Alfaz Ahmed

Alfaz Ahmed (, ; born 6 June 1973) is a Bangladeshi football coach and former player who currently serves as the head coach of Bangladesh Football League club Mohammedan SC. He represented the Bangladesh national team from 1995 to 2008. He is seen as one of the best strikers to ever play for Bangladesh.

He won three international trophies while playing for his country. Alfaz scored the winning goal of the 1999 South Asian Games final against Nepal. In his 13-year career with the Bangladesh team, he scored 12 goals. Alfaz also has 109 domestic league goals, including numerous goals in AFC club competitions. Although he played as a striker for the national team, Alfaz was often used as a playmaking forward at the domestic level.

Early life Alfaz was born in Zakiganj Upazila of Sylhet District. He spent most of his childhood in Dhaka, as his father attended work in the capital.

After being on the fringes at Abahani during his short stay, he moved to mid-table side Arambagh KS in 1994. It was at Arambagh where Alfaz regained his old form and after an impressive season at the club, in 1995, he was called up to the Bangladesh national team for the first time. The following season, he joined Abahani's arch-rivals Mohammedan SC, and thus became one of the most lethal forwards in Bangladesh.

Mohammedan In 1995, Alfaz joined Mohammedan SC. He helped Mohammedan win the Federation Cup in his debut season as Mohammedan defeated his former club Dhaka Abahani in the final. In the following season, Alfaz, who he started his career as an attacking midfielder, was transitioned to a striker by coach, Kang Man-young. Alfaz went on to score in the first two matches in his new position, against Bangladesh Boys Club and Victoria SC, and thus he started playing regularly in that position.

Mohun Bagan Alfaz joined Kolkata giants Mohun Bagan in 2000, alongside Mohammedan teammate Imtiaz Ahmed Nakib. He went onto appear 6 times for the club during India's 2000–01 National Football League, playing as striker behind the Brazilian José Barreto.

Brothers Union In 2004, Brothers Union, once recognized as the country's third-biggest club in the 80s, signed Alfaz along with many other national players. The star-studded team went on to lift both the 2003–04 Dhaka Premier Division League and 2004 National League titles.

Return to Mohammedan After returning to Mohammedan in 2005, Alfaz scored against rivals Dhaka Abahani and also assisted the first goal for Divine Chibiuka, during the final of the 2005–06 National League, as club captain. Mohammedan went on to secure the league title winning the game 2–0. This was Alfaz's fourth consecutive National League triumph. He then once again departed, joining Muktijoddha Sangsad KC for the start of the country's first ever professional league, the B.League in 2007.

Muktijoddha Sangsad On 27 March 2007, Alfaz netted the first hat-trick in B.League history as Muktijoddha beat Rahmatganj MFS by 4–1. He scored a total of 8 goals the inaugural professional league.

Sheikh Russel In 2008, Alfaz joined minnows Sheikh Russel KC and scored 18 league goals, helping the club finish third in the league, his most memorable performance that season was the hat-trick he scored against Khulna Abahani, as Sheikh Russel won the game 5–0.

Arambagh In 2009, he returned to his boyhood club Arambagh KS, rejecting a financially better offer from newcomers Beanibazar SC of Sylhet. He scored twice in his return game against Chittagong Mohammedan. He helped Arambagh finish fifth that year, scoring 12 league goals, which was the fourth highest in the league that season.

Dhaka Abahani In 2010, Alfaz signed for Dhaka Abahani. Although not a regular in the team, he scored during a 3–0 victory over Nepal's Three Star Club in the final of the Bordoloi Trophy.

Retirement Alfaz returned to Mohammedan ahead of the 2012–13 Bangladesh Premier League. On 7 April 2013, at the age of 40, Alfaz retired from professional football after a glorious 28-year career which saw him win numerous trophies and individual honors with club and country. During his retirement match, Alfaz captained Mohammedan against Dhaka Abahani in the Dhaka Derby. He played the first 19-minutes of the game, before being replaced.

International career Alfaz represented Bangladesh U19 during the 1994 AFC Youth Championship qualifiers and also managed to score in a 2–2 draw with Hong Kong U19.

After playing at Arambagh for a year, Korean coach Kang Man-young selected Alfaz for the 1995 South Asian Gold Cup squad, and handed him his senior international debut on 25 March 1995, against Pakistan. In October 1995, newly appointed German coach Otto Pfister kept him in the team for the 4-nation Tiger Trophy in Myanmar, which became the country's first ever international trophy. However, after returning from Myanmar, Alfaz was dropped from the team. The following year, Alfaz scored a brace against South Asian counterparts India, during 2000 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers.

On 12 February 2001, during the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifiers held in Dammam, captain Alfaz displayed the best individual performance in his career, as Bangladesh defeated Mongolia 3–0. Alfaz scored the first goal by fainting away from three Mongolian defenders and shooting from outside the penalty area. His second goal was a solo effort, after receiving the ball on the right, he outpaced a defender, and cut inside to score from a tight angle and double his teams lead.

In 2003, Alfaz won his third title for Bangladesh, the 2003 SAFF Championship, Alfaz played all five games during the tournament, scoring against Nepal in the group stages. ALfaz went on to play the 2005 SAFF Championship, however this time his team was defeated in the final. His next goals came against Cambodia and Tajikistan respectively during the 2006 AFC Challenge Cup. The same year Alfaz, announced his retirement from international football after playing the 2007 AFC Asian Cup qualifiers. He returned to the national team in 2007 for the Nehru Cup held in India. However, his return was short lived as he was dropped from the national team in 2008, for the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC first round.

Managerial career In 2015, Alfaz got his UEFA C license. He then worked at his former club Mohammedan as an assistant coach. Alfaz went on to coach the Bangladesh Army football team, and was also part of the Bangladesh women's national football team coaching panel. In 2019, Alfaz completed his AFC A license course. On 17 May 2014, Alfaz served as the caretaker head coach of Mohammedan during the absence of Rui Capela during their 1–0 victory over Chittagong Abahani in the 2013–14 Bangladesh Premier League. He returned to his assistant post following the game, after Mohammed Jewel Rana was appointed as caretaker.

Uttar Baridhara On 11 November 2019, newly promoted Uttar Baridhara appointed Alfaz as the club's head coach, marking his first permanent position in the role. He first took charge of the team durting the 2019–20 Federation Cup. The inexperienced Uttar Baridhara team were not able to score during all three group stage game, as Alfaz took the risk of playing local striker Sumon Reza. On 13 February 2019, Alfaz managed his first league game for the club against Bashundhara Kings, and even though Baridhara defended well they ended up losing the game 1–0. Nonetheless, after a 8-game winless run, Alfaz was removed from his managerial post, in March 2020.

Mohammedan SC In 2021, Alfaz was made Mohammedan's assistant coach under former national team player Shafiqul Islam Manik.

On 1 March 2023, he was appointed as the interim head coach of Mohammedan SC following Manik's departure.

Career statistics International

Scores and results list Bangladesh's goal tally first. +List of international goals scored by Alfaz AhmedNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1. 29 March 1997 Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia 2–1 2–1 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification 2. 31 August 1997 Thuwunna Stadium, Yangon, Myanmar 1–0 2–2 Friendly3. 24 April 1999 Fatorda Stadium, Goa, India 2–0 4–0 1999 SAFF Championship4. 29 April 1999 Fatorda Stadium, Goa, India 2–0 2–1 1999 SAFF Championship5. 4 October 1999 Dasarath Rangasala Stadium, Kathmandu, Nepal 1–0 1–0 1999 South Asian Games6. 29 November 1999 Tahnoun bin Mohammed Stadium Abu Dhabi, UAE 1–0 2–2 2000 AFC Asian Cup qualification 7. 2–1 8. 12 February 2001 Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium, Dammam, Saudi Arabia 1–0 3–0 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification 9. 2–010. 11 January 2003 Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka, Bangladesh 1–0 1–0 2003 SAFF Championship11. 1 April 2006 Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka, Bangladesh 1–0 2–1 2006 AFC Challenge Cup 12. 10 April 2006 1–1 1–6 2006 AFC Challenge Cup

Managerial statistics

TeamFromToPWDLGSGA%WMohammedan SC (caretaker)17 May 2014 14 March 2020Mohammedan SC25 February 2023 Present

Honours Player Mohammedan SC Dhaka Premier Division League: 1996, 1999 National League : 2001–02, 2005–06 Federation Cup: 1995 DMFA Cup: 1995 Bangladesh Super Cup: 2013

Abahani Limited Dhaka Charms Cup: 1994 Super Cup: 2011

Muktijoddha Sangsad KC National League: 2003 Federation Cup: 2003

Brothers Union National League: 2004 Dhaka Premier Division League: 2003–04

Bangladesh SAFF Championship: 2003 South Asian Games Gold medal: 1999 4-nation Tiger Trophy: 1995

Manager Mohammedan SC Bangladesh Premier League: 2024–25 Federation Cup: 2022–23

Individual AFC player of the month – 1996 August