Soh Chin Aun

Datuk Wira Soh Chin Ann (or Soh Chin Aun due to misspelling by Malaysian media; ; born 28 July 1950) is a Malaysian former footballer who played as a defender. He was affectionately known as Tauke or Towkay (Boss) by his teammates and fans.

Soh was regarded as the most capped player in men's international football, though the total varied by source. The RSSSF and IFFHS credited him with 219 appearances, a record later surpassed by Cristiano Ronaldo in 2025. FIFA, by contrast, recognised 195 official caps, a record overtaken by Bader Al-Mutawa in 2022.

Club career Soh started his football career with Malacca in 1969. He joined Selangor in 1971 and played for them until 1978 winning six Malaysia Cup titles. He returned to star for Malacca in 1979 and won the League Cup title in 1983 but was inactive for two years due to a one-year suspension in 1985. He captained Malacca in 1988 which was also his last appearances in the domestic league.

International career National team At the age of 19, Soh earned his full international caps for Malaysia at the 1969 King's Cup. In 1971, when he played in the Olympic qualifier in Seoul, South Korea, he was the youngest member of the national team at the age of 21. He participated in the 1972 Munich Olympic Games and playing all three group games. He also was the captain of the team that qualified for the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games. Malaysia did not participate in boycott of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. However, because of his contribution for helping Malaysia to qualify for the Olympics, he was awarded the Ahli Mangku Negara by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. He later took part in the 1980 AFC Asian Cup, where his Malaysia was eliminated from the group stage, yet Malaysia produced one of the finest performance ever under his leadership, with the team gaining a famous 1–1 draw over powerhouse South Korea; Soh gained fame as well for having an exceptional tournament, allowing him to be named into the Team of the Tournament by the AFC, the first Southeast Asian to receive such honour, a record which would stand until the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.

Malaysia Selection On 11 May 1975, Soh was part of the Malaysia Selection that played against Arsenal FC in a friendly match, which the team won 2–0 at the Merdeka Stadium.

Retirement He retired from international football in 1984 and made 250 international appearances as recorded by Football Association of Malaysia. Asian Football Confederation recognised his achievements and included him into AFC Century Club in February 1999.

Post-playing career He was appointed as the chairman of the referees' committee on 13 March 2007. He was the team manager (not head coach) of Malaysia national football team from 2007 until 2009.

Political engagement Soh has once constested the Parliament of Malaysia for Kota Melaka representing Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) of Barisan Nasional (BN) in 1986 but he suffered a defeat of 17,606 votes to Lim Guan Eng of Democratic Action Party (DAP).

Election results

Personal life In 2016, he made a cameo appearance in Ola Bola as Soh Chin Aun, a character based on himself in the 1980 Moscow Olympics qualification campaign.

Career statistics

International

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

Honours Selangor Malaysia Cup: 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1978

Malacca Malaysian League: 1983

Malaysia Asian Games Bronze Medal: 1974 SEA Games: 1977, 1979 Merdeka Tournament: 1973, 1974, 1976, 1979 King's Cup: 1972, 1976, 1978 Jakarta Anniversary Tournament: 1970

Individual AFC Asian Cup Team of the Tournament: 1980 AFC Asian All Stars: 1982 MasterCard Asian/Oceanian Team of the 20th Century: 1998 AFC Century Club: 1999 OCM Hall of Fame: 2004 Asian Football Hall of Fame: 2014 Goal.com The best Malaysia XI of all time: 2020 IFFHS Men's All Time Malaysia Dream Team: 2022

Records Malaysia national football team all-time most appearances: 219 The first men's footballers to reach 200 or more international caps (according to RSSSF and IFFHS): 219 The first footballers to reach 100 or more international wins for national team (1969–1984): 108

Order