As he bore down on goal, he saw that keeper Joe Corrigan had stepped off his line. From well outside the penalty area, and without breaking stride, he let fly.

What he unleashed was neither a conventional lob nor shot, but a strike that had the speed and trajectory of a heat-seeking missile.

The ball crashed into the back of the net with such force that the stanchions were still quivering minutes later.

Mokhtar's wonder goal in the friendly match earned the hosts a 1-1 draw at Merdeka Stadium in 1978, prompting the visitors' manager Bobby Robson to quip, "he could walk into any club in England".

"Robson wasn't just talking about the goal, sensational though it was, but how Mokhtar made life such a misery for England's defenders, who included European Cup winners Viv Anderson and Alan Kennedy," said veteran football writer Bob Holmes.

His heroics became a small part of a column in the "Shoot" football magazine by then England B striker Gordon Hill, who played upfront with Paul Mariner, and the press clipping was treasured by Mokhtar.

Holmes is the author of "Six of the Best: Malaysian Sporting Icons" that chronicles the careers of Mokhtar, M Jegathesan (athletics), the late V Nellan (golf), Nicol David (squash), Lee Chong Wei (badminton) and Azizulhasni Awang (cycling).

He said: "Hopefully, their stories show that despite the fallow years, this country has produced sportspersons of the finest vintage.

"And if Olympic gold remains elusive, their stories are worth their weight in the stuff."

Setapak-born Mokhtar died on July 11 in 1991, aged 37, from motor-neuron disease, five years after he won his 10th and last Malaysia Cup for Selangor.

"It was a premature end that was beyond cruel, the double whammy of having the country's greatest sportsman cut down in his prime.

"The culture he symbolised made the loss even harder to take, and you can argue that football still hasn't recovered," said Holmes.

Power of tiger and horse

Supermokh was tiger-like: relentless, forever probing, sniffing for trifles with a killer instinct.

Fauzi Omar said when he first saw Mokhtar (Supermokh) play, he was reminded of a tiger.

"Like a tiger, he prowled and pounced on the slightest chance to do damage to his prey," he wrote for the New Straits Times.

Teammates said he was so powerful he ran like a horse, leaving many to wonder where the pace and power, and tiger's eye for goal came from.

Holmes painted a picture of Mokhtar built like a pocket battleship, "his calves and thighs seemed hewn from marble and his masseur used to say giving him a rub was like working on two men".

According to Fauzi, Singapore's goalkeeper Eric Paine admitted to "having the shivers" when facing Mokhtar.

Another Singapore custodian, Edmund Wee, said after a 3-0 Malaysia Cup defeat to Selangor: "The thing with Mokhtar is that you never know which way the ball is coming".

A Terengganu stopper broke his wrist trying to block one of Mokhtar's thunderbolts while teammate R Arumugam fractured three fingers getting in the way of one in training.

Holmes likened Mokhtar to Maradona, from the shaggy locks to the irresistible bursts or power, saying he could be a No 10 very much in the Argentine's mould: scheming, finishing, running the game.

The legends met when Boca Juniors came to Merdeka Stadium in 1982, shaking hands and exchanging pennants. Maradona scored the winner in a 2-1 win over a Selangor Invitational XI.

Holmes said it was on English players that the Asian superstar made the greater impression.

In 1975, Arsenal dropped by, and if they'd been expecting a gentle pre-season warmup, they were in for a rude awakening.

Holmes wrote: "Mokhtar simply tore through their defence to fire home two stunning goals, and although it was an impressive all-round team effort, Mokhtar's individual skills seemed to belong to a loftier stratosphere and rumours of an exit grew.

"His fame spread as far as Europe, and Manchester City offered him terms while Real Madrid had also mulled an approach."

He was just not interested as all he wanted was the quiet life and to "live and die for Selangor".

Holmes said besides inspiring Malaysia to joust as equals with giants like Japan and South Korea, his prodigious goalscoring puts him third on the all-time list even today - above Pele and Lionel Messi, with only Iran's Ali Daei and Cristiano Ronaldo above him.

Hurtful allegations of witchcraft

Asian superstar Mokhtar Dahari (right) carried the country's sporting reputation
during the golden age of Malaysian football.

There were a few who felt Mokhtar might just be a little too good to be true, said Holmes.

They suspected he was benefitting from supernatural means using "susuk" (golden needles to draw strength).

"At his first sign of weakness, some would boo and jeer and even took to insulting his wife Tengku Zarina Tengku Ibrahim in the stands," he said.

In "Sports Flame: Stories Never Told Before", former sportswriter Hishamuddin Aun wrote that Mokhtar laughed off the accusation, and said: "I spent hours building my muscle mass and what you see today is a result of years of hard work.

"If at all this thing works, what's stopping others, be they defenders or strikers, from doing it? We could probably have a team of hunks playing in the World Cup already.

"I have played for my state and country for more than a decade, and I would have had needles inside every inch of my legs."

Respect and reverence

Soh Chin Ann (right) and Santokh Singh, who played with Supermokh
in the 1970s and 80s, regard him as a model sportsman.

Mokhtar, who would have been 70 in November this year, was the best player in the best team Malaysia ever had.

He broke badminton's stranglehold on the sportsman of the year award by becoming the first footballer to take the honour in 1976, three years after being voted the best footballer in Asia.

His stats are breathtaking: 177 goals in 375 games for Selangor, and 89 goals in 142 internationals.

Holmes wrote that 32 years after he was "excruciatingly taken from us, he evokes a respect and reverence that is universal, one that cuts through generations, sports, races and cultural divides".

"Mokhtar lived and played in a different social, sporting and geopolitical era and in what may have been Muhibbah's last hurrah, the national team comprised all races," he said.

Defender Soh Chin Ann told Holmes: "It was hard being Mokhtar. He was always a model sportsman, never complained of what little he had, never demanded anything, just went out there, game after game, and gave it all he had".

Another defender Santokh Singh added: "There will never be another Mokhtar, at least for a long, long time," while goalkeeper Rashid Hasaan said simply: "Mokhtar was the P. Ramlee of football".