Sheikh Aslam

Early days

Aslam first came to Dhaka to participate in the 100m run, long jump and javelin throw events for the Team BJMC athletics team in 1976. Along with athletics he got involved with football, starting his journey in 1974 for Town Club in the Khulna Second Division Football League. The next year he played for Bangladesh WAPDA and earned promotion to the First Division Football League as the runner-up. While playing for WAPDA in 1976, he managed to attract interest from Dhaka's top tier. In 1977, Aslam joined Victoria SC in the Dhaka First Division League. Although Aslam had started his career at the club as a defender, it was Abdur Rahim, the shrewd coach of Victoria, who saw a striker's potential in him, and changed his position in 1979. After three years at the club, he moved to Team BJMC in 1980. Aslam came into the limelight with 13 goals for BJMC in his debut year, falling two goals short of becoming the league's top scorer. He was the captain of BJMC in 1981 and spent another year at the club before making his big move to Mohammedan SC in 1983. Nonetheless, after an injury-hit season, Mohammedan officials decided to release Aslam, with Aslam scoring 7 goals during his lone season at the club. In 1984, he was snatched up by Mohammedan's arch-rivals Dhaka Abahani.

Years with Abahani

Domestic

Aslam reached the zenith of his career while playing for Dhaka Abahani, as from 1984 until 1987 he was First Division League's top goal scorer…

Aslam was part of the Bangladesh U-19 team at the 1978 AFC Youth Championship, which was the first-ever international football tournament held in Dhaka in 1978. In December 1980, Aslam played for the U-19 national team during the 1980 AFC Youth Championship qualifiers held in Dhaka. Salam Murshedy was his striker partner, while other members of the team included Lal Mohammad (GK), Alo, Azmat Ali, Sawpan Das, Imtiaz Sultan Johnny, Hassanuzzamn Bablu, Ashish Bhadra, Anwar, Gaffar, Wasim Iqbal, and Mossabbir, most of whom later went on to accompany Aslam in the senior national team. The U-19 team did well and finished runners-up (behind Qatar) and qualified for the main event. The highlight of the tournament from Bangladesh was the brace by Aslam in a 5–1 drubbing of Nepal. He then became an essential member of the Bangladesh team in international football both at the senior and youth levels, making his senior team debut by participating in the 1978 Asian Games held in Bangkok. In 1979, he played against Sri Lanka as the youngest player on the national team during the 9th Korea Cup football held in Seoul. He scored the equalizer with a left-footed shot while trailing 0–1. This was his first goal in senior international football and on foreign soil; Bangladesh won the game 3–1. In March 1981, Aslam and the other members of the youth team participated in the first-ever edition of the President's Gold Cup, as the Bangladesh Red team (B team). The team reached the finals after…

Aslam was known for his bullet headers and movement inside the penalty box as well as his no curve extremely powerful longshots. He scored many long-range strikes for both club and country. Aslam's heading ability was due to his early days with the Team BJMC athletic team; additionally, Aslam played volleyball before pursuing football as a profession.

Aslam's father Sheikh Ali Ahmed was also a former footballer during the East Pakistan era. In 1986, Aslam married Mona Marjan after scoring a hat-trick against Wari Club in a league game. Aslam was selected as the best footballer by Bangladesh Sports Writers Association in 1984 and by National Sports Council in 1998. In 1997, on the occasion of its Silver Jubilee, Bangladesh Football Federation selected the best XI of post-independence Bangladesh and in 2005, he was one of the 10 footballers honored by the football federation. In 2000, Aslam was awarded the National Sports Award.