by Abdul Ghani Minhat FAM Special Award: 2012 Goal.com The best Malaysia XI of all time: 2020 IFFHS Men's All Time Malaysia Dream Team: 2022

Records Malaya all-time top scorer: 58 goals The first player from outside Europe and the first player from Asia to reach 50 goals for men's national teams: 15 December 1961 The longest international scoring series: 11 Matches in 1961-1962, equalled by Erling Haaland in 2024-2025 ongoing One of the five players who had averages more than one goal per match in international and having scored more than 50 goals after Sandor Kocsis with 75 goals in 68 matches (1.1), Gerd Müller with 68 goals in 62 matches (1.1), Erling Haaland with 55 goals in 48 matches (1.15) and Poul Nielsen with 52 goals in 38 matches (1.37): 58 goals in 57 matches (1.02) One of the three players who had scored four goals in a Malaysia Cup final after Lee Ah Loke(1952) and N. Thanabalan(1968): 1963

Orders