Muhammad Idrees

Muhammad Idrees is a Pakistani former footballer who played as a left winger, and manager. Idrees represented Pakistan national team from 1973 till 1978, and later served as head coach of the national team from 1996 till 1999.

Club career

Idrees played for Lahore based Pakistan Railways before moving to Karachi based team Pakistan Airlines in 1975. He won the National Football Championship four times with Pakistan Airlines. In the 1981 final, Idrees scored a brace in a 2–2 draw against Pakistan Air Force, until winning the title through penalties. He also helped them win the 1984 Inter-Provincial Championship. He represented Pakistan Airlines in the 1977 and 1982 editions of the Aga Khan Gold Cup.

During the 1970s, Idrees was one of several Pakistani players which represented club sides in and coached the clubs’ new youth setups in the Middle East.

International career

Idrees captained the Pakistan Youth team at the 1973 AFC Youth Championship. He was then selected to play for Pakistan for a tour to the far east, where he scored against China on 10 June 1973, in a 4–7 defeat. The following year, Idrees scored against the Iranian opposition in a 1–2 defeat, and provided a last moment assist to Ali Nawaz Baloch in the eventual 2–2 tie against Turkey in the 1974 RCD Cup. The same year, he participated in the 1974 Asian Games, scoring a goal in a 1–5 defeat against Burma. In 1978, Idrees participated with the national team at the Saudi Arabia Football Federation International Tournament, where he scored a brace against Kenya in a 8–3 defeat. Under his supervision in the 1997 SAFF Gold Cup, Pakistan went on to achieve a third-place finish in the tournament. He last served as coach at the 1999 SAFF Gold Cup.

Career statistics

International goals

Scores and results list Pakistan's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Idrees goal.

Honours Pakistan Airlines National Football Championship: Winners (4): 1975, 1976, 1978, 1981 Inter-Provincial Championship: Winners (1): 1984

Managerial

Pakistan SAFF Gold Cup: third-place: 1997