Zeshan Rehman (; born 14 October 1983) is a former professional footballer who played as a defender. He is currently first team development coach at Portsmouth FC. Born in England, he represented the Pakistan national team.
He was the first British Asian to start a Premier League match and is the first to have played in all four divisions of professional football in England. He also played for the Pakistan national football team and was the first Pakistani international footballer to play professional football in England, Thailand, Hong Kong and Malaysia.
He started his career at Fulham and made a total of 30 appearances, having loan spells at Brighton & Hove Albion and Norwich City. A transfer to Queens Park Rangers followed and he went on to make 50 appearances for the club. During his three years there he went on loan to Brighton & Hove Albion, Blackpool and Bradford City, moving permanently to the latter on a free transfer in June 2009. Having previously represented England at under-18, under-19 and under-20 levels, in 2005 he made his debut for Pakistan.
Early life
Rehman was born on 14 October 1983 in Birmingham. His father is Khalid Rehman. As a child in Birmingham he played for his local Sunday league team, Kingshurst. He was brought up in the Aston area of the city and often played football on the streets in addition to representing his school, his district and his county in football.
Club career
Fulham
Early years
When he was just twelve years old he was spotted by a scout, and moved with his family to London where he joined the Fulham Academy. He progressed through the junior, youth and reserve teams at Fulham, which led him to sign his first professional contract. Although a centre back by trade, Rehman was used as a holding midfielder as well as right back in his career at Fulham.
2003–04
In the 2003–04 season, Rehman made his professional debut on 23 September 2003 in a 1–0 defeat away to Wigan Athletic in the second round of the Football League Cup, coming on as a substitute for Junichi Inamoto after 57 minutes. Six days later, he was sent on loan to Brighton & Hove Albion of the Second Division, initially for one month until November. He scored on his debut for the club on 30 September, concluding a 3–1 away win at Rushden & Diamonds. On 11 October, he opened a 3–0 win against Grimsby Town at the Withdean Stadium, finishing a corner by Leon Knight in Bob Booker's first match in charge. Rehman's loan was extended to three months ending in January 2004. He made eleven league appearances, scoring two goals.
He made his Premier League debut for Fulham in a goalless draw at Anfield against Liverpool on 17 April 2004, replacing Bobby Petta for the final minute of the match. In doing so, he garnered media attention from British Asian groups by being the first British Asian player to play in the top division of English football. In June, Rehman signed a new contract, to keep him until 2006.
2005–06
On 21 September 2005 in the League Cup second round, Rehman scored his only goal for Fulham, opening a 5–4 extra-time win over Lincoln City at Craven Cottage by heading in Heiðar Helguson's cross. In January 2006 he signed for Championship club Norwich City on loan for the rest of the season as defensive cover for the club. He made five starts for them. Having made 30 appearances in all competitions for Fulham, 26 from the starting line-up and four as a substitute, Rehman had to consider his options if he was to get regular football. Although he had two years remaining on his contract, he wanted to play regular first team football, and as a result, he decided to spend the next two seasons getting as much experience as possible.
Queens Park Rangers
On 8 August 2006, just prior to the start of the 2006–07 season, Rehman signed for Championship club Queens Park Rangers (QPR) from Fulham on a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee. In his first season at QPR, Rehman made 27 appearances.
Towards the end of the season Rehman was sent on loan to former club Brighton & Hove Albion for a month where he gained more first team football experience. He made his debut on 24 March 2007 in a 0–0 draw against Huddersfield Town. He ended his loan stint by playing the full 90 minutes, and earning a yellow card in the process, for the final game of the League One season in a 1–1 draw at Cheltenham Town on 5 May 2007, claiming an assist for the opening goal. He featured in eight full games during his loan spell.