Obituary:
By Novy Kapadia.

Syed Khwaja Azizuddin, popularly known as Aziz died unsung in Chicago, USA where he was staying with his daughter's family, in June 1998. Playing either as full back or center half, Aziz was one of the legends of Indian football in the 1950s. He was a playing member of the Indian team which won the gold medal in the inaugural 1951 Asian Games at Delhi and the squad which finished fourth in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. He was also captain of the Indian team, which won the Quadrangular tournament at Dacca in 1955. Incidentally Aziz played in all the four Quadrangular tournaments and guided India to victory in each of these events.
Born on July 12, 1930 Aziz studied from the infant class to the sicth form at the Government High School, Gocha Mahal. His physical instructor Thakur Rao taught him the rudiments of the game and inspired him to improve his prowess in football.
He started his club career with National Sporting Club. From 1949 to 1960 he played for the Hyderabad state team in the Santosh Trophy. They reached the finals four times, emerging winners in 1956-57 and 1957-58 and runners-up in 1949-50 and 1950-51. On both occasions that Hyderabad won the Santosh Trophy, Aziz was the skipper.
When he joined the famed Hyderabad City Police, he came under the able guidance of the famous late S.A. Rahim who improved his techniques and tactical knowledge of the game.
In 1951 he represented India for the first time during a tour of the Far East and later helped the country win the gold medal in the Asian Games at Delhi. Since then he was a regular for India till 1959, including tours to Russia, Ceylon and the Far East and test matches at home against Russia, Austria and Pakistan.
Stockily built Aziz, though not very tall, had superb technique. With a powerful kick on either foot he was known for his deft passing. He was equally adept with either foot and was commanding in the air. He was never flustered and played with a cool head. His positional sense was impeccable and understanding with his colleagues was always of a high calibre. He set up counter attacks with accurate cross-field passes to either flank. Former national caoch Syed Nayeemuddin paid the late Aziz the ultimate tribute when he said, "Aziz was like a Brazilian defender, he had such superb skills. Even the great Junior would have looked junior at times to Aziz."