PETALING JAYA: Malaysian football lost another great player following former national player T. Gopinath Naidu’s (pic) passing at the age of 51 due to cardiac arrest yesterday.
The Malaysian Football League (MFL) shared the news on social media and extended their condolences to Gopinath’s family.
“Deepest condolences to the family of the legendary Gopinath. May he rest in peace.
“Gopinath, known as the Wonder Boy of the Kuala Lumpur football team, passed away at the age of 51,” said MFL.
Gopinath came from Kuala Lumpur’s youth team at the age of 12 and joined the senior team in 1992.
He went on to make a name for himself after winning the FA Cup in 1993 and 1994 with Kuala Lumpur.
Gopinath also put on the Harimau Malaya jersey when he represented Malaysia at the 1994 Hiroshima Asian Games and the 1996 Atlanta Olympics pre-qualifying fixture.
Gopinath’s performance on the pitch also earned him stints overseas, playing with Aston Villa in England and Bayern Leverkusen in Germany during his career.
But as he was reaching his peak, recurring knee injuries and undergoing 19 surgeries forced the footballer to retire at the age of 25 in 1999.
At the end of his footballing career, Gopinath had a short stint with Perak in 1996.
