Datuk Wira Soh Chin Ann (or Soh Chin Aun due to misspelling by Malaysian media; simplified Chinese: 苏进安; traditional Chinese: 蘇進安; pinyin: Sū Jìn'ān; born 28 July 1950) is a Malaysian former footballer who played as a defender. He was affectionately known as Tauke or Towkay (Boss) by his teammates and fans.

Soh was regarded as the most capped player in men's international football, though the total varied by source. The RSSSF and IFFHS credited him with 219 appearances, a record later surpassed by Cristiano Ronaldo in 2025. FIFA, by contrast, recognised 195 official caps, a record overtaken by Bader Al-Mutawa in 2022.

Club career

Soh started his football career with Malacca in 1969. He joined Selangor in 1971 and played for them until 1978 winning six Malaysia Cup titles. He returned to star for Malacca in 1979 and won the League Cup title in 1983 but was inactive for two years due to a one-year suspension in 1985. He captained Malacca in 1988 which was also his last appearances in the domestic league.

International career

National team

At the age of 19, Soh earned his full international caps for Malaysia at the 1969 King's Cup. In 1971, when he played in the Olympic qualifier in Seoul, South Korea, he was the youngest member of the national team at the age of 21. He participated in the 1972 Munich Olympic Games and playing all three group games. He also was the captain of the team that qualified for the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games. Malaysia did not participate in boycott of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. However, because of his contribution for helping Malaysia to qualify for the Olympics, he was awarded the Ahli Mangku Negara by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. He later took part in the 1980 AFC Asian Cup, where his Malaysia was eliminated from the group stage, yet Malaysia produced one of the finest performance ever under his leadership, with the team gaining a famous 1–1 draw over powerhouse South Korea; Soh gained fame as well for having an exceptional tournament, allowing him to be named into the Team of the Tournament by the AFC, the first Southeast Asian to receive such honour, a record which would stand until the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.

Malaysia Selection

On 11 May 1975, Soh was part of the Malaysia Selection that played against Arsenal FC in a friendly match, which the team won 2–0 at the Merdeka Stadium.

Retirement

He retired from international football in 1984 and made 250 international appearances as recorded by Football Association of Malaysia. Asian Football Confederation recognised his achievements and included him into AFC Century Club in February 1999.

Post-playing career

He was appointed as the chairman of the referees' committee on 13 March 2007. He was the team manager (not head coach) of Malaysia national football team from 2007 until 2009.

Political engagement

Soh has once constested the Parliament of Malaysia for Kota Melaka representing Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) of Barisan Nasional (BN) in 1986 but he suffered a defeat of 17,606 votes to Lim Guan Eng of Democratic Action Party (DAP).

Election results

Parliament of Malaysia
YearConstituencyCandidateVotesPctOpponent(s)VotesPctBallots castMajorityTurnout
1986P113 Kota MelakaSoh Chin Ann (MCA)16,96732.92%Lim Guan Eng (DAP)34,57367.08%52,84017,60676.54%

Personal life

In 2016, he made a cameo appearance in Ola Bola as Soh Chin Aun, a character based on himself in the 1980 Moscow Olympics qualification campaign.

Career statistics

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Malaysia196930
1970120
1971191
1972163
1973201
1974120
1975190
1976162
1977171
1978160
1979171
1980191
198181
198200
198381
1984171
Total21913

Scores and results list Malaysia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Ann goal.

List of international goals scored by Soh Chin Ann
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
122 May 1971Bangkok, ThailandBrunei8–01972 AFC Asian Cup qualification
229 July 1972Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaSouth Korea1–21972 Merdeka Tournament
320 September 1972Seoul, South KoreaKhmer Republic1–01972 President's Cup
422 September 1972Seoul, South KoreaThailand1–11972 President's Cup
528 July 1973Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaKhmer Republic1–01973 Merdeka Tournament
612 August 1976Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaIndia5–11976 Merdeka Tournament
720 August 1976Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaJapan2–21976 Merdeka Tournament
829 July 1977Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaIndonesia5–11977 Merdeka Tournament
99 May 1979Bangkok, ThailandNorth Korea1–11980 AFC Asian Cup qualification
102 November 1980Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaMorocco1–21980 Merdeka Tournament
1117 April 1981Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaSingapore1–2Ovaltine Cup
1219 September 1983Sultan Muhammad IV Stadium, Kota Bahru, MalaysiaNepal7–01983 Merdeka Tournament
133 April 1984Christchurch, New ZealandNew Zealand1–6Friendly

Honours

Selangor

Malacca

Malaysia

Individual

Records

  • Malaysia national football team all-time most appearances: 219
  • The first men's footballers to reach 200 or more international caps (according to RSSSF and IFFHS): 219
  • 20th century most international caps in men's football (1901–2000): 219
  • The first Asian footballers to reach 100 or more international wins for national team: 108
  • The first footballers to reach 100 or more international wins for national team (1969–1984): 108

Order

See also

Notes

External links

  • (archived 29 September 2007)
  • at Selangorfc.com (archive 28 September 2007) (in Malay)