Anwar Uddin

Anwar Uddin (Bengali: আনোয়ার উদ্দিন; born 1 November 1981) is an English retired footballer and assistant manager at National League side Aldershot Town. During a career which began at West Ham United in 2001 and concluded with a season at Eastbourne Borough from 2012 to 2013, Uddin notably represented several Football League clubs including Dagenham & Redbridge and Barnet. He was the first person of Bangladeshi origin to play professional football in England, and, while at Dagenham & Redbridge, became the first British Asian to captain a football club in the top four divisions of English football.

For other people with similar names, see Anwaruddin.

Anwar Uddin
Uddin in April 2007
Personal information
Full name Anwar Uddin[1]
Date of birth (1981-11-01) 1 November 1981[1]
Place of birth Stepney, England
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)[1]
Position(s) Defender
Club information
Current team
 Aldershot Town (assistant manager)
Youth career
000?–2001 West Ham United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2001–2002 West Ham United 0 (0)
2002 Sheffield Wednesday 0 (0)
2002–2004 Bristol Rovers 19 (1)
2003–2004 → Hereford United (loan) 9 (2)
2004 → Telford United (loan) 6 (0)
2004–2010 Dagenham & Redbridge 188 (6)
2009 → Grays Athletic (loan) 11 (1)
2010–2012 Barnet 39 (1)
2012 Sutton United 10 (0)
2012–2013 Eastbourne Borough 29 (0)
Total 314 (11)
Teams managed
2011 Barnet (assistant manager)
2014–2015 Maldon & Tiptree (assistant manager)
2015–2016 Sporting Bengal United
2017 Ware
2017–2019 Glebe
2019– Aldershot Town (assistant manager)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Early life

Uddin was born and brought up in Stepney, London to a Bangladeshi father and an English mother. He attended Raine's Foundation School in Bethnal Green.[2] His father came to the United Kingdom in the 1960s.[3] Uddin has three sisters and two brothers.[4]

Playing career

Uddin was the first person of Bangladeshi origin to play professional football in England[5][6] and the first British Asian to captain a football club in the top four divisions of English football.[2] He began his football career at West Ham United, working his way up through their youth and reserve teams where he was captain. He was in West Ham's victorious 1999 FA Youth Cup winning squad that defeated Coventry City.[7] Although highly regarded, as a bright talented traditional English defender, he was never able to break through into the first team and in February 2002 moved to Sheffield Wednesday on a free transfer.[8]

His stay was brief as after the collapse of ITV Digital, Sheffield Wednesday could not afford to keep him due to financial difficulties. He moved to Bristol Rovers the following summer after only four months and no appearances. He was an almost ever present in the following season until the end of October, picking up a serious groin injury which he was to struggle with for the rest of the season. At Bristol Rovers he scored his first career goal in a 2–2 draw with York City.[9]

After making a few appearances the following season he was loaned out to Hereford United and Telford United, and was released by Bristol Rovers at the end of the season.

During the summer of 2004, Uddin signed for Dagenham & Redbridge.[10] He became the captain of the team.[7] At the time, Uddin was just one of only five professional British Asians playing in the Football League and Premiership, where it is estimated that Asians only make up 0.2 per cent of players in clubs' centres of excellence and academies.[2][11]

On 1 September 2009, Uddin signed on loan for Grays Athletic.[12]

In June 2010, Uddin left Dagenham to sign for League Two club Barnet and he was appointed captain ahead of the 2010–11 season.[13][14] He scored his first and only goal for Barnet in a 3–1 win at Bradford City on 8 January 2011.[15]

In 2011, following the departure of manager Martin Allen, Uddin was appointed as caretaker assistant-manager to Giuliano Grazioli at Barnet making him the first ever British-Asian to take up a coaching position in English football.[16]

On 30 January 2012, it was announced that Uddin had had his contract terminated by mutual consent. A few days later, he signed for Conference South side Sutton United.[17] On 28 June 2012, he signed for fellow Conference South side Eastbourne Borough.[18] In June 2013, Uddin retired from football[19] and left Eastbourne in order to pursue a career in football coaching.[20]

Coaching

In 2011 after the departure of Martin Allen from Barnet to Notts County, Uddin stepped into an assistant management position under Giuliano Grazioli with the club sitting in the relegation zone and on the brink of relegation. In the three months in charge of the EFL League Two club they acquired enough points to stay in the division on the last day of the season. Grazioli and Uddin also helped Barnet win the Hertfordshire Senior Cup. Uddin resumed his playing duties as club captain with the arrival of Lawrie Sanchez. Then after retiring due to injury in September 2013, Uddin returned to his first club West Ham United as a part-time coach for their youth team, working with their under 16's group.[21] In September 2014, he was appointed assistant manager of Maldon & Tiptree.[22][23] In May 2015, he was appointed manager of Sporting Bengal United.[24][25][26] In May 2016, Uddin left Sporting Bengal after leading the club to their record Essex Senior League points tally.[27]

In January 2017, he was appointed manager of Ware Football Club.[28] However, he left the club in March.[29] In October 2017 he became manager of Glebe. He left the club in January 2019 by mutual consent[30] and joined Maidstone United as first team coach.

On 22 May 2019, Aldershot Town announced the appointment of Uddin of assistant manager to manager Danny Searle, whom he had worked alongside at West Ham's academy, following a coaching role at Maidstone United.[31]

International eligibility

Uddin is eligible to play for the national teams of England and Bangladesh. During May 2007, he visited a youth football camp in Dhaka, with British coach Anthony Ferguson and Canary Wharf's head of public affairs Zakir Khan. Kazi Salahuddin, the chief of Bangladesh Football Federation welcomed him, but Uddin still has not decided yet on whether he should play for the national team. This was the second time he visited Bangladesh since 1989, when he travelled with his father to his hometown in Sylhet.[32]

Personal life

In 2002, Uddin dated glamour model Leilani Dowding.[33] He now lives in Kent with his wife and two sons, Kai and Jayden.[4]

Uddin is a sessional worker for Show Racism the Red Card[34] in the East and South-East of England.[35] He has a full-time role with the Football Supporters' Federation as Diversity and Campaigns Manager in partnership with Kick It Out.[4]

Honours

See also

References
  1. Hugman, Barry J., ed. (2008). The PFA Footballers' Who's Who 2008–09. Mainstream. ISBN 978-1-84596-324-8.
  2. Nathanson, Patrick (8 August 2007). "Anwar Uddin to lead Dagenham and Redbridge". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 5 December 2008.
  3. Nathanson, Patrick (20 November 2007). "Anwar Uddin's advice to Asian youngsters". Kick It Out. Archived from the original on 24 July 2010. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
  4. Karim, Mohammed Abdul; Karim, Shahadoth (November 2014). British Bangladeshi Who's Who (PDF). British Bangla Media Group. p. 15. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  5. "British-Bangladeshis who have made a mark". New Age Extra. 16 October 2008. Archived from the original on 30 October 2008. Retrieved 5 December 2008.
  6. "Famous Personalities from Raine's Foundation School". The Old Raineians' Association. Archived from the original on 16 June 2008. Retrieved 5 December 2008.
  7. Trehan, Dev (26 December 2013). "Premier League: Kevin Nolan praised for cancelling West Ham's Dublin Christmas party". Sky Sports. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
  8. "February 2002". ESPN FC. 28 February 2002. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  9. "York 2-2 Bristol Rovers". BBC Sport. 19 October 2002. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
  10. "Uddin signs new Dagenham contract". BBC Sport. 3 March 2005. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
  11. "Chelsea plot Asian talent trawl". BBC Sport. 26 March 2009. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  12. "Uddin makes Grays switch". ITV Sport. 2 September 2009. Retrieved 21 October 2010.
  13. "Bees line up a leader". Barnet F.C. 21 June 2010. Archived from the original on 4 July 2010. Retrieved 21 June 2010.
  14. "Anwar Uddin to skipper the Bees". Barnet F.C. 2 July 2010. Archived from the original on 6 July 2010. Retrieved 4 July 2010.
  15. "Bradford 1-3 Barnet". BBC Sport. 8 January 2011. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
  16. "SRtRC Patron is First British Asian Coach". Show Racism the Red Card. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  17. "U's sign ex-Daggers captain". Sutton United F.C. 3 February 2012. Archived from the original on 12 May 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2012.
  18. Peskett, Lee (28 June 2012). "Squad Update: Anwar Uddin joins the Boro". Eastbourne Borough FC – The Sports. Retrieved 28 June 2012.
  19. "Former professional footballer Anwar Uddin". BBC Asian Network. 16 November 2013. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  20. "Uddin leaves the Lane to find fresh challenge". Eastbourne Herald. 8 June 2013. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
  21. "Academy graduate returns as coach". West Ham United F.C. 8 June 2013. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
  22. "Anwar Uddin joins Maldon & Tiptree as assistant manager". Kick It Out. 30 September 2014. Archived from the original on 18 October 2014. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  23. "Anwar Uddin joins Maldon and Tiptree as assistant manager". Desiballers. 30 September 2014. Archived from the original on 12 November 2014. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  24. "Uddin is new Sporting Bengal boss". East London Advertiser. London. 8 May 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  25. "Anwar Uddin appointed manager of Sporting Bengal United". Kick It Out. 8 May 2015. Archived from the original on 28 June 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  26. "Anwar Uddin named Sporting Bengal manager". Desiballers. 11 May 2015. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  27. "Anwar Uddin leaves Sporting Bengal United in better place as trio seek new challenge". East Anglian Daily Times. 12 May 2016. Archived from the original on 29 October 2016. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  28. Anwar Uddin takes over as manager Ware Football Club, 4 January 2017
  29. Anwar Uddin steps down from manager's role Ware Football Club, 30 March 2017
  30. Glebe part company with manager Anwar Uddin Kentish Football. 10 January 2019. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  31. "Uddin Joins The Club!". Aldershot Town F.C. 23 May 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  32. "Anwar may consider a Bangladesh call". The Daily Star. Bangladesh. 7 May 2008. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  33. "Leilani sings for England". Dorset Echo. Dorset. 17 May 2002. Archived from the original on 31 March 2007. Retrieved 13 June 2008.
  34. "Uddin reflects on Asian progress within football". The PFA. 16 August 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  35. "SRtRC interviewed Anwar Uddin about 'Asians in Football'". Show Racism the Red Card. Archived from the original on 29 May 2014. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
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