# Sarfraz Rasool

Sarfraz Rasool (born 10 July 1975) is a Pakistani former footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Rasool won the Golden Boot at 2003 SAFF Championship, where he finished as the top-scorer with 4 goals, and was named Asian Football Confederation's Player of the Month for his performance at the SAFF Cup held in March 2003.

## Early life

Rasool was born on 10 July 1975 in Faisalabad, in the Punjab province of Pakistan.

## Club career
### PMC

Rasool started his career with Punjab Medical Center club in 1994.

### Khan Research Laboratories

As a goal scoring midfielder, Rasool had been playing for departmental side Khan Research Laboratories from 1999 to 2003, when he was eyed by the national team. In the 1999 PFF National Challenge Cup played in Chaman, Rasool was nominated player of the tournament.

### PMC Athletico Faisalabad

Rasool controversially left Pakistan soon after and moved to England, which effectively ended his international career, but remained with Khan Research Laboratories for some seasons, before eventually returning to his former club, now renamed PMC Club Athletico Faisalabad as founder member in August 2008.

## International career

Rasool was called by Pakistan in the 1997 South Asian Football Federation Gold Cup held in Nepal. He subsequently became a key part of the national team from 1999 to 2003. At the 1999 SAFF Gold Cup, Rasool was nominated player of tournament.
He was named as captain of the national team for the 2002 away friendly series against Sri Lanka, and when South Korean club Ulsan HD FC visited Pakistan for test matches in 2002.
Rasool won the Golden Boot during the 2003 SAFF Gold Cup by emerging as the leading goal-scorer with a total of 4 goals. Additionally, he earned the title of Asian Football Confederation Player of the Month for his outstanding performance in the SAFF Cup held in March 2003.
In March 2003, he was selected as vice-captain for the national side at the 2004 AFC Asian Cup qualification after Haroon Yousaf.

## Coaching career

After quitting playing and settling in England, Rasool earned the FA Level Two coaching certification, equivalent to UEFA C Licence.
In the 2011–12 Pakistan Premier League, he was nominated assistant coach of PMC Club Athletico Faisalabad under head coach Akhtar Mohiuddin.
On 26 July 2012, Rasool joined Total Football Academy FC in Loughton as youth coach of the under-9 team.

## Career statistics
### International

Appearances and goals by national team and year :
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| Pakistan | 1997 | 2 | 0 |
| Pakistan | 1999 | 2 | 0 |
| Pakistan | 2000 | 2 | 0 |
| Pakistan | 2001 | 6 | 0 |
| Pakistan | 2002 | 3 | 1 |
| Pakistan | 2003 | 7 | 5 |
| Total | Total | 22 | 6 |
    Scores and results list Pakistan's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Rasool goal.
List of international goals scored by Sarfraz Rasool :
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1 | 25 March 2002 | Kalutara Stadium, Kalautara, Sri Lanka | Sri Lanka | 0–1 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 2 | 10 January 2003 | Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka, Bangladesh | India | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2003 South Asian Football Federation Gold Cup |
| 3 | 12 January 2003 | Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka, Bangladesh | Sri Lanka | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2003 South Asian Football Federation Gold Cup |
| 4 | 14 January 2003 | Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka, Bangladesh | Afghanistan | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2003 South Asian Football Federation Gold Cup |
| 5 | 20 January 2003 | Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka, Bangladesh | India | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2003 South Asian Football Federation Gold Cup |
| 6 | 21 March 2003 | Jalan Besar Stadium, Kallang, Singapore | Macau | 0–2 | 0–3 | 2004 AFC Asian Cup qualification |