Born: Birmingham, 14 October 1983
Nationality: Pakistani
International caps: 25
International goals: 1
Signed: Fulham academy, 1995
Fulham debut: Wigan Athletic 1-0 Fulham, 23 September 2003
Fulham appearances: 30
Fulham goals: 1
Sold: Queens Park Rangers, 8 August 2006 (£250,000).
Zesh Rehman, for many years a highly regarded member of Fulham’s youth sides, made history when making his Premier League debut in the final minute of a goalless draw at Anfield in April 2004 by becoming the first British-Asian footballer to feature in the top flight. Rehman had already made his senior debut the previous season – coming on as a substitute in the League Cup defeat at Wigan – and left quite an impression on Chris Coleman.
He kept a clean sheet on his first league start against Spurs and featured alongside Zat Knight at the start of the following campaign. He scored his only goal for the club in a 5-4 League Cup win over Lincoln City, but decided to move on in August 2006 – opting to sign for near neighbours Queens Park Rangers. Rehman, by now a full Pakistan international, went on to play in Thailand, Hong Kong and Malaysia before becoming player-coach of Southern. Having hung up his boots in 2022, Rehman is currently under 18 coach at Portsmouth.
