KUALA LUMPUR: Former international Anuar Abu Bakar passed away yesterday after a short battle with liver cancer. He was 48.
Anuar, a forward who earned more than 40 caps in the 1990s, was diagnosed with fourth stage liver cancer about two months ago.
He started his career with Johor in 1991, who then had Ervin Boban, Abbas Saad and Alistair Edwards in their team.
That season, Johor won the Malaysia Cup and the Semi-Pro Division One titles.
Anuar spent two seasons with Johor before moving to Selangor, where he won numerous titles, including three Malaysia Cup crowns, before returning to his home state in 1998.
In 2003, Anuar won his fifth Malaysia Cup title when playing for the now-defunct Selangor MPPJ.
He spent three seasons with the club before retiring.
Anuar represented Malaysia in the Merdeka Tournament, Sea Games and Tiger Cup in the 1990s.
He later moved into coaching, serving as an assistant coach at Selangor, PKNS and T-Team.