View source for Robert Choe

{{short description|Malaysian footballer}}
{{EngvarB|date=October 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2014}}
'''Robert Choe''' (born 13 January 1940 in [[Malacca]]) is a former [[Melaka United|Malacca FA]] and [[Malaysia national football team|Malaysia]] player in the 1950s–1960s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thestar.com.my/metro/community/2015/08/28/merdeka-memories-former-national-sportsman-remembers-tunku-and-laments-state-of-malaysian-football|work= [[The Star (Malaysia)|The Star]]|title=Merdeka memories|date=28 August 2015|access-date=31 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920074920/https://www.thestar.com.my/metro/community/2015/08/28/merdeka-memories-former-national-sportsman-remembers-tunku-and-laments-state-of-malaysian-football|archive-date=20 September 2020|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Mamrud |first1=Roberto |title=Malaysia - Record International Players |url=https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/malay-recintlp.html |website=RSSSF |access-date=30 December 2021 |archive-date=27 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220927193951/https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/malay-recintlp.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
==Career overview==
A striker, Robert was a squad player for [[Malaya national football team|Malaya]] that captured the 1958, 1959 and 1960 [[Merdeka Tournament]] editions.<ref>{{cite web |title=Merdeka Tournament (Malaysia)|url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesm/merdeka.html|publisher=Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation|access-date=1 February 2022}}</ref>
In 1959, he was selected for the inaugural [[1959 AFC Youth Championship|Asian Youth Championship]]. On 16 December 1961, Robert helped the national team to win the gold medal in the [[1961 Southeast Asian Peninsular Games|1961 SEAP Games]] (now [[SEA Games]]) in [[Rangoon]], the Burmese (now Myanmar) after beating the [[Burma]] in the finals.<ref>[https://www.rsssf.org/tabless/sea61.html South East Asian Peninsula Games 1961 (Rangoon, Burma) - RSSSF]</ref>
He was also a part of the [[Federation of Malaya|Malaya]] team that won bronze medals in the [[Football at the 1962 Asian Games|1962 Asian Games]].<ref>[https://www.rsssf.org/tablesa/asgames62.html "Asian Games 1962 (Indonesia)"]. [[RSSSF|Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation]]. Retrieved 30 March 2021. </ref>
In 1962, he was also offered by [[Eintracht Frankfurt]] and [[Tottenham Hotspur]] (along with [[Abdul Ghani Minhat]]) to attend a trial session.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://semuanyabola.com/11-pemain-bola-sepak-cina-legenda/|title=11 Pemain Bola Sepak Malaysia Berbangsa Cina Yang Bertaraf Legenda|language=Malay|publisher=Semuanya Bola|accessdate=2 November 2022|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221102140247/https://semuanyabola.com/11-pemain-bola-sepak-cina-legenda/|archivedate=2 November 2022|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://semuanyabola.com/abdul-ghani-minhat-raja-bola-yang-dipikat-oleh-lima-kelab-eropah/|title=Abdul Ghani Minhat: Raja Bola Yang Dipikat Oleh Lima Kelab Eropah|language=Malay|publisher=Semuanya Bola|accessdate=11 April 2020|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200411073532/https://semuanyabola.com/abdul-ghani-minhat-raja-bola-yang-dipikat-oleh-lima-kelab-eropah/|archivedate=11 April 2020|url-status=dead}}</ref>
At the [[1966 Asian Games]] in [[Bangkok]], Robert was honored to captain the national squad before announcing his retirement from the international stage at the age of 26 to focus on a career as a banker.<ref name="Choe">[https://www.pressreader.com/malaysia/the-star-malaysia/20201110/282157883771438 Nifty Robert achieved plenty of football feats in a short time] – [[The Star (Malaysia)|The Star]] at [[Pressreader]]. Retrieved 3 November 2022.</ref>
==Personal life==
On 24 October 1964, after marrying Alice Choe, the couple had a pair of sons, Fahrian Choe Choon Huah and Timothy Choe Choon Seng. Fahrian was named after Germany's goalkeeper at the [[1962 World Cup]], [[Wolfgang Fahrian]], who became Robert's friend when traveling to Europe. "Fahrian was happy to know that I named my first child after him," said Robert.<ref name="Choe"/>
==Honours==
;Malacca
*[[Malaysia FAM Cup]] runner-up: 1957, 1958
;Malaysia U19
*[[AFC Youth Championship]] runner-up: [[1959 AFC Youth Championship|1959]], [[1960 AFC Youth Championship|1960]]
;Malaysia
*[[Southeast Asian Peninsular Games|SEAP Games]]: [[1961 Southeast Asian Peninsular Games|1961]]
*[[Asian Games]]: Bronze Medal [[Football at the 1962 Asian Games|1962]]
*[[Pestabola Merdeka]]: 1958, 1959, 1960
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Choe, Robert}}
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Malaysian men's footballers]]
[[Category:1940 births]]
[[Category:Footballers from Malacca]]
[[Category:Men's association football forwards]]
[[Category:Melaka United F.C. players]]
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