Gopinath Naidu also known as the "wonder boy", is a former Malaysia  footballer who was a striker for Kuala Lumpur FA

Kuala Lumpur FA

The Kuala Lumpur Football Association is a Malaysian professional football association based in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur. The association was founded as the Federal Territory Football Association in 1974 and entered Malaysian football competitions in 1979 before being renamed Kuala Lumpur in 1986...

, Perak FA

Perak FA

The Football Association of Perak enters a team in Malaysian football competitions to represent the state of Perak. The team currently plays in the Malaysia Super League....

 and the Malaysia national football team

Malaysia national football team

The Malaysian national football team nicknamed Harimau Malaya, as the Malayan Tiger, is the national team of Malaysia and is controlled by the Football Association of Malaysia...

.

Career

Gopinath Naidu started his football career with Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...

's youth team in 1986. At that time he was only 12 and he represented the state and country in various age group tournaments. He won few top-scorer and best player award at the Malaysia national tournaments and international. His impressive performance with KL youth and Malaysian national youth team earned him an attachment with Aston Villa at that time was managed by former KL coach Dr.Josef Venglos and also with Bayer Leverkusen

Bayer Leverkusen

Bayer 04 Leverkusen is a German football club based in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is the most well-known department of TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen, a sports club whose members also participate in athletics, gymnastics, basketball and other sports.-Origins and early years:On 27 November...

.

He was trained under several notable coaches; Eckhard Krautzun

Eckhard Krautzun

Eckhard Krautzun is a German football coach and former football player.-Managerial career:As a player, Krautzun turned out for Union Solingen, Rheydter SV, 1. FC Kaiserslautern, Young Fellows Zürich and TeBe Berlin. As well as a manager, Krautzun has acted as a technical director and scout...

, Claude Le Roy

Claude Le Roy

Claude Le Roy is a French football manager and former player, who gained prominence at international level as coach to the Senegal and Ghana national teams...

, Ken Shellito

Ken Shellito

Kenneth John Shellito is a former English football player and manager who now works in a coaching role for the Asian Football Confederation, based in Kuala Lumpur...

, Colin Harvey

Colin Harvey

Colin Harvey is a retired English footballer who is best known for his time as a player, coach and manager with Everton. He is married to Maureen and lives in Aughton, Lancashire.- Playing career :...

, Dick Bate

Dick Bate

-Playing career:A Sheffield schoolteacher, Bate spent his early playing career with Alfreton Town before joining Boston United in 1971, debuting in the 3–1 Northern Premier League home victory over South Liverpool on 14 August 1971...

 and some local coaches as, M. Karathu

M. Karathu

Datuk M. Karathu is a former Malaysian football manager and player.-Career as player:He was a former player for Perak FA in the 1960s to 1970s. He also have played for Malaysia national football team.-Career as coach:...

, Khaidir Buyong, B. Sathianathan

B. Sathianathan

B. Sathianathan is the former head coach for Malaysia national football team and Malaysia U-23 football team. He is currently attached to Kelantan FA. Before becoming the head coach for Malaysia, he was the coach for Arsenal Soccer School in Malaysia....

, Lim Kim Choon and many more.

In 1992 he was offered professional playing contract with Kuala Lumpur by President

President

A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...

 Tan Sri Dato' Elyas Omar who was the Kuala Lumpur mayor

Mayor

In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

. During this period he played against several top players and teams such as Aston Villa, Middlesbrough

Middlesbrough

Middlesbrough is a large town situated on the south bank of the River Tees in north east England, that sits within the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire...

, AEK Athens, FC Kaiserslautern.

While he was reaching at his peak he sustain a serious knee injury which he underwent surgery in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. He came back and played for Kuala Lumpur and won the 1993–1994 FA Cup

FA Cup

The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...

 twice, which gained him the title as a top scorer. This has earned him to be called up for the pre-qualifying for the 1996 Summer Olympics

1996 Summer Olympics

The 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....

 Atlanta team under Claude Le Roy

Claude Le Roy

Claude Le Roy is a French football manager and former player, who gained prominence at international level as coach to the Senegal and Ghana national teams...

 in 1994.


He continued playing for the Malaysian Profesional League which is also known as M-League for Kuala Lumpur and later for Perak

Perak

Perak , one of the 13 states of Malaysia, is the second largest state in the Peninsular Malaysia bordering Kedah and Yala Province of Thailand to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, Selangor the Strait of Malacca to the south and west.Perak means silver in Malay...

 in 1996 and had a few offers to play in Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

 and Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

 league as well.

Due to his serious knee

Knee

The knee joint joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two articulations: one between the fibula and tibia, and one between the femur and patella. It is the largest joint in the human body and is very complicated. The knee is a mobile trocho-ginglymus , which permits flexion and extension as...

 injuries throughout his football career, Gopinath Naidu had to make a tough decision after consulting a few orthopedic surgeons to retire as a professional footballer.

Recent appearance

He appeared on a Live Talk Show in 2010 along side Selangor FA

Selangor FA

The Football Association of Selangor , commonly referred to as FAS or simply Selangor, competes in Malaysian football competitions representing the state of Selangor Darul Ehsan. The team is based in Shah Alam city. They are currently playing in Malaysian Super League, the top-flight of Malaysian...

 Manager

Manager (association football)

In association football, a manager is responsible for running a football club or a national team. The manager of a professional club is responsible directly to the club president. The position of manager is almost exclusively used in British football...

/Coach

Coach (sport)

In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...

 K. Devan

K. Devan

Devan a/l E. Kuppusamy, better known as K. Devan is a Malaysian football manager and former professional player.-As a coach:...

.