Chow Chee Keong

Chow Chee Keong (26 November 1948 – 21 February 2018) was a Malaysian football goalkeeper who played in Hong Kong and the Malaysian national football team.

Career His nickname in Hong Kong was Asian Steel Gate and Crazy Sword . He was a Malaysian Chinese. In 1963, he represented the Malaysian in under-20 level as a 13-year-old. Two years later, he joined the Malaysian national football team as a 15-year-old. At that point, he was the youngest ever Malaysian international player. He was briefly on the playing staff at Bedford Town FC. From 1966 to 1970, he was voted by the Asian Football Confederation as the best goalkeeper five times in a row.

In 1968, he came to Hong Kong with a Chinese Malaysian selection side and many Hong Kong clubs took notice of him. Two years later, he joined Hong Kong Rangers for three guest matches. Then, he joined Jardine for a salary of HK$2,500 per month which was the Hong Kong record at that time. However, a year later, Jardines withdrew from the Hong Kong football league system. So he moved to South China where his career started to take off. For his three seasons with South China, he won many trophies and personal awards. In 1974, he moved to Tung Sing. His salary was HKD 7000 per month plus housing. In 1977, he returned to South China. A year later, he started to play in both Hong Kong league and the Malaysian league simultaneously. In 1979, he left Hong Kong, but returned in 1981. He spent a short time again with South China before moving to Hong Kong Rangers. In 1980, he returned to Malaysia and played for Malaysian national football team for 1980 Pestabola Merdeka and World Cup qualification in 1981 before retiring from football.

Retirement He became a golfer after retiring from football. In 1991, he finally earned a coaching license. He first started to teach in Malaysia. In 1995, he moved to a golf club in Shenzhen, China. In 1997, he returned to South China as a golfing instructor.

Honours Club South China Hong Kong First Division Winners (3): 1971-72, 1973-74, 1977-78 Hong Kong Senior Shield Winners (1): 1971-72 Viceroy Cup Winners (1): 1971-72

International Malaysia Merdeka Tournament Winners (1): 1968

Individual AFC Asia's best goalkeeper: 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970 AFC Asian All Stars: 1968 Between The Sticks-Top 10 Asian & Oceanic goalkeepers of all time (5th place): 2020 MasterCard Asian/Oceanian Team of the 20th Century: 1998 IFFHS Men Best Malaysian Goalkeeper of the Century (1901-2000) IFFHS Men’s All Time Malaysia Dream Team: 2022