Zesh Rehman facts for kids
Rehman with Bradford City in 2009
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Zeshan Rehman | ||
| Date of birth | 14 October 1983 | ||
| Place of birth | Birmingham, England | ||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Team information | |||
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Current team
|
Portsmouth (development coach) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1995–2003 | Fulham | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2003–2006 | Fulham | 21 | (0) |
| 2003–2004 | → Brighton & Hove Albion (loan) | 11 | (2) |
| 2006 | → Norwich City (loan) | 5 | (0) |
| 2006–2009 | Queens Park Rangers | 46 | (0) |
| 2007 | → Brighton & Hove Albion (loan) | 8 | (0) |
| 2008 | → Blackpool (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| 2009 | → Bradford City (loan) | 17 | (0) |
| 2009–2010 | Bradford City | 46 | (2) |
| 2011–2012 | Muangthong United | 30 | (1) |
| 2012–2013 | Kitchee | 30 | (0) |
| 2014–2016 | Pahang | 53 | (7) |
| 2017 | Gillingham | 10 | (0) |
| 2017–2022 | Southern | 63 | (1) |
| Total | 367 | (14) | |
| International career | |||
| England U18 | |||
| England U19 | |||
| England U20 | |||
| 2005–2019 | Pakistan | 22 | (1) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2020–2022 | Southern (player-manager) | ||
| 2022–2023 | Portsmouth U18 | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Zeshan Rehman (born 14 October 1983) is a former professional footballer who played as a defender. He is currently a development coach at Portsmouth. Zesh was born in England but played for the Pakistan national team. He made history as the first British Asian player to start a Premier League match. He was also the first British Asian to play in all four top divisions of professional football in England.
Rehman began his career at Fulham. He played 30 games for them, including loan spells at Brighton & Hove Albion and Norwich City. He then moved to Queens Park Rangers (QPR), where he played 50 games. During his time at QPR, he also went on loan to Brighton, Blackpool, and Bradford City. He later joined Bradford City permanently in 2009.
Before playing for Pakistan, Zesh represented England at the under-18, under-19, and under-20 levels. In 2005, he made his first appearance for the Pakistan national team.
Contents
Early Life and Football Start
Zesh Rehman was born in Birmingham, England, on 14 October 1983. His father is Khalid Rehman. When he was a child, Zesh played for his local Sunday league team, Kingshurst. He grew up in the Aston area of Birmingham. He often played football on the streets and also represented his school, district, and county teams.
Club Career Highlights
Starting at Fulham
Joining the Academy
When Zesh was just twelve years old, a football scout noticed his talent. He and his family then moved to London, where he joined the Fulham Academy. He worked his way up through the junior, youth, and reserve teams at Fulham. This led him to sign his first professional contract. Even though he was mainly a centre back, Rehman also played as a holding midfielder and right back at Fulham.
First Team Appearances
In the 2003–04 season, Rehman played his first professional game on 23 September 2003. It was a Football League Cup match against Wigan Athletic. A few days later, he went on loan to Brighton & Hove Albion in the Second Division. He scored a goal in his very first game for Brighton on 30 September. His loan was extended, and he played eleven league games, scoring two goals.
Zesh made his Premier League debut for Fulham on 17 April 2004, in a game against Liverpool. This was a big moment because he became the first British Asian player to play in England's top football division. In June, he signed a new contract with Fulham.
Later Years at Fulham
On 21 September 2005, Rehman scored his only goal for Fulham in a League Cup match. In January 2006, he joined Norwich City on loan for the rest of the season. He played five games for Norwich. Overall, Zesh played 30 games for Fulham. He wanted to play more regularly, so he decided to look for new opportunities.
Moving to Queens Park Rangers
On 8 August 2006, Rehman signed a three-year contract with Queens Park Rangers (QPR). In his first season at QPR, he played 27 games.
Towards the end of that season, Rehman went on loan to his former club, Brighton & Hove Albion, for a month. He played eight games there. When he returned to QPR, he found it harder to get playing time. On New Year's Day 2008, he played his 50th game for QPR since leaving Fulham.
Loan Spells from QPR
In July 2008, Rehman joined Blackpool on a six-month loan. He played three league games for them, often coming on as a substitute. He returned to QPR in December 2008.
On 26 January 2009, Zesh signed a loan deal with League Two club Bradford City. He chose Bradford because he wanted to help them push for promotion. He made his debut the next day, becoming the first British Asian to play in all four professional football divisions in England. He played 17 games for Bradford during this loan.
Joining Bradford City Permanently
After leaving QPR, Rehman signed a two-year deal with Bradford City on 19 June 2009. He said he felt "at home" there. The Bradford manager, Stuart McCall, mentioned that Zesh took a pay cut to join the club, showing his dedication. He scored his first goal for Bradford on 19 September 2009.
Rehman was the captain of Bradford City during the 2009–10 season. He played 42 games and won an award for his community work. The next season, the new manager, Peter Taylor, kept him as captain. However, Zesh later spoke about not getting enough playing time. Because of these comments, he lost his captaincy and was put on the transfer list.
Playing in Asia
Muangthong United (Thailand)
On 19 December 2010, Rehman signed a two-year deal with Thai Premier League team Muangthong United. He made his debut on 30 January 2011, becoming the first Pakistan international to play in Thailand. He played 30 league games for the club.
Kitchee (Hong Kong)
Rehman joined Hong Kong First Division League side Kitchee on 11 January 2012. He scored his first goal for Kitchee in the 2012 AFC Cup. He helped Kitchee win the 2011–12 Hong Kong League Cup and the Hong Kong First Division League title. Kitchee also won the 2011–12 Hong Kong FA Cup, completing a historic "domestic treble" (winning three major trophies in one season). Zesh was named in the Hong Kong BMA First Division League team of the season. He also became the first Pakistani player to play in the AFC Cup.
In August 2012, Rehman played in a friendly game against Premier League club Arsenal, which ended in a 2–2 draw. He won the Hong Kong FA Cup again in May 2013. He played 15 league games in the 2012/13 season and 6 in the next.
Pahang FA (Malaysia)
In December 2013, Rehman signed a two-year contract with Malaysian club Pahang FA. In his first season, he helped the club win three trophies: the Malaysia FA Cup, Malaysia Cup, and Piala Sumbangsih. This also qualified them for the 2015 AFC Cup.
On 28 June 2016, Zesh announced he was leaving Pahang FA after three successful years. He said he loved his time there and hoped to return as a coach one day.
Return to English Football
On 23 February 2017, Rehman returned to England, joining League One team Gillingham. He made his debut in a 2–1 win against Southend. He helped Gillingham avoid relegation from League One that season.
Southern (Hong Kong)
On 14 June 2017, Rehman announced he had signed with Southern, returning to Hong Kong. He chose Southern because he wanted to work with their head coach, Cheng Siu Chung. He extended his contract with Southern in April 2020.
Coaching Career
Southern (Player-Manager)
In May 2020, Zesh Rehman became a player-manager for Southern. This was his first coaching role after getting his UEFA Pro License. He had already spent two seasons as a development coach, working with young players.
In May 2021, Rehman completed his first full season as head coach. He led Southern to a 5th-place finish, which was a great achievement considering their budget and young coaching team. In January 2022, Southern was at the top of the league under his guidance.
In May 2022, Rehman announced he was retiring from playing football after a 21-year career. He described his time as a player as an "amazing experience."
Portsmouth Coach
After retiring from playing, Rehman joined Portsmouth FC as an U18 Coach in June 2022.
In January 2023, he became the interim first team assistant manager for Portsmouth. He continued in this role after John Mousinho was appointed as the new head coach. Their first game together was a 2–0 home win against Exeter City. Three days later, they won 2–0 away against Fleetwood Town.
On 23 March 2023, Rehman was announced as the First Team Development Coach. He became the first British Pakistani former player to work as a coach in a first-team setup in English professional football.
International Career
Zesh Rehman first played for England at the under-18, under-19, and under-20 levels. However, he didn't get many chances to play for Fulham's first team, which made it difficult to aim for the senior England team.
Because his parents were Pakistani, Zesh also had Pakistani and British nationality. He decided to play for Pakistan, as it seemed a more realistic option. Many British Asian groups wanted him to keep trying for England to inspire young Asian players. However, Zesh felt it was not a realistic goal.
With his father's support, Rehman made his international debut for Pakistan on 7 December 2005. It was a 1–0 win against Sri Lanka in the South Asian Football Federation Championship. Pakistan reached the semi-finals of that tournament.
Rehman played for Pakistan in the 2010 World Cup qualifying matches in October 2007. He captained Pakistan to a 0–0 draw against Iraq. After almost four years, Rehman returned to the Pakistan team for the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers.
Later International Games
In September 2013, Rehman played for Pakistan in the SAFF Championship in Nepal. He played all the games and was even named in the Team of the Tournament. In October 2013, he captained Pakistan and scored the winning goal against Chinese Taipei in The Peace Cup.
In September 2018, Zesh played in his final SAFF Tournament for Pakistan. He helped the team reach the semi-finals against India.
In June 2019, Zesh captained the team for the 2022 Asian World Cup Qualifiers against Cambodia. These were his final games for the international team.
Community Work and Personal Life
Zesh Rehman has always wanted to inspire other Asian players to become professional footballers. He is an ambassador for the Asian Football Network (AFN), which helps develop grassroots Asian football in the UK. He has also worked with the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) to encourage more British Asians to join professional football. He has supported campaigns like "Show Racism the Red Card" and Chelsea's "Search for an Asian Star."
In April 2008, Rehman appeared on TV and radio shows to talk about being a Muslim footballer. He discussed how to have a football career while staying true to Islamic beliefs. In May 2008, he received the "Community Commitment Award" at QPR.
In May 2010, he started The Zesh Rehman Foundation. This foundation encourages children from all backgrounds to play football and other sports to improve themselves. He was also named one of the 50 World Cup Bid Ambassadors for England's 2018 World Cup bid.
In 2014, he started writing blogs and columns for ESPN South East Asia, sharing his thoughts on football in Asia.
Images for kids
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Rehman with Bradford City in 2009
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Rehman started his career at Craven Cottage
