Muhammad Idrees (footballer)

Muhammad Idrees (Urdu: محمد ادریس) is a Pakistani former footballer who played as a left winger, and manager. Idrees represented Pakistan national team from 1973 till 1978, and later served as head coach of the national team from 1996 till 1999.

Idrees was born in Lahore, and later moved to Karachi after joining Pakistan Airlines.

Idrees standing far right with Pakistan Airlines in 1975

Idrees played for Pakistan Railways before moving to Pakistan Airlines in 1975. He won the National Football Championship four times with Pakistan Airlines. In the 1981 final, Idrees scored a brace in a 2–2 draw against Pakistan Air Force, until winning the title through penalties. He also helped them win the 1984 Inter-Provincial Championship. He represented Pakistan Airlines in the 1977 and 1982 editions of the Aga Khan Gold Cup.

During the 1970s, Idrees was one of several Pakistani players which represented club sides in and coached the clubs’ new youth setups in the Middle East.

Muhammad Idrees (left) and Saudi Arabia captain (right) exchanging pennant flags during the 1973 AFC Youth Championship

Idrees captained the Pakistan Youth team at the 1973 AFC Youth Championship. In 1973, he was then selected to play for Pakistan for a tour to the far east where he scored against China on 10 June 1973, in a 4–7 defeat. The following year, Idrees scored against Turkey to tie the game at 2–2 in the 1974 RCD Cup. The same year, he participated in the 1974 Asian Games, scoring a goal in a 1–5 defeat against Burma. Idrees then played at the 1976 Quaid-e-Azam International Tournament representing the Pakistan Greens.

In 1978, Idrees participated with the national team at the Saudi Arabia Football Federation International Tournament, where he scored a brace against Kenya in a 8–3 defeat.

In 1996, Idrees was appointed as the head coach of the Pakistan national football team for the 1996 AFC Asian Cup qualification. The next year, he coached the team for the FIFA World Cup qualifiers. Under his supervision in the 1997 SAFF Gold Cup, Pakistan went on to achieve a third-place finish in the tournament. He last served as coach at the 1999 SAFF Gold Cup.

Scores and results list Pakistan's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Idrees goal.

• National Football Championship:

  • Winners (4): 1975, 1976, 1978, 1981

• Inter-Provincial Championship:

  • Winners (1): 1984

• SAFF Gold Cup:

  • third-place: 1997

• List of Pakistan national football team managers

• Muhammad Idrees at National-Football-Teams.com