KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 20 — National footballer of the 1970s, Mohd Shah Alias Norbit, died at his home in Taman Keramat, here at 6.15 pm yesterday.
He was 68.
Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican, while tweeting about the passing of Mohd Shah, also extended his condolences to the family of the footballer who had played as the central and side midfielder in both the national and the Selangor teams.
The National Athlete Welfare Foundation (Yakeb) representatives, who managed to visit Mohd Shah, who had suffered from diabetes and hypertension, before he breathed his last, also extended their condolences and sympathy to Mohd Shah’s family.
The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) also paid tribute to Mohd Shah who formed the national forward line together with the prolific striker, the late Datuk Mohd Mokhtar Dahari, and siblings, Isa and Ali Bakar, during the Pestabola Merdeka and SEAP Games in 1975.
“As talented as his brother Zulkifli in dribbling from sideline to sideline, Mohd Shah was also famous for his speed and back-heel tricks. He was also great in sniffing out opportunities and it was his single goal that helped Selangor emerge as the champion of the Burnley Cup in 1970.
“Mohd Shah was also one of the players selected to play against Arsenal when the English Premier League club visited Malaysia in May 1975. The national team won 2-0 at the Merdeka Stadium on May 11 and was held to a 1-1 draw in another match at the Bandaraya Stadium in Penang on May 17,” said the association in a posting on its official Facebook page.
Mohd Shah had also helped Selangor to win the Malaysia Cup five times and even scored a goal in the 1971 and 1972 finals.
He had also coached the Selangor junior team to win the President Cup in 1994 and 1995 and served as an assistant to head coaches such as Datuk M Chandran, Bernd Schumm, Ken Worden, Ken Shellito, Datuk K. Rajagobal and Steve Wicks.
Among other teams that he personally coached were the Melaka, Putrajaya SPA, Armed Forces, and the national women’s team to the Korat SEA Games 2007.
— Bernama
