Malaysian footballer
Datuk Wira Soh Chin Ann (orSoh Chin Aun due to misspelling by Malaysian media;[ 1] simplified Chinese :苏进安 ;traditional Chinese :蘇進安 ;pinyin :Sū Jìn'ān ; born 28 July 1950) is a Malaysian formerfootballer who played as adefender .[ 2] He was affectionately known asTauke orTowkay (Boss) by his teammates and fans.
Soh was regarded as themost capped player in men's international football , though the total varied by source. TheRSSSF andIFFHS credited him with 219 appearances,[ 3] [ 4] a record later surpassed byCristiano Ronaldo in 2025.FIFA , by contrast, recognised 195 official caps,[ 5] [ 6] a record overtaken byBader Al-Mutawa in 2022.[ 7]
Soh started his football career withMalacca in 1969. He joinedSelangor in 1971 and played for them until 1978 winning sixMalaysia Cup titles.[ 8] He returned to star for Malacca in 1979 and won the League Cup title in 1983 but was inactive for two years due to a one-year suspension in 1985. He captained Malacca in 1988 which was also his last appearances in the domestic league.[ 9] [ 10]
International career [ edit ] At the age of 19, Soh earned his full international caps for Malaysia at the1969 King's Cup .[ 11] In 1971, when he played in the Olympic qualifier inSeoul ,South Korea , he was the youngest member of the national team at the age of 21. He participated in the1972 Munich Olympic Games and playing all three group games.[ 12] [ 13] [ 14] [ 15] He also was the captain of the team that qualified for the1980 Moscow Olympic Games . Malaysia did not participate in boycott of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.[ 16] However, because of his contribution for helping Malaysia to qualify for the Olympics, he was awarded theAhli Mangku Negara by theYang di-Pertuan Agong .[ 17] He later took part in the1980 AFC Asian Cup , where his Malaysia was eliminated from the group stage, yet Malaysia produced one of the finest performance ever under his leadership, with the team gaining a famous 1–1 draw over powerhouseSouth Korea ; Soh gained fame as well for having an exceptional tournament, allowing him to be named into the Team of the Tournament by the AFC, the first Southeast Asian to receive such honour, a record which would stand until the2019 AFC Asian Cup .[ 18] [ 19]
On 11 May 1975, Soh was part of theMalaysia Selection that played againstArsenal FC in a friendly match, which the team won 2–0 at theMerdeka Stadium .[ 20] [ 21]
He retired from international football in 1984 and made 250 international appearances as recorded by Football Association of Malaysia.[ 22] [ 23] Asian Football Confederation recognised his achievements and included him into AFC Century Club in February 1999.[ 24] [ 25] [ 26]
Post-playing career [ edit ] He was appointed as the chairman of the referees' committee on 13 March 2007. He was the team manager (not head coach) ofMalaysia national football team from 2007 until 2009.[ 27]
He once tried to make it in politics by contesting to be theMember of Parliament forKota Melaka representingMalaysian Chinese Association (MCA) ofBarisan Nasional (BN) in1986 but he suffered a defeat of 17,606 votes toLim Guan Eng ofDemocratic Action Party (DAP).[ 28]
In 2016, he made a cameo appearance inOla Bola as Soh Chin Aun, a character based on himself in the1980 Moscow Olympics qualification campaign.[ 29]
Appearances and goals by national team and year[ 30] National team Year Apps Goals Malaysia 1969 3 0 1970 12 0 1971 19 1 1972 16 3 1973 20 1 1974 12 0 1975 19 0 1976 16 2 1977 17 1 1978 16 0 1979 17 1 1980 19 1 1981 8 1 1982 0 0 1983 8 1 1984 17 1 Total 219 13
Scores and results list Malaysia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Ann goal. [ 30] List of international goals scored by Soh Chin Ann No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1 22 May 1971 Bangkok , Thailand Brunei 8–0 1972 AFC Asian Cup qualification 2 29 July 1972 Merdeka Stadium , Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia South Korea 1–2 1972 Merdeka Tournament 3 20 September 1972 Seoul , South Korea Khmer Republic 1–0 1972 President's Cup 4 22 September 1972 Seoul, South Korea Thailand 1–1 1972 President's Cup 5 28 July 1973 Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Khmer Republic 1–0 1973 Merdeka Tournament 6 12 August 1976 Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia India 5–1 1976 Merdeka Tournament 7 20 August 1976 Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Japan 2–2 1976 Merdeka Tournament 8 29 July 1977 Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Indonesia 5–1 1977 Merdeka Tournament 9 9 May 1979 Bangkok , Thailand North Korea 1–1 1980 AFC Asian Cup qualification 10 2 November 1980 Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Morocco 1–2 1980 Merdeka Tournament 11 17 April 1981 Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Singapore 1–2 Ovaltine Cup 12 19 September 1983 Sultan Muhammad IV Stadium ,Kota Bahru , Malaysia Nepal 7–0 1983 Merdeka Tournament 13 3 April 1984 Christchurch , New Zealand New Zealand 1–6 Friendly
Selangor
Malacca
Malaysia
Individual
Records
Malaysia national football team all-time most appearances:219 [ 38] The first men's footballers to reach 200 or more international caps (according toRSSSF andIFFHS ):219 [ 39] [ 4] 20th century most international caps in men's football (1901–2000):219 [ 39] [ 4] The first Asian footballers to reach 100 or more international wins for national team: 108[ 40] [ 41] The first footballers to reach 100 or more international wins for national team (1969–1984): 108[ 40] [ 41] Order
^ Chin Aun's name may be misspelt but he committed very few errors on field – The Star, 24 November 2020.M^ Malaysia – Munich 1972 – FIFA.com ^ Mamrud, Roberto (30 June 2021)."Soh Chin Ann– Double Century of International Appearances" . Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation.Archived from the original on 22 April 2022. Retrieved30 June 2021 . ^a b c "IFFHS ALL TIME RECORD ON PLAYERS WITH MOST GAMES" . IFFHS. 15 May 2022.Archived from the original on 22 May 2022. Retrieved15 May 2022 .^ "FIFA Century Club" (PDF) . FIFA. 3 August 2021. Retrieved3 August 2021 .^ "SEVEN LEGENDS ARE NOW MEMBERS OF THE ELITE FIFA CENTURY CLUB" .FAM . Archived fromthe original on 3 August 2021. Retrieved3 August 2021 .^ "Al-Mutawa reclaims title of most-capped men's player" .FIFA.com . FIFA. 16 June 2022.Archived from the original on 16 June 2022. Retrieved30 December 2022 .^ Soh not about to call it quits – The Straits Times, 12 November 1980.^ Chin Aun returns as captain – The Straits Times, 29 June 1988.^ 'Towkay' poser – The Straits Times, 16 January 1986.^ The stars to watch. – New Nation, 21 February 1977.^ XX. Olympiad Munich 1972 Football Tournament – RSSSF ^ Olympic Football Tournament Munich 1972 Germany FR – Malaysia at FIFA.com ^ Olympic Football Tournament Munich 1972 Malaysia – USA at FIFA.com ^ Olympic Football Tournament Munich 1972 Morocco – Malaysia at FIFA.com ^ "Road To Moscow 1980: The True Story Of Malaysia's Football Team That Inspired 'Ola Bola' " . Says. 3 February 2016.Archived from the original on 6 February 2016. Retrieved25 July 2022 .^ "Semakan Penerima Darjah Kebesaran, Bintang dan Pingat" .^ "Vote for your best ever AFC Asian Cup defender" . AFC.Archived from the original on 16 August 2021. Retrieved11 October 2018 .^ "Soh Chin Ann: The unforgettable Malaysian football icon" . FIFA.Archived from the original on 4 July 2023. Retrieved19 May 2023 .^ "Retro Bola: Malaysia v Arsenal – Friendly 1975" [Retro Football: Malaysia v Arsenal – Friendly 1975] (in Malay). Bazookapenaka.Archived from the original on 5 October 2022. Retrieved4 December 2013 .^ Arsenal FC tour of South East Asia 1975 – RSSSF ^ The player with the poise – Singapore Monitor – 2nd Edition, 24 October 1984.^ COMMITTED TO THE GAME – Dato' Soh Chin Aun onYouTube Retrieved at 8 May 2011^a b 14 EX-INTERNATIONALS INDUCTED INTO AFC CENTURY CLUB – BERNAMA, 11 February 1999.^a b National Library of Singapore. ^a b "Anugerah Kelab Satu Abad AFC 1999, 11hb Februari 1999" (in Malay). Chedinsphere. Archived fromthe original on 3 June 2019. Retrieved15 February 2013 .^ "Malaysia sacks national football coach" . Asia One. Archived fromthe original on 7 April 2022. Retrieved19 June 2022 .^ "Keputusan Pilihan Raya Umum Parlimen/Dewan Undangan Negeri" (in Malay).Election Commission of Malaysia . Retrieved4 February 2017 . Percentage figures based on total turnout.^ "What The "Ori" Ola Bola Team Looked Like And Some Facts You Didn't Know About Them" . Vulcanpost. Archived fromthe original on 25 June 2021. Retrieved19 June 2022 .^a b "Soh Chin Ann – Double Century of International Appearances" .RSSSF .Archived from the original on 22 October 2021. Retrieved16 January 2022 .^ "กัปตันสุโขทัย ประกาศพร้อมอัดราชบุรี อ้อนแฟนค้างคาวไฟร่วมเชียร์ในบ้านเพื่อเก็บชัย" (in Thai). Siamsport. 29 March 2024.^ "Ramos, Balboa named to MasterCard CONCACAF 20th Century team" .Soccer Times . 15 May 1998. Archived fromthe original on 21 February 1999. Retrieved1 April 2020 .^ "OLYMPIC COUNCIL OF MALAYSIA/AWARDS/HALL OF FAME: FULL LIST" (in Malay).OCM . Archived fromthe original on 12 December 2020. Retrieved5 January 2022 .^ "Asian Football Confederation announces Hall of Fame inductees" . Boxscorenews. Archived fromthe original on 2 July 2021. Retrieved3 July 2021 .^ "AFC ANNOUNCES HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES" .the-afc.com . The Asian Football Confederation. 21 November 2014. Retrieved21 November 2014 .^ "From Raja Bola to King James, 'Spiderman' to Safiq – The best Malaysia XI of all time" .Goal . Archived fromthe original on 8 June 2020. Retrieved30 May 2022 .^ "IFFHS MEN'S ALL TIME MALAYSIA DREAM TEAM – 123" .IFFHS . 17 February 2022.Archived from the original on 29 May 2022. Retrieved29 May 2022 .^ "Malaysia – Record International Players" . Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 30 June 2021.Archived from the original on 12 June 2022. Retrieved30 June 2021 .^a b Mamrud, Roberto (30 June 2021)."Soh Chin Ann– Double Century of International Appearances" . Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation.Archived from the original on 22 April 2022. Retrieved30 June 2021 . ^a b "LIONEL MESSI'S 100TH WIN WITH ARGENTINA" . IFFHS. 29 September 2022.Archived from the original on 29 September 2022. Retrieved29 September 2022 .^a b "International Caps Players with a Century of Caps" .RSSSF . Archived fromthe original on 24 April 2022. Retrieved29 May 2022 .^ "Datukship for football legend Mokhtar Dahari" . Utusan. 24 October 2000. Retrieved17 August 2018 .^ "Tengku Permaisuri Norashikin ketuai senarai" .Fuad Hadinata Yaacob (in Malay). MyMetro. 11 December 2016. Retrieved17 August 2018 .^ "KPN, PTD dahului senarai 695 penerima anugerah kebesaran Melaka" .Berita Harian (in Malay). 24 August 2021. Retrieved24 August 2021 .