Zainal Abidin
Personal information
Full name Zainal Abidin Hassan Bin Mohd Ali
Date of birth (1961-11-09) 9 November 1961 (age 62)
Place of birth Selangor, Malaysia
Position(s) Defender . Midfielder . Striker
Team information
Current team
 Penang (head coach)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1980–1982 Selangor FA
1983–1984 Pahang FA
1985–1990 Selangor FA
1991–1996 Pahang FA
1997–1999 Selangor FA
International career
1980–1997 Malaysia 180[1] (78)
1996 Malaysia Futsal
Managerial career
2001 Malaysia U17
2004–2006 Pahang (coach)
2006–2008 Pahang (manager)
2009–2010 Kuantan Port-Shahzan Muda FC (manager)
2011–2013 Pahang (manager)
2013–2014 Pahang (assistant head coach)
2014–2015 Pahang
2016 Selangor
2017–2018 Penang
2019–2021 Melaka United
2022 Penang
2023 Immigration
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Zainal Abidin Hassan bin Mohd Ali (born 9 November 1961) is a Malaysian football head coach and former player.

Playing career

A versatile footballer who can playing in multiple positions, Zainal Abidin is well known as the best Malaysian footballer in the 80's and 90's. His football career started with Selangor FA in 1980.[2] At the age of 18 years 6 month, Zainal made his international debut in the 1980 Merdeka Tournament against Indonesia.[3] He played along with Malaysian legendary striker the late Mokhtar Dahari, R Arumugam, Soh Chin Aun and other recognised faces in Malaysian football. In 1983, Pahang FA head coach, Frank Lord responsible for changing Zainal position from defender to striker and this is where the beginning of his career began, becoming one of the most respected strikers at the local and international level.[4]

From the late 80's to early 90's, he regularly partnered with Dollah Salleh in front as they became the fierce striker for Selangor FA and Pahang FA in M-League and also the national team in SEA Games, Asian Games and Merdeka Tournament. In 1996 AFF Championship, Zainal Abidin was awarded as the MVP of the tournament captaining the national side from the centre-back position instead of his usual striking role.[5] Three years later he was awarded the AFC Century Club Award.[6]

During his international career, Zainal scored a total of 78 goals in 180 appearances for Malaysia (including non-FIFA 'A' international matches), according to Globe Soccer Awards in 2020.[7][8] Against other nations' national 'A' teams, he scored 50 goals in 129 appearances.[9]

He also played for Malaysia national futsal team, and was in the squad that took part in the 1996 FIFA Futsal World Championship in Spain.[10][11]

On 3 August 2021, he was inducted into the FIFA Century Club.[12][13]

Coaching career

He retired from football in 1999 and selected to coach the Malaysian youth in 2001. In 2002, he selected as the assistant coach for Malaysia senior team. He later coached Pahang FA and brought them their first Malaysia Super League title.[14] In 2006, he guided Pahang FA to win the Malaysian FA Cup.[15] After the contract with Pahang FA ended, he reunites with his former striker partner Dollah Salleh. This time they act as manager-coach combination for Shahzan Muda FC.

In 2011, he returns to Pahang FA as assistant manager, where he works again with Dollah, who were the current head coach. The partnership lasts until the end of 2013, when they helped Pahang win the 2013 Malaysia Cup; Pahang's first Malaysia Cup after 21 years. After Dollah left Pahang to coach PDRM FA and Ron Smith was appointed as the new Pahang head coach at the end of 2013, Zainal was appointed as his assistant head coach. But after Smith's contract was not renewed in March 2014, Zainal Abidin was appointed as Smith's replacement. With Pahang, he won the Malaysia Cup in 2014 and also Malaysia FA Cup in the same year.

In 2016, Zainal Abidin made his return to Selangor as head coach, replacing Mehmet Durakovic.[16] This was not without controversy, as negotiations between Zainal and Selangor was made public when Durakovic was still Selangor coach,[17] and Durakovic contract was terminated even after he won the 33rd Malaysia Cup title with Selangor in 2015.[18] Zainal however was sacked in August the same year, after poor performances by the team in the Super League and Malaysia Cup.[19]

Zainal Abidin next coached Penang FA from May 2017 until September 2018. In November 2018, he was unveiled as the new head coach of Melaka United.[20] After two years with Melaka, he returned back to coach Penang again for a short period of time in 2022 season.[21]

Personal life

Zainal Abidin's father is of Kenyan descent.[22][23] His oldest brother Khalid Ali and oldest son Mohd Zaiza is also a Malaysian footballer.[24][25]

Zainal has been married to Zalina binti Zaini since 1985 and they have five children.[26] In 2023, he married his second wife, Malaysian singer Fyna Jebat.[27] However, their marriage only lasted a few months as Zainal divorced his second wife and ended their marriage later this year.[28]

Career statistics

Scores and results list Malaysia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Zainal Abidin Hassan goal.
List of international goals scored by Zainal Abidin Hassan[9]
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 13 November 1981 Bangkok, Thailand  Pakistan 2–3 1981 King's Cup
2 4 June 1983 Singapore  Thailand 1–1 1983 SEA Games
3 5 June 1983 Singapore  Brunei 5–0 1983 SEA Games
4
5 19 September 1983 Kota Bharu, Malaysia    Nepal 7–0 1983 Merdeka Tournament
6
7
8 10 October 1983 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia  Saudi Arabia 3–1 1984 Olympic Games qualification
9
10 16 October 1983 Singapore  Indonesia 1–1 1984 Olympic Games qualification
11 20 October 1983 Singapore  Singapore 2–0 1984 Olympic Games qualification
12 28 October 1983 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia  Indonesia 2–0 1984 Olympic Games qualification
13 18 April 1984 Singapore  Japan 2–1 1984 Olympic Games qualification
14 12 August 1984 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia  Singapore 1–0 Ovaltine Cup
15 18 August 1984 Singapore  Singapore 1–1 Ovaltine Cup
16 24 August 1984 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia  Thailand 1–0 1984 Merdeka Tournament
17 26 August 1984 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia  Indonesia 2–2 1984 Merdeka Tournament
18 29 August 1984 Kota Bharu, Malaysia  Liberia 3–1 1984 Merdeka Tournament
19
20
21 4 September 1984 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia  Papua New Guinea 5–1 1984 Merdeka Tournament
22 11 October 1984 Calcutta, India  Pakistan 5–0 1984 AFC Asian Cup qualification
23
24 14 October 1984 Calcutta, India  India 1–2 1984 AFC Asian Cup qualification
25 18 October 1984 Calcutta, India  North Yemen 4–1 1984 AFC Asian Cup qualification
26
27 31 March 1985 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia    Nepal 5–0 1986 FIFA World Cup qualification
28
29
30 13 October 1985 Singapore  Brunei 4–0 1985 Merlion Cup
31 10 December 1985 Bangkok, Thailand  Philippines 6–0 1985 SEA Games
32
33 14 December 1985 Bangkok, Thailand  Singapore 2–2 1985 SEA Games
34 24 July 1986 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia  India 3–0 1986 Merdeka Tournament
35
36 27 July 1986 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia  Thailand 2–0 1986 Merdeka Tournament
37 1 August 1986 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia  Japan 2–1 1986 Merdeka Tournament
38 7 April 1988 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia  Pakistan 4–0 1988 AFC Asian Cup qualification
39
40 7 June 1989 Singapore    Nepal 3–0 1990 FIFA World Cup qualification
41 28 August 1989 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia  Thailand 1–0 1989 SEA Games
42 8 August 1992 Jakarta, Indonesia  Indonesia 1–1 1992 Independence Cup
43 5 May 1993 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia  Macau 9–0 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification
44 5 June 1993 Singapore  Brunei 3–1 1993 SEA Games
45 11 June 1993 Singapore  Laos 9–0 1993 SEA Games
46 10 December 1995 Lamphun, Thailand  Cambodia 9–0 1995 SEA Games
47 6 June 1996 Shah Alam, Malaysia  India 5–2 1996 AFC Asian Cup qualification
48
49 8 September 1996 Singapore  Thailand 1–1 1996 AFF Championship
50 31 March 1997 Jeddah, Saudi Arabia  Bangladesh 1–0 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

As a player

Selangor FA

Pahang FA

Malaysia

Individual

As a head coach

Pahang FA

Selangor FA

Individual

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role
1989 Kolej 56[37] Footballer

Television series

Year Title Role TV channel Notes
2000 Pi Mai Pi Mai Tang Tu (Season 29) Himself TV3

See also

References

  1. ^ Malaysia - Record International Players - RSSSF.
  2. ^ "Veterans put on the boots again". The Star. Malaysia. 31 August 2007.
  3. ^ Only 19 yet so cool. - New Sunday Times, 26 October 1980 (Page 82).
  4. ^ "Sentimental Piala Malaysia sejak 1967, transisi 'gila' Zainal pada final 1983". Cakap Sukan (in Malay). 26 September 2021. Archived from the original on 26 September 2021. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  5. ^ "Flash Back: AFF Championship 1996". goal. 1 November 2018. Archived from the original on 1 November 2018. Retrieved 26 September 2021.((cite news)): CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  6. ^ "Anugerah Kelab Satu Abad AFC 1999, 11hb Februari 1999" (in Malay). Chedinsphere. Archived from the original on 3 June 2019. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
  7. ^ "Former international Zainal in seventh heaven". The Star. 10 April 2020. Archived from the original on 12 April 2020. Retrieved 12 April 2020.((cite news)): CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  8. ^ Globe Soccer Awards [@globe_soccer] (6 April 2020). "Highest International football goalscorers of all time⁠" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 6 April 2020. Retrieved 6 April 2020 – via Twitter.
  9. ^ a b Mamrud, Roberto. "Zainal Abidin Hassan – Century of International Appearances". RSSSF. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  10. ^ 1996 FIFA Futsal World Championship-Malaysia - FIFA
  11. ^ "Top five all-time top scorers for Malaysian football team". Khelnow. Archived from the original on 15 May 2023. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  12. ^ "FIFA Century Club" (PDF). FIFA. 3 August 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
  13. ^ "SEVEN LEGENDS ARE NOW MEMBERS OF THE ELITE FIFA CENTURY CLUB". FAM. Archived from the original on 3 August 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
  14. ^ "Statistik: Kenali 5 Ketua Jurulatih Paling Berjaya Di Liga-M Sejak 1994" (in Malay). Axello.net. 2 December 2020. Archived from the original on 12 January 2023. Retrieved 12 January 2023.((cite news)): CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  15. ^ Husin, Nik Naizi (16 June 2006). "Celebration of Pahang victory". The Star online. Malaysia.
  16. ^ "Football: Surprise, surprise, Zainal's back in the red and yellow | The Star Online". www.thestar.com.my. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  17. ^ "Merah Kuning ikat Zainal sebelum final Piala Malaysia". BH Online (in Malay). 16 December 2015. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  18. ^ "Zainal Abidin Hassan moves closer to taking over as Selangor coach". ESPNFC.com. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  19. ^ "Selangor's Zainal sacked as coach, K. Gunalan takes over as caretaker". ESPNFC.com. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  20. ^ "Melaka United unveil Zainal Abidin Hassan as head coach | FourFourTwo". www.fourfourtwo.com. Archived from the original on 30 November 2018.
  21. ^ Penang FC 2022 - NFT
  22. ^ Mohd Sofi Munajir, Zainal Abidin Hassan, Pertahanan Kental, Penyerang Yang Tajam dlm. 20 Tokoh Sukan, Medium Publication, Bandar Baru Bangi, 2009, pp.131.
  23. ^ "Zainal Abidin Hassan Bio, Parents, Wife, Children, Career". GH Gossip. Archived from the original on 19 January 2023. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  24. ^ "Khalid Ali dan Zainal Abidin Dua Beradik Yang Pernah Mencetus Fenomena Dan Menjadi Siulan". Kapten Labola (in Malay). La Bola Malaya. 12 April 2022. Archived from the original on 12 April 2022. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  25. ^ "Football: Zaiza puts honeymoon on hold to prepare for Premier League season | The Star Online". www.thestar.com.my. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  26. ^ "Biar gambar berbicara – Anak bujang Zainal Abidin" (in Malay). Kosmo. Archived from the original on 25 January 2023. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  27. ^ "Kemunculan Fyna Jebat, Zainal Abidin jadi perhatian" (in Malay). Malaysia Gazette. Archived from the original on 17 January 2023. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
  28. ^ Zainal Abidin, Fyna Jebat divorced 2 weeks ago - NST
  29. ^ "นักฟุตบอลเจ้าของฉายา "กัปตันกระดูกเหล็ก" พล.ต.อำนาจ เฉลิมชวลิต" (in Thai). Siamsport. 2 March 2020. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  30. ^ "AFC war on footbrawl". Gov.sg. The Straits Times. 10 May 1985. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  31. ^ a b "Selamat Hari Lahir, Dato' Zainal Abidin Hassan" (in Malay). Legasi Lagenda. Archived from the original on 9 November 2022. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  32. ^ "Zainal Abidin Hassan, Kisah Pemain Total Yang Hebat!" (in Malay). Semuanya Bola. Archived from the original on 29 December 2021. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  33. ^ "Saat Indah Pasukan Dan Penyokong Pahang - Zainal Abidin" (in Malay). Mstar. Archived from the original on 29 December 2021. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  34. ^ "Malaysian Football Legends: Zainal Abidin Hassan". Goal.com. Archived from the original on 13 September 2013. Retrieved 13 September 2013.
  35. ^ 14 EX-INTERNATIONALS INDUCTED INTO AFC CENTURY CLUB - BERNAMA, 11 February 1999.
  36. ^ National Library of Singapore.
  37. ^ "Bukan sahaja lincah di padang, 5 bintang bola sepak pernah cuba nasib di dunia seni" (in Malay). Majoriti. Archived from the original on 22 October 2022. Retrieved 22 October 2022.

External links

AFF Championship Most Valuable Players
Malaysia Super League top scorers
Selangor F.C. โ€“ Head coaches
Sri Pahang FC โ€“ managers
Melaka United โ€“ Head coaches
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