Gordon Samuel (born 1922) was a Burmese footballer who played as a forward. He played for the Burma national team in the 1950s.
Early life Samuel was born in 1922 in Burma province of British India. He belonged to the Anglo-Burmese community.
Club career Samuel was a part of the Customs team in the 1950s.
International career In 1952, Samuel was called up to the Burma national team for their participation in the 1952 Asian Quadrangular Football Tournament. The following year, Samuel would participate in the 1953 edition, where he scored a hat-trick in Burma's opening match at the tournament. He became the second player to score a hat-trick in the competition, after Sheoo Mewalal. The same tournament, Samuel would score against India in a 2–4 loss, this would crown him as the top goal-scorer of the tournament, helping Burma achieve a third-place finish behind Pakistan and India.
In 1954, Samuel was again selected for the 1954 Asian Games held at Manila, Singapore. In the tournament, Samuel would score in the group stages, against Singapore and Pakistan. The team would make it to the semi-finals, but failed to advance due to a 2–2 draw against South Korea. This game would result in an advancement for the South Koreans, due to them having a more superior overall goal-average than Burma.
Three years later, Samuel would participate in the 1957 Merdeka Tournament, Burma would fail to achieve any success in the main tournament, however, a separate tournament was fixed which included fixtures between teams that were eliminated from the earlier competition. In this consolation round, Burma would come in second place, with Samuel scoring against Thailand. Around the same time, Hapoel Petah Tikva, an Israeli football team which was touring asia, visited Burma as a part of their tour. Their last match of the tour was against the national team, in the match, Samuel managed to find the net in the 41st minute, helping his team win the match 3–2.
The following year, he was included in the squad for the 1958 Asian Games, in which he scored a goal against Indonesia in a 2–4 loss.
Personal life During the Second World War, Samuel served in the regular Burma Intelligence Corps, gathering information on enemy troop movements. After missing the evacuation from Burma, he trekked to India on foot over 17 days through a war zone. Following the war, he returned to Burma, where he worked as a customs officer. There he met Doris, whom he married on 29 December 1948.
In 1959, the family emigrated to England with £220, travelling by sea with their three young sons, Gordon, Walter, and Leslie, on a 35-day voyage. They initially settled in Tulse Hill, where Samuel worked as a clerk for British Rail. The family later moved to Thornton Heath, where they lived for decades. By 2008, Samuel and his wife had seven grandchildren and celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary.
Samuel was a supporter of both Arsenal and Crystal Palace football clubs.
Career statistics
International goals
Scores and results list Burma's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Samuel goal.
+List of international goals scored by Gordon SamuelNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition124 October 1953Aung San Stadium, Rangoon, Burma3–21953 Asian Quadrangular Football Tournament23431 October 1953Aung San Stadium, Rangoon, Burma2–41953 Asian Quadrangular Football Tournament54 May 1954Rizal Memorial Stadium, Manila, Philippines1–11954 Asian Games65 May 1954Rizal Memorial Stadium, Manila, Philippines2–11954 Asian Games723 December 1954Calcutta FC Ground, Calcutta, India1–21954 Asian Quadrangular Football Tournament85 September 1957Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaya5–21957 Merdeka Tournamenthttps://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/straitstimes19570902-1.2.115?qt=burma,%20soccer,%20merdeka,%20vernon&q=burma%20soccer%20merdeka%20vernon925 May 1958Tokyo, Japan2–41958 Asian Games
References