Osman Jan - Misplaced Pages

Pakistani footballer

Osman Jan
Personal information
Date of birth	Unknown
Place of birth	Delhi, British India
Date of death	Unknown
Place of death	Karachi, Pakistan
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Youth career
	Delhi Crescent Club
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1930s	Kolkata Mohammedan
1930s	Aryan
1941–1942	Bengal
1944–1945	Delhi
International career
1950–??	Pakistan	??	(??)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Osman Jan was a footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Born in British India, he played for Bengal and Delhi in the Santosh Trophy and was the first footballer to win the Santosh Trophy for two different states. He then went on to represent the Pakistan national football team and became the first ever captain in their history.

Club career

In the 1930s, Osman played for Kolkata's Mohammedan Sporting. He was recruited from Delhi Crescent Club. According to Indian defender Sailen Manna, Jan was the greatest goalkeeper he ever came across. With a short height measuring 5'6", Jan was renowned for his long-range leap.

He won the inaugural edition of the Santosh Trophy with Bengal in 1941.

Osman's return to his hometown in Delhi after successful stints at Mohammedan Sporting and Aryans FC in Kolkata helped build a strong Delhi team. Under his captaincy, Delhi achieved an unexpected triumph in the 1944 Santosh Trophy, defeating all time champions Bengal 2–0 in the final. This victory remains Delhi's sole triumph in the National Football Championship.

International career

After the partition of India, Osman went over to Pakistan where he was appointed captain of the national team in their international debut during a trip to Iran and Iraq in October 1950.

Osman made his debut in Pakistan's first ever international match on 27 October 1950 against Iran in the Amjadiyeh Stadium in Teheran. Reportedly the Pakistan national team played the match barefoot, which was the norm in South Asia at the time. Pakistan also engaged in unofficial friendly matches during the tour, defeating Tehran's Taj FC (now Esteghlal FC) with a 6–1 scoreline and drawing 2–2 against a team from Isfahan.

In Iraq, due to the Iraqi FA's inability to gather a full national team, Pakistan played an unofficial friendly against the club Haris al-Maliki resulting in a 1–1 draw at Baghdad in front of a 10,000 crowd, playing once again barefoot, with the heroics of Osman keeping Pakistan from losing in the dying minutes of the game.