Mokhtar Dahari facts for kids

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Dato' Mokhtar Dahari
DSSA DIMP AMN PJK

Mokhtar in 1975
Personal information
Full name	Mohd Mokhtar bin Dahari
Date of birth	(1953-11-13)13 November 1953
Place of birth	Setapak, Selangor, Federation of Malaya
Date of death	11 July 1991(1991-07-11) (aged 37)
Place of death	Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
Playing position	Forward
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1972–1987	Selangor	375	(177)
1978	Kelab Sultan Sulaiman
1978–1984	PKNS
1984–1985	Talasco
1988	Kwong Yik Bank
National team
1972–1985	Malaysia	142	(89)
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Dato' Mohd Mokhtar bin Dahari DSSA DIMP AMN PJK (13 November 1953 – 11 July 1991) was a Malaysian footballer. He played for F.A. Selangor for most of his football career. He is considered a legendary footballer in Malaysian history, tallying 89 goals in 142 full international matches and took his team to an Elo rating of 61 in 1977. A prolific forward, he was nicknamed Supermokh due to his playing skills and strength. Mokhtar is the all-time top scorer for the Malaysian national team.

On 29 June 2021, FIFA acknowledged Dahari as the third top scorer of all time at international level, with a total of 89 goals. As of September 2022, his international tally is behind only Cristiano Ronaldo, Ali Daei and Lionel Messi.

Early life

Born on 13 November 1953 at Setapak, Selangor (present-day in Kuala Lumpur). Mokhtar was the first born son of couple Aminah Sharikan and Dahari Abeng. His father, Dahari, worked as a lorry driver but did not earn very much to support his family. His family moved to Kampung Pandan in Kuala Lumpur when Mokthar was 11 years old. Upon moving, he attended secondary school at Victoria Institution in the city and began to show interest and talent in playing football at an early age. He played for his school and later for his home state, the F.A. Selangor.

Career

Playing career

Mokhtar first played for F.A. Selangor in the Burnley Cup, which they won. He was later asked to play for the club regularly where he became the top scorer in his first season playing for F.A. Selangor. He helped the club win many tournaments, mainly the Malaysia Cup with 10 titles and scoring 177 goals altogether. He also played for Kelab Sultan Sulaiman, PKNS, Talasco and Kwok Yik Bank in the FAM Cup and Selangor League. In proving his loyalty for the team, he was quoted as saying: "I live and die for Selangor". Later, he was selected to play for the national team of Malaysia. He was only 19 years old when he first played for the national team in an international game, with his first game against the Sri Lanka national football team in 1972. He helped Malaysia to win bronze in the 1974 Asian Games and two gold medals in the Southeast Asian Games in 1977 and 1979 respectively. He even scored both goals in the 2–0 Malaysia Selection against Arsenal F.C. match friendly game in 1975 that led to rumours that top clubs in England were interested in him. After the game, he had an offer from one of the European giants, the Real Madrid C.F. but declined to join because of his patriotism and love for his home club of Selangor. Known for his speed and accuracy, Mokhtar was named Best Asian Striker by World Soccer magazine when he was 23 years old.

Mokhtar was famous for his speed and roars of Supermokh from the crowds were common, with many of the younger generation idolising him with some trying to imitate his moves on the field. Mokhtar once scored a goal for Malaysia from the halfway line beating Joe Corrigan with an incredible shot in a 1–1 draw against England B in 1978, dribbling past half of the opposing team coached by Bobby Robson. Also memorable was when Gordon Hill praised Mokhtar as "Hero Dahari" in Shoot! magazine in his column after the England B tour in 1978.

Coaching career

After Mokhtar started having injury problems, he became a local coach to help the younger generation become better footballers.

One of his trainees was a young Roshan Thiran, future Co-founder and CEO of Leaderonomics, who regularly speaks on his experiences playing under Mokhtar. Mokhtar asked his former F.A. Selangor partner, Reduan Abdullah to write a book about his life and his career. Mokhtar also coached for F.A. Selangor at times. After his retirement, he became a player-coach for Kwong Yik Bank.

Retirement

Mokhtar Dahari retired in May 1986 after winning the Malaysia Cup for F.A. Selangor. After the award giving ceremony, Mokhtar went to the club's president and proceeded to give him his number 10 jersey, telling the president to let the club keep the jersey for him. He came out of retirement in January 1987 to play one more season for F.A. Selangor.

Personal life

Before becoming a professional footballer, he played other sports such as badminton, sepak takraw, and hockey. Mokhtar worked for PKNS in the afternoon and played football in the evening. He earned little during his time with PKNS. He later quit PKNS and worked for Kwong Yik Bank to gain better prospects for himself and his family. Mokhtar met Tengku Zarina Tengku Ibrahim through friends. After knowing her for 10 years, they finally got married on 24 February 1979. He then became the father of three children: Nur Azera (the eldest daughter), Mohd Reza (the eldest son) and Nur Arina (the youngest daughter).

Illness and death

Mokhtar began having throat problems and went to the hospital to find out what the problem was. Doctors diagnosed him as having motor neurone disease (MND) with the discovery only being told to him and his wife. He then went to London with his wife in an attempt to cure his condition. After three years battling the disease and his condition worsening, Mokhtar died at the Subang Jaya Medical Centre (SJMC) on 11 July 1991. The press reported Mokhtar's suffering from muscular dystrophy as the cause of his death. His body was laid to rest at Taman Keramat Permai Muslim Cemetery in Taman Keramat, Ampang, Selangor. His life journey and the real cause of death was only revealed for the first time in a documentary called "The Untold Truth About Supermokh" in the National Geographic Channel on 30 August 2010, about 19 years after his death.

Honours

Club

F.A. Selangor

• First Division (1):

Champion: 1984

• Malaysia Cup (10):

Winner: 1972, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1986

• Charity Cup (Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Cup) (2):

Winner: 1985, 1987

International

• Pestabola Merdeka

Winners: 1973, 1974, 1976, 1979

• King's Cup

Winners: 1972, 1978

• SEA Games

Winners: 1977, 1979

Runners-up: 1981

• Asian Games

Bronze Medal: 1974

Individual

• National Sportsman Award 1976
• World Soccer: The Best Asian Striker 1976
• AFC Asian All Stars: 1982
• AFC Century Club 1999
• IFFHS Men Best Malaysian Players of the Century (1901-2000)
• IFFHS Men's All Time Malaysia Dream Team: 2022
• OCM Hall of Fame: 2004
• Ex-State & Ex-National Footballers Association of Malaysia Honour: 2011
• FourFourTwo's Top 25 Malaysian Players of All Time (1st Place): 2014
• Goal.com The best Malaysia XI of all time: 2020

Records

• Selangor all-time top scorer: 177 goals
• Malaysia national football team all-time top scorer: 89 goals
• Southeast Asia all-time top scorer for men's national teams: 89 goals
• Asia-Pacific all-time top scorer for men's national teams: 89 goals
• 20th century all-time top scorer for men's national teams (1901-2000): 89 goals
• Former all-time top scorer for men's national teams between 27 October 1980 until 16 June 2004 after surpassing Ferenc Puskás 84 goals.
• Former Asian all-time top scorer for men's national teams between 2 May 1979 until 16 June 2004 after surpassing Kunishige Kamamoto 75 goals.

Orders

•  Malaysia :
  • Member of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (A.M.N.) (1977)
•  Pahang :
  • Knight Companion of the Order of the Crown of Pahang (D.I.M.P.) - Dato' (2000-posthumously)
•  Selangor :
  • Recipient of the Meritorious Service Medal (P.J.K.) (1977)
  • Knight Companion of the Order of Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah (D.S.S.A.) - Dato' (2001-posthumously)

Career statistics

International goals

During his international career, Mokhtar scored a total of 125 goals in 167 appearances for Malaysia (including matches played against club sides, national 'B' teams and selection teams). Against other nations' national 'A' teams, he scored 89 goals in 142 appearances. This made him once the world's top scorer for men's national teams.

Malaysia

Scores and results list Malaysia's goal tally first.

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition	Ref.
1	5 June 1972	Jakarta, Indonesia	Sri Lanka	3–0	3–0	1972 Jakarta Anniversary Tournament
2	9 June 1972	Jakarta, Indonesia	Laos	2–1	2–1
3	15 June 1972	Jakarta, Indonesia	Burma	2–0	2–2
4	19 July 1972	Perak Stadium, Ipoh	Khmer Republic	6–1	6–1	1972 Merdeka Tournament
5	20 November 1972	Bangkok, Thailand	Thailand	2–0	2–0	1972 King's Cup
6	28 November 1972	Bangkok, Thailand	Thailand	1–0	1–0
7	1 August 1973	Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur	Thailand	2–0	2–2	1973 Merdeka Tournament
8	4 August 1973	Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur	India	4–0	4–0
9	12 August 1973	Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur	Kuwait	1–1	3–1
10				3–1
11	7 September 1973	Kallang Stadium, Singapore	Singapore	2–0	3–0	1973 Southeast Asian Peninsular Games
12	23 September 1973	Seoul, South Korea	Thailand	4–1	5–1	1973 President's Cup
13	1 November 1973	Saigon, South Vietnam	South Vietnam	1	5–1	1973 South Vietnam Independence Cup
14				2
15	3 November 1973	Saigon, South Vietnam	Singapore	2–0	2–1
16	20 December 1973	Bangkok, Thailand	Khmer Republic	1–0	3–2	1973 King's Cup
17				2–1
18				3–2
19	23 December 1973	Bangkok, Thailand	Thailand	1–0	1–0
20	25 December 1973	Bangkok, Thailand	South Korea	1–2	1–2
21	7 June 1974	Jakarta, Indonesia	Indonesia	2–3	3–4	1974 Jakarta Anniversary Tournament
22				3–3
23	27 July 1974	Perak Stadium, Ipoh	Hong Kong	1–0	1–0	1974 Merdeka Tournament
24	1 August 1974	Perak Stadium, Ipoh	Thailand	1–0	1–0
25	7 September 1974	Tehran, Iran	Philippines	2–0	11–0	1974 Asian Games
26				3–0‡
27				7–0
28				9–0
29				10–0
30	10 December 1974	Bangkok, Thailand	Thailand	2–0	2–0	1974 King's Cup
31	20 December 1974	Bangkok, Thailand	Khmer Republic	2–0	3–0
32				3–0
33	16 March 1975	Bangkok, Thailand	South Korea	2–1	2–1	1976 AFC Asian Cup qualification
34	16 June 1975	Jakarta, Indonesia	South Korea	1–1	1–1 (5–4 P.S.O)	1975 Jakarta Anniversary Tournament
35	29 July 1975	Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur	South Korea	1–3	1–3	1975 Merdeka Tournament
36	4 August 1975	Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur	Thailand	1–0	1–0
37	6 August 1975	Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur	Bangladesh	3–0	3–0
38	8 August 1975	Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur	Hong Kong	2–0	3–1
39	10 August 1975	Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur	Burma	2–1	2–1
40	9 December 1975	Bangkok, Thailand	Thailand	1–1	1–1 (3–4 P.S.O)	1975 Southeast Asian Peninsular Games
41	13 December 1975	Bangkok, Thailand	Burma	1–0	1–0
42	16 December 1975	Bangkok, Thailand	Thailand	1–2	1–2
43	15 February 1976	Jakarta, Indonesia	Papua New Guinea	1–0	10–1	1976 Olympic Games qualification
44				7–0
45	21 February 1976	Jakarta, Indonesia	Singapore	2–0	6–0
46				6–0
47	5 June 1976	Tabriz, Iran	China	1–0	1–1	1976 AFC Asian Cup
48	7 August 1976	Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur	South Korea	1–0	2–1	1976 Merdeka Tournament
49	12 August 1976	Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur	India	2–0	5–1
50				3-0
51	14 August 1976	Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur	Indonesia	4–0	7–1
52				5–0
53	17 August 1976	Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur	Burma	1–0	3–1
54	22 August 1976	Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur	Japan	1–0	2–0
55				2–0
56	11 September 1976	Dongdaemun Stadium, Seoul	South Korea	4–1	4–4	1976 President's Cup
57	13 September 1976	Seoul, South Korea	Singapore	3–0	2–0
58				4–0
59	18 July 1977	Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur	Thailand	2–0	3–0	1977 Merdeka Tournament
60	26 July 1977	Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur	South Korea	1–1‡	1–1
61	29 July 1977	Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur	Indonesia	1–1	5–1
62	21 November 1977	Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur	Philippines	2–0	5–0	1977 SEA Games
63				4–0
64	23 November 1977	Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur	Brunei	3–0	7–0
65	25 November 1977	Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur	Burma	2–0	9–1
66				3–0‡
67				4–0
68				7–1
69				8–1
70	26 November 1977	Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur	Thailand	2–0	2–0
71	14 July 1978	Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur	Singapore	1–0	6–0	1978 Merdeka Tournament
72				4–0
73	16 July 1978	Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur	Thailand	1–0	2–0
74	19 July 1978	Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur	Indonesia	1–0	1–0
75	2 May 1979	Bangkok, Thailand	Sri Lanka	1–0	3–1	1980 AFC Asian Cup qualification
76				3–1
77	5 May 1979	Bangkok, Thailand	Indonesia	4–1	4–1
78	29 June 1979	Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur	Burma	1–0	4–1	1979 Merdeka Tournament
79				2–0
80				3–0
81	23 September 1979	Senayan Stadium, Jakarta	Singapore	2–0‡	2–0	1979 SEA Games
82	30 September 1979	Senayan Stadium, Jakarta	Indonesia	1–0	1–0
83	15 October 1980	Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur	Morocco	2–0‡	2–0	1980 Merdeka Tournament
84	20 October 1980	Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur	Thailand	1–0	2–2
85	27 October 1980	Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur	Kuwait	1–1	2–1
86	30 October 1980	Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur	New Zealand	1–0	2–0
87	5 April 1981	Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur	Singapore	1–0‡	1–1	1981 Ovaltine Cup
88	9 September 1981	Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur	Indonesia	1–0	2–0	1981 Merdeka Tournament
89	15 September 1981	Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur	India	2–1	2–2

Filmography

Legacy

Several places and honours were named after him, including:

• The Mokhtar Dahari Community Square (Dataran Komuniti Mokhtar Dahari), a community hall located at Kampung Pandan, Kuala Lumpur was named after him where Mokhtar used to stay, occasionally playing football there.
• There is a futsal court called Gelanggang Mokhtar Dahari (Moktar Dahari Futsal Court) located at Putrajaya Futsal Complex in Putrajaya.
• There is a national football academy was named after him, Mokhtar Dahari National Football Academy (Akademi Bola Sepak Negara Mokhtar Dahari) located at Gambang, Pahang was established on 10 April 2014.
• The Shah Alam-Batu Arang Highway which connecting Shah Alam and Puncak Alam was renamed Persiaran Mokhtar Dahari in 2014.
• In 2014, Google celebrates his 61st birthday. There is also a theatre showcase his legendary football career in Istana Budaya called "Super Mokh" portrayed by Malaysian actor named Awie.

See also

In Spanish: Mokhtar Dahari para niños

• List of top international men's football goalscorers by country
• List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps
• List of men's footballers with 50 or more international goals
• List of progression men's association football goalscoring record