Datuk Zainal Abidin Hassan bin Mohd Ali (born 9 November 1961) is a Malaysian football coach and former player.

Playing career

A versatile footballer who could play in multiple positions, Zainal Abidin is considered one of the best Malaysian footballers in the 80's and 90's. He began his football career in 1980 as a defender at Selangor FA. At only 18 years of age, Zainal made his international debut in the 1980 Merdeka Tournament against Indonesia. He played alongside legendary Malaysian footballers Mokhtar Dahari, R Arumugam, Soh Chin Aun and other recognised faces in Malaysian football. In 1983 Pahang FA head coach Frank Lord changed Zainal's position to a striker. This is where his career began to blossom, becoming one of the most respected strikers at the local and international level. From the late 80's to early 90's, he regularly partnered with Dollah Salleh in front as they became a fierce striker partnership for Selangor FA and Pahang FA in M-League and also the national team in SEA Games, Asian Games and Merdeka Tournament. In the 1996 AFF Championship, Zainal Abidin was awarded the title of MVP of the tournament, captaining the national team from the centre-back position instead of his usual striking role. Three years later he was awarded the AFC Century Club Award. During his international career, Zainal scored a total of 78 goals in 180 appearances for Malaysia (including non-FIFA 'A' international matches), according to Globe Soccer Awards in 2020. Against other nations' national 'A' teams, he scored 50 goals in 129 appearances. He also played for the Malaysia national futsal team, and was in the squad that took part in the 1996 FIFA Futsal World Championship in Spain. On 3 August 2021, he was inducted into the FIFA Century Club.

Coaching career

He retired from football in 1999 and was selected to coach the Malaysian youth in 2001. In 2002, he was selected as the assistant coach for the Malaysia senior team. He later coached Pahang FA and brought them their first Malaysia Super League title. In 2006, he guided Pahang FA to win the Malaysian FA Cup. After the contract with Pahang FA ended, he reunited with his former striker partner Dollah Salleh while serving as manager and coach for Shahzan Muda FC. In 2011, he returned to Pahang FA as assistant manager, where he worked again with Dollah, who was the current head coach. The partnership lasted until the end of 2013, when they helped Pahang win the 2013 Malaysia Cup; Pahang's first Malaysia Cup in 21 years. After Dollah left Pahang to coach PDRM FA and Ron Smith was appointed as the new Pahang head coach at the end of 2013, Zainal was appointed as his assistant head coach. But after Smith's contract was not renewed in March 2014, Zainal Abidin was appointed as Smith's replacement. With Pahang, he won the Malaysia Cup in 2014 and also the Malaysia FA Cup in the same year. In 2016, Zainal Abidin made his return to Selangor as head coach, replacing Mehmet Durakovic. This was not without controversy, as negotiations between Zainal and Selangor was made public when Durakovic was still Selangor coach, and Durakovic's contract was terminated even after he won the 33rd Malaysia Cup title with Selangor in 2015. Zainal, however, was sacked in August the same year, after poor performances by the team in the Super League and Malaysia Cup. Zainal Abidin then coached Penang FA from May 2017 until September 2018. In November 2018, he was unveiled as the new head coach of Melaka United. After two years with Melaka, he returned back to coach Penang for a short period of time in the 2022 season.

Personal life

Zainal Abidin's father is of Kenyan descent. His oldest brother Khalid Ali and oldest son Mohd Zaiza are also Malaysian footballers. Zainal has been married to Zalina binti Zaini since 1985 and they have five children. In 2023, he married his second wife, Malaysian singer Fyna Jebat. However, their marriage only lasted a few months as Zainal divorced his second wife and ended their marriage later this year.

Career statistics

Honours

As a player

Selangor FA Pahang FA Malaysia Individual

As a head coach

Pahang FA Selangor FA Individual

Filmography

Film

Television series