# Mohammed Sujan

Mohammed Sujan (Bengali: মোহাম্মদ সুজন; born 1 June 1982) is a retired Bangladeshi professional footballer who played as a defender and at times was deployed as a defensive midfielder. He played for the Bangladesh national team from 2001 to 2013. He was also a key member of the Bangladesh team that won the 2003 SAFF Gold Cup.

## Club career
### Controversies

In 2008, Sujan took half his contract money from Abahani Limited Dhaka and was supposed to stay with the club that season. However, Sujan decided to return to his former club Brothers Union. Nevertheless, due to the controversy Sujan ended up returning to Abahani the following season.

## International career

Sujan represented Bangladesh U16 in the 1998 AFC U-16 Championship held in Qatar. On 12 January 2001, Sujan made his debut for the Bangladesh national team against Bosnia & Herzegovina during the Sahara Cup. During the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, Sujan scored a brace against Mongolia in a 2–2 draw. He played four out of the five matches during the 2003 SAFF Gold Cup. On 1 January 2003, after a 1–1 stalemate during the final of the tournament against Maldives, Sujan stepped up to take the last penalty during the shootout and kept his nerve as Bangladesh won their first ever SAFF Championship. The match is considered one of the most important in the country's football history. He missed the 2008 SAFF Championship after being sidelined the entire season due to an injury.
After a six-year absence from the national team, newly appointed head coach Nikola Ilievski recalled Sujan in 2011, after watching his performances in the league with Dhanmondi Club. Ilievski made Sujan the captain of the national team for the 2011 SAFF Championship. However, under his leadership Bangladesh crashed out of the tournament after being defeated 3–1 by rivals Maldives during the last group-stage game. The team was heavily criticized due to their individual mistakes, in the end costing them a place in the knockout stages. On 4 March 2013, Sujan made his last appearance for the national team against Nepal during the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers. Sujan made a total of 36 appearances and scored 3 goals for his country during his twelve year long international career.

## Personal life

On 1 October 2016, Sujan's father, Mohammed Nasiruddin, died at the age of 70 after suffering a cardiac arrest.

## Career statistics
### International caps

| No | Date | Venue | Opponent | Result | Competition |
| 1 | 12 January 2001 | Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Kochi, India | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 0-2 (loss) | Sahara Cup (group stage) |
| - | 14 January 2001 | Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Kochi, India | FR Yugoslavia | 1-4 (loss) | Sahara Cup (group stage) |
| 2 | 8 February 2001 | Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium, Dammam, Saudi Arabia | Vietnam | 0-0 (draw) | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC first round |
| 3 | 10 February 2001 | Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium, Dammam, Saudi Arabia | Saudi Arabia | 0-3 (lost) | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC first round |
| 4 | 12 February 2001 | Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium, Dammam, Saudi Arabia | Mongolia | 3-0 (won) | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC first round |
| 5 | 15 February 2001 | Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium, Dammam, Saudi Arabia | Vietnam | 0-4 (lost) | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC first round |
| 6 | 17 February 2001 | Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium, Dammam, Saudi Arabia | Saudi Arabia | 0-6 (loss) | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC first round |
| 7 | 19 February 2001 | Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium, Dammam, Saudi Arabia | Mongolia | 2-2 (draw) | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC first round |
| 8 | 28 April 2001 | Bangladesh | Bhutan | 3-1 (won) | Friendly |
| 9 | 11 January 2003 | Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka, Bangladesh | Nepal | 1-0 (won) | 2003 SAFF Gold Cup (group stage) |
| 10 | 13 January 2003 | Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka, Bangladesh | Maldives | 1-0 (won) | 2003 SAFF Gold Cup (group stage) |
| 11 | 18 January 2003 | Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka, Bangladesh | India | 2-1 (won) | 2003 SAFF Gold Cup (semi-final) |
| 12 | 20 January 2003 | Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka, Bangladesh | Maldives | 1-1 (5:3)(won) | 2003 SAFF Gold Cup (final) |
| 13 | 27 March 2003 | Hong Kong | Laos | 1-2 (lost) | 2004 AFC Asian Cup qualification |
| 14 | 30 March 2003 | Hong Kong | Hong Kong | 2-2 (draw) | 2004 AFC Asian Cup qualification |
| 15 | 26 November 2003 | Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Dhaka, Bangladesh | Tajikistan | 0-2 (lost) | 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC first round |
| 16 | 30 November 2003 | Pamir Stadium, Dushanbe, Tajikistan | Tajikistan | 0-2 (lost) | 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC first round |
| 17 | 8 December 2005 | Peoples Football Stadium, Karachi, Pakistan | Bhutan | 3-0 (won) | 2005 SAFF Gold (group stage) |
| 18 | 10 December 2005 | Peoples Football Stadium, Karachi, Pakistan | Nepal | 2-0 (won) | 2005 SAFF Gold (group stage) |
| 19 | 14 December 2005 | Peoples Football Stadium, Karachi, Pakistan | Pakistan | 1-0 (won) | 2005 SAFF Gold (semi-final) |
| 20 | 17 December 2005 | Peoples Football Stadium, Karachi, Pakistan | India | 0-2 (lost) | 2005 SAFF Gold (final) |
| 21 | 22 December 2005 | Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka, Bangladesh | Pakistan | 1-2 (lost) | 2007 AFC Asian Cup qualification (preliminary) |
| 22 | 26 December 2005 | National Stadium, Karachi, Pakistan | Pakistan | 3-0 (won) | 2007 AFC Asian Cup qualification (preliminary) |
| 23 | 22 February 2006 | Pakhtakor Central Stadium, Tashkent, Uzbekistan | Uzbekistan | 0-5 (lost) | 2007 AFC Asian Cup qualification |
| 24 | 1 March 2006 | Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka, Bangladesh | Hong Kong | 0-2 (lost) | 2007 AFC Asian Cup qualification |
| 25 | 18 October 2008 | Shah Alam Stadium, Selangor, Malaysia | Myanmar | 0-1 (lost) | 2008 Merdeka Tournament (group stage) |
| 26 | 11 November 2008 | Thuwunna Stadium, Yangon, Myanmar | Myanmar | 0-0 (draw) | Friendly |
| 27 | 13 November 2008 | Thuwunna Stadium, Yangon, Myanmar | Indonesia | 0-2 (lost) | Friendly |
| 28 | 28 April 2009 | Sugathadasa Stadium, Colombo, Sri Lanka | Myanmar | 1-2 (lost) | 2010 AFC Challenge Cup (group stage) |
| 29 | 23 July 2011 | Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium, Beirut, Lebaonon | Lebanon | 0-4 (lost) | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC second round |
| 30 | 28 July 2011 | Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka, Bangladesh | Lebanon | 2-0 (won) | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC second round |
| 31 | 2 December 2011 | Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Delhi, India | Pakistan | 0-0 (draw) | 2011 SAFF Championship (group stage) |
| 32 | 4 December 2011 | Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Delhi, India | Nepal | 0-1 (lost) | 2011 SAFF Championship (group stage) |
| 33 | 6 December 2011 | Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Delhi, India | Maldives | 1-3 (lost) | 2011 SAFF Championship (group stage) |
| 34 | 17 December 2012 | Rajamangala Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand | Thailand | 0-5 (lost) | Friendly |
| 35 | 20 December 2012 | Bukit Jalil National Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | Malaysia | 0-0 (draw) | Friendly |
| 36 | 4 March 2013 | Dasharath Rangasala, Kathmandu, Nepal | Nepal | 2-0 (won) | 2014 AFC Challenge Cup qualification |

### International goals
#### Youth

| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1. | 26 April 1998 | Dasharath Rangasala, Kathmandu | Guam | | 11–0 | 1998 AFC U-16 Championship qualifiers |
| 2. | 3 October 2002 | Gudeok Stadium, Busan | Turkmenistan | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2002 Asian Games |

#### Senior

| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1. | 19 February 2001 | Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium, Dammam | Mongolia | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifiers |
| 2. | 19 February 2001 | Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium, Dammam | Mongolia | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifiers |
| 3. | 14 December 2005 | Peoples Football Stadium, Karachi | Pakistan | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2005 SAFF Championship |

## Honours

Victoria SC
* Dhaka First Division League: 1999
Muktijoddha Sangsad KC
* Dhaka Premier Division League: 2000
* National Football League: 2003
* Bangladesh Federation Cup: 2003
Abahani Limited Dhaka
* Dhaka Premier Division League: 2001
* Bangladesh Premier League: 2007, 2009–10, 2012
Brothers Union
* National Football League: 2004
* Dhaka Premier Division League: 2003–04, 2005
* Bangladesh Federation Cup: 2005
* Bordoloi Trophy: 2004
Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club
* Bangladesh Premier League: 2010–11
Bangladesh
* SAFF Championship: 2003
Awards and accolades
* 2005 − Sports Writers Association's Best Footballer Award.