Muhammad Adil

Muhammad Adil
	Adil with Dordoi Bishkek in 2015
Personal information
Full name	Muhammad Adil Iqbal
Date of birth	9 July 1992 (age 32)
Place of birth	Bahawalpur, Pakistan
Height	1.63 m (5 ft 4 in)
Position(s)	Winger / Attacking midfielder
Team information
Current team	Lyallpur FC
Number	21
Youth career
2004–2009	Young Blood FC Bahawalpur
Senior career*
Years	Team
2009–2011	Pak Elektron
2011–2014	Khan Research Laboratories
2014–2016	Dordoi Bishkek
2016–2017	Khan Research Laboratories
2017–2018	Hawkesbury City
2018–2021	Khan Research Laboratories
2021	Defenders
2021–	Lyallpur
International career‡
2010–2014	Pakistan U23
2011–2018	Pakistan
Medal record
Khan Research Laboratories
Dordoi Bishkek
Pakistan
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 00:26, 24 July 2022 (UTC); ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 21:47, 24 March 2022 (UTC)

Muhammad Adil Iqbal (Urdu: محمد عادل اقبال; born 9 July 1992^[1]) is a Pakistani professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder and winger. He last played for Pakistan Premier League club Lyallpur.

Adil first came to prominence with Pak Elektron, signing a professional contract for the club at the age of 18 - scoring six goals in 25 appearances in his first season. The following season he signed for departmental side Khan Research Laboratories, where he went on to win three Pakistan Premier League titles, two Challenge Cup titles and finishing runners-up in the 2013 AFC President's Cup.^[2]^[3] Three years later Adil's signature was pursued by a leading Kyrgyzstani club, and after protracted transfer negotiations he joined Dordoi Bishkek in 2014.^[4]^[5] Adil played a major role in helping the team win a treble; the league title, league cup and super cup, scoring four goals and making six assists in the league. After being linked to a club of Eerste Divisie in Netherlands, Derby County, and Pembroke Athleta, after refusing to further extend his contract with Dordoi Bishkek, Adil returned to Khan Research Laboratories, winning the 2016 Pakistan Football Federation Cup. In 2017, Adil signed for Australian club Hawkesbury City in a short-term deal, until returning to his former club. In 2021, Adil had a brief stint at Defenders FC in the Sri Lanka Super League until joining Lyallpur in 2021.

Adil received his first senior international cap in a 2–1 defeat against Palestine.^[1] With the under-23 team, Adil also represented Pakistan in the Asian Games and South Asian Games. He earned 26 caps for the national team after his 2011 debut, playing in the 2012 and 2014 AFC Challenge Cup qualification tournaments, 2013 SAFF Championship, the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers and the 2018 SAFF Championship.^[1]

Club career

Early career

Adil started his youth career with Young Blood FC Bahawalpur.^[6] The club took him to Lahore for under-14 trials when he was young, and supported him from 2004 onwards. Adil used to work for several hours as a labourer before going to the field to play for the club.^[6]

Pak Elektron

In 2009, Adil signed his first professional contract at the age of 18 with Pakistan Premier League departmental side Pak Elektron. Adil went on to score six goals in 25 appearances, making a lot of assists, in all competitions.

Khan Research Laboratories

His performances and record made Khan Research Laboratories, the runners-up of the league, caught their attention to sign him permanently. The following season, Adil won the Pakistan Premier League with Khan Research Laboratories in 2011 as KRL set a Pakistan Premier League record scoring the most points in a season in the Pakistan Premier League with 77 points.^[7] Adil also won the Challenge Cup with KRL (1–0) against rivals K-Electric in 2011. Later, Adil went on to make his debut AFC President's Cup on 8 May 2012 in a 0–0 draw against Erchim from Mongolia.^[8]

2012–2013 season

During the 2012 season, Adil played an important in the first-team under then manager Tariq Lutfi, who replaced Sajjad Mahmood the previous season; Adil established himself as a key player in the midfield and guided the team to clinch a historic double; winning the league title, the domestic cup and qualified for the AFC President's Cup^[2] for the following season – finishing runners-up in the competition losing (1–0) to Turkmenistan's Balkan.^[9] Adil scored his first goal in the continental competition in the 77th minute in a 2–0 group stage victory over Philippine's Global and later scoring the second goal in a 2–0 win over Hilal Al-Quds from Palestine in the final group stage.^[10]^[11] He helped KRL to reach the final, which they eventually lost. In 2013 season, Adil won his third and last league title with the Rawalpindi side.^[12]

During his three years stint at Khan Research Laboratories, Adil scored a total of 24 goals in 65 matches in all competitions before signing for Kyrgyzstani club FC Dordoi Bishkek, managed by former Pakistan national team coach Zaviša Milosavljević, in 2014.^[13]

Dordoi Bishkek

Adil completed his move to FC Dordoi Bishkek in 2014, joining his former club and Pakistan national team player Kaleemullah Khan, after successful performances in 2013 AFC President's Cup, on an initial one-year contract.^[5]^[14] Since his arrival in Dordoi, he has helped the club win their pre-season tour friendly matches in Turkey and Russia. He played a major role in helping the team win a treble; the league title, league cup and super cup, scoring four goals and six assists in 13 appearances in the league.

Adil made his AFC Cup debut on 9 February 2015 in a 1–0 defeat against Turkmenistan side Ahal in the preliminary round.^[15] In an interview with Dawn News, it was reported that Adil has got an offer from football club of Eerste Divisie in Netherlands and that "he will travel to Netherlands in May 2015 to attend the trial to show them his skills". He was later offered a two-year contract by Championship side Derby County after he impressed the manager Paul Clement with his performances for Dordoi Bishkek, but by then he had already signed a contract extension with the Kyrgyz side, effectively ending his chances of playing in the English second-tier till January at least.^[16] In 2016, he was reported to have undergone a three-week trial for the Maltese Premier League side Pembroke Athleta, after refusing to further extend his contract with Dordoi Bishkek.^[17]^[18]

Return to Khan Research Laboratories

After successfully completing the trial for Pembroke Athleta, the move to the club was put on hold due to visa hurdles.^[19] In the meantime, Adil reported to train with former side KRL.^[19]^[20] After the move failed to materialise, he stayed with KRL, winning the 2016 Pakistan Football Federation Cup.

Hawkesbury City

In wake of the crisis of the Pakistan Football Federation in 2017, Adil signed for Australian club Hawkesbury City in the NSW League Two in a short-term deal, which would allow him play ten matches till the end of next month.^[21] He returned to KRL by the end of the deal, winning the 2018–19 Pakistan Premier League.

Defenders FC

In 2021, Adil joined Defenders FC in the Sri Lanka Super League.^[22]^[6]

Lyallpur

After a short stint in the Sri Lankan Super League, Adil joined Lyallpur FC for the 2021–22 Pakistan Premier League, until the league was eventually cancelled.^[23]

Later career

In 2022, Adil trained with WAPDA to maintain his fitness, hinting for a future move to a league in Nepal.^[6]

He also started supporting the local youth in Bahawalpur and Multan, and trained the children at his youth club Young Blood FC Bahawalpur. He also conducted trials for the Global Soccer Ventures (GSV) talent hunt with the Irish Premier League Club St Patrick’s Athletic FC coaches along with former national teammate Faisal Iqbal.^[6]

Adil also hinted his focus to invest in programs that can help the upcoming footballers in the future, as his days as a fruit merchant prepared him for the business side of the sport.^[6]

International career

Adil started his international youth career in 2006 being part of the under-14 Pakistan team in the AFC U-14 Football Festival held in Bangladesh. Apart from the under-14 team, Adil also represented the under-17, under-19, under-21, and the Pakistan under-23 national sides. Whilst with the under-23 team, Adil also represented Pakistan in the Asian Games and South Asian Games, scoring his first goal in the 54th minute in a 2-2 draw against Palestine in Al-Nakba International Football Cup 2012.

Adil earned his first senior cap for Pakistan in a 2–1 defeat against Palestine on 1 March 2011.^[1] He has earned 26 caps for the national team since his debut in 2011, playing in the 2012 and 2014 AFC Challenge Cup qualification tournaments, 2013 SAFF Championship, the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers and the 2018 SAFF Championship.^[1]

Personal life

Adil was born in Bahawalpur, Punjab and was a fruit and sugarcane seller, going around the streets of Bahwalpur with his cart, to financially support his family.^[24] However, he used to play football whenever he found the time and thus was scouted when he got selected for the regional team in the National U-14 Championship held in 2006.^[25] He eventually impressed the coaches to secure a call-up for the Pakistan U-14 side that took part in AFC Festival of Football in Bangladesh.^[26]

In an interview with Football Pakistan, Adil said that he enjoys eating the national dish of Kyrgyzstan, Pilaf, which is a particular favourite of his, and he also enjoys grabbing a slice of pizza or two when possible.

Style of play

A right-footed player, Adil usually plays both on the wings and in all positions of the midfield.^[1] Earlier in his career he primarily played as a wide midfielder. Adil is known for his dribbling skills, speed, crossing ability and his accurate right foot long-range shots from the centre of midfield. Adil has described the Argentina national team player Carlos Tevez as his ideal football star and has been compared with Brazilian footballer Roberto Carlos for his quick pace and composure by the local media in Pakistan.^[27]

Career statistics

Club

As of 22 March 2015^[update]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club performance			League		Cup		Continental		Other		Total		Ref.
Club	League	Season	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Kyrgyzstan			League		Kyrgyzstan Cup		Asia¹		Other²		Total
Dordoi Bishkek	Shoro Top League	2014	13	4	3	0	0	0	5	0	21	4	-
Dordoi Bishkek	Shoro Top League	2015	8	0	1	0	1	0	5	0	1	0	-
Total			21	4	4	0	1	0	10	0	32	4	—
Career total			21	4	4	0	1	0	10	0	33	4	—

1.^ Includes statistics from AFC Cup and AFC President's Cup.
2.^ Includes statistics from Challenge Cup, Kyrgyzstan Super Cup, Ala-Too Cup, and Legend Cup.