Imtiaz Ahmed Nakib

Imtiaz Ahmed Nakib (; born 1 September 1969) is a Bangladeshi former professional footballer who played as a striker for the Bangladesh national football team, throughout the 1990s. He has a total of 107 goals in Bangladeshi top-flight football and is the current all-time top scorer for Muktijoddha Sangsad KC, with 57 league goals.

Personal life Nakib was born on 1 September 1969, in Narsingdi. He was brought up in Dhaka, due to his father's job as a veterinarian.

On 3 July 2018, Nakib suffered a heart attack and was admitted to Ibrahim Cardiac Hospital in Shahbagh.

Life after retirement Nakib is the current team manager of Mohammedan SC.

Club career Early years Nakib's journey with football began after his father switched jobs to the Badda district in 1980. He started playing in with neighborhood kids there, and in 1985, one of his friends invited him to meet the coach of local club Badda Jagoroni. Nakib started his club career with pioneer league team Badda Jagoroni Sangsad in 1986, while he was still at secondary school. Nakib had previously played as a goalkeeper for his school, however, after being convinced the clubs coach Sayeed Hassan Kanan, who was also the national team goalkeeper at the time, Nakib registered at the club as a striker, even though he never played the role before. He played in pioneer division from 1986 to 1997 and then in the Third Division league in 1988, although he failed to secure a permanent place in the starting lineup during that time. Nakib was also a regular member of the Dhaka University football team. In the late 1990s Nakib's family wanted him to quit playing as he was not able to find a sustainable source of income by playing in a semi-professional league, however, in 1989, he got an offer from Mohammedan SC, who were the biggest club in Bangladesh at the time. The surprise move took place because Nakib managed to survive a trial for Bangladesh U16 in 1988 and after the trial the Bangladesh Football Federation, placed a new rule on First Division clubs, where a team has to sign 2 new players at the start of each season, and so, Nakib ended up at Mohammedan to fill the new player quota. Nakib also spent a year with Indian giants Mohun Bagan in the National Football League from 2000 to 2001, during the decline of the domestic league and Bangladeshi football in general. Nakib again returned to Mohammedan in 2001, and scored 5 goals that year for the runner-up team in the league. On 23 March 2007, Nakib retired after playing his last Dhaka Derby for Mohammedan. The veteran scored 107 goals in domestic league football in his 18-year long career and scored another 45 to 50 goals in different tournaments, he also found the net against numerous Asian opponents during AFC Club competitions. His most well known strikes in continental competitions came against Thai club Port FC, Qatari club Al-Rayyan SC and Al Shabab from UAE, all of which came during the 1991 Asian Club Championship. He also has several goals against south Asian opposition during AFC tournaments.

International career Olympic team Nakib scored 8 goals for the Under-23 team during the Olympic Football qualifiers in 1991. He scored 5 times against the Philippines U23, as Bangladesh defeated them 8–0.

Bangladesh national team From 1990 to 1999 Nakib played for the Bangladesh national team. However, even though he was not dropped from selection and kept on scoring in the league during these 9 years, Nakib failed to solidify a starting spot in the national team. According to him it was due to the fact that the Mohammedan staff and coaches held a grudge against him for joining Muktijoddha. The club officials forced the national team coach to not play him. Nakib's greatest game for the National team came during Bangladesh's first ever title triumph, the 4-nation Tiger Trophy in Myanmar. During the final Bangladesh took on the hosts. Myanmar had already defeated the nation during the opening match of the tournament, however, this time a change of tactics brought in by coach Otto Pfister, helped Bangladesh surprise their opponents. Bangladesh took the lead through Mamun Joarder, but soon Myanmar equalized, eventually Nakib scored Bangladesh's winner through a 49th-minute header from a Rakib Hossain cross. Nakib also scored during the 1997 South Asian Football Federation Gold Cup against Maldives, which ended up being his last ever goal for his country. During the 1999 South Asian Football Federation Gold Cup, Bangladesh coach at the time, Samir Shaker told Nakib "You are not allowed to join the team", forcing him to retire from the national team.

+List of international goals scored by Imtiaz Ahmed NakibNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition 1. 10 December 1993 Mirpur Stadium, Dhaka 3–1 FIFA Friendly 2. 14 September 1994 Khalifa International Stadium, Doha 1–4 2–4 Qatar Independence Cup 3. 2–4 4. 4 November 1995 Thuwunna Stadium, Yangon 2–1 2–1 1995 Burma Cup 5. 29 March 1997 Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium, Jeddah 2–1 2–1 1998 FIFA World Cup qualifiers 6. 5 September 1997 Dasharath Rangasala Stadium, Kathmandu 1–1 1–1 1997 SAFF Championship

Honours

International Bangladesh Four-nation International Invitational Football Tournament 1995