Arif Aiman
Personal information
Full name Arif Aiman Bin Mohd Hanapi
Date of birth (2002-05-04) 4 May 2002 (age 21)
Place of birth Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia
Height 1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)[1]
Position(s) Winger
Team information
Current team
 Johor Darul Ta'zim
Number 42
Youth career
2015–2018 Mokhtar Dahari National Football Academy
2019–2020 Johor Darul Ta'zim
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2020 Johor Darul Ta'zim II 6 (0)
2020– Johor Darul Ta'zim 68 (17)
International career‡
2021– Malaysia 28 (7)
Medal record
Representing  Malaysia
Men's football
Merdeka Tournament
Runner-up 2023
King's Cup
Runner-up 2022
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16 December 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 26 March 2024

Arif Aiman bin Mohd Hanapi (born 4 May 2002) is a Malaysian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Malaysia Super League club Johor Darul Ta'zim and the Malaysia national team.[2]

Youth career

Arif's talent was discovered during the Mykids programme in 2011/12, and he later joined the squad that won IberCup Costa Del Sol in 2015. He then decided to leave Mokhtar Dahari National Football Academy at the end of 2018 to join JDT Academy in order to increase his playing opportunities. After playing for JDT in the Youth and President's Cups, Arif Aiman caught the attention of Malaysia U-18 squad coach, Bojan Hodak, in early 2019.[3]

Arif is a product of the National Football Development Programme of Malaysia (NFDP) from 2015 to 2017 and then Johor Darul Ta'zim Academy. He played in all levels of the academy including JDT IV, JDT III, JDT II until he became a regular for the first team.[4]

Arif began his senior club with Johor Darul Ta'zim after playing for the youth club few years back. In 2021, at age 19, he won the Most Valuable Player (MVP) in the 2021 National Football Awards ceremony and created the nation's history as the youngest player ever chosen as MVP, surpassing teammate Safawi Rasid, who was 21 when he was selected as MVP in 2018. He was also named Best Striker and Most Promising Player in that year's awards.[5]

Club career

Johor Darul Ta'zim

Arif Aiman made his senior debut with Johor Darul Ta'zim II on 29 February 2020 in the 2020 Malaysia Premier League.[6] He played 73 minutes in a 3–1 away win against Negeri Sembilan.[6] On 14 March 2020, he made his Johor Darul Ta'zim first team debut against Felda United in the 2020 Malaysia Super League. He scored his first goal for the club against Kuching City in a 1–0 win in the Round of 16 of the 2020 Malaysia Cup which see them through to the quarter-finals.[7] Arif Aiman made his first appearance in the 2021 season against UiTM after his teammate Safawi Rasid was subbed off because of a knee injury. He also scored in that match. Arif was named in the 25 best ASEAN wonderkids in football.[8] On 22 June 2021, he made his debut in 2021 AFC Champions League, which ended in a 0–1 loss against Japanese club Nagoya Grampus.

Sending JDT to their first ever knockout stage of the AFC Champions League

On 30 April 2022, as Johor desperately needing a win to qualify for the Round of 16 in the AFC Champions League group stage, he crossed the ball during the last kick of the match, which resulted Park Yong-woo from Ulsan Hyundai to accidentally scored an own goal. Johor won the game with a score of 2–1 and qualified to the knockout stage as group leader.[9] On 5 August 2022, Arif Aiman scored his first senior hat-trick for JDT during the 2022 Malaysia FA Cup semi-finals match against Penang.[10] On 28 November 2022, he scored a goal in a friendly match against Borussia Dortmund in Johor's last match of in 2022.[11] On 2 February 2023, he started off his pre-season well in Dubai in the match against Russian club, Lokomotiv Moscow in which he ran past behind the goalkeeper and scored the only goal in the game.[12] On 24 February 2023, he won the 2023 Malaysia Charity Shield for the third time in his career. On 26 June 2023, he scored a first half hat-trick in the semi-finals of the Malaysia Cup against Selangor.[13] It was also his back to back hat-trick for club and country.

International career

Arif made his first appearance for Malaysia in an unofficial friendly match against Kuwait on 23 May 2021 at the age of 19 years 19 days.[14] His official debut was against Bahrain on 29 May 2021. His first competitive match with Malaysia was against Vietnam in the 2022 World Cup Qualifier as a substitution. He made his appearance in the 61st minute but the team eventually ended up losing 1–2.[15]

He converted a penalty kick against Solomon Islands in an international friendly match on 14 June 2023, which was his first international goal after 16 appearances with the national team. On 20 June 2023, he scored four goals in a 10–0 against Papua New Guinea, which made him the seventh Malaysian player to score more than three goals in one international match.[16] During the 2023 AFC Asian Cup group stage fixture against South Korea on 25 January 2024, Arif scored from the penalty spot that shocked the entire world by giving Malaysia the 2–1 lead against the Asian giants.

Style of play

Arif usually plays in the position of a winger who provides the chance for his front line. He is known for his pace, agility, and dribbles who can handle 1 to 3 opponents while in possession and can play with both feet.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 16 December 2023[17][18]
Club Season League Cup[a] League Cup[b] Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Johor Darul Ta'zim II 2020 Malaysia Premier League 6 0 — 6 0
Johor Darul Ta'zim 2020 Malaysia Super League 2 0 — 1 1 — — 3 1
2021 Malaysia Super League 21 2 — 10 1 5[c] 0 — 36 3
2022 Malaysia Super League 21 3 4 4 5 1 7[c] 0 1[d] 0 38 8
2023 Malaysia Super League 24 12 3 4 6 5 6[c] 3 1[d] 0 40 24
Total 68 17 7 8 21 8 18 3 2 0 117 36
Career total 74 17 7 8 21 8 18 3 2 0 123 36
Notes
  1. ^ Malaysia FA Cup
  2. ^ Malaysia Cup
  3. ^ a b c Appearances in the AFC Champions League
  4. ^ a b Appearances in the Piala Sumbangsih

International

As of matches played 26 March 2024.[19][20]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Malaysia 2021 7 0
2022 8 0
2023 8 6
2024 5 1
Total 28 7

International goals

Senior

No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 14 June 2023 Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium, Terengganu, Malaysia.  Solomon Islands 2–1 4–1 Friendly Match
2. 20 June 2023 Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium, Terengganu, Malaysia.  Papua New Guinea 3–0 10–0
3. 4–0
4. 9–0
5. 10–0
6. 13 October 2023 Bukit Jalil National Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  India 2–1 4–2 2023 Merdeka Tournament
9 January 2024 Grand Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar.  Syria 1–0 2–2 Friendly Match1
7. 25 January 2024 Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah, Qatar.  South Korea 2–1 3–3 2023 AFC Asian Cup

1 Not FIFA 'A' International match.

Honours

Club

Johor Darul Ta'zim

International

Malaysia

Individual

References

  1. ^ "Arif Aiman Mohd Hanapi FM 2021 Profile, Reviews". FM 2021 | Team, Player, League Review. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  2. ^ "Arif Aiman – Johor Darul Ta'zim FC". 24 February 2021. Archived from the original on 14 July 2022. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  3. ^ "Youth Football Malaysia at Twitter". Twitter. Archived from the original on 16 March 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  4. ^ "JOHOR Southern Tigers at Twitter". Twitter. Archived from the original on 9 November 2023. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  5. ^ "JDT winger Arif Aiman wins 2021 MVP award". www.thesundaily.my. Archived from the original on 5 December 2021. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  6. ^ a b Liga Premier Malaysia 2020 - Negeri Sembilan 1-3 Johor Darul Ta'zim II Archived 7 April 2023 at the Wayback Machine - CMS FAM.
  7. ^ HASHIM, MOHAMAD FAIZAL (6 November 2020). "Remaja 18 tahun penyelamat JDT". Utusan Malaysia (in Malay). Archived from the original on 17 October 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  8. ^ "NXGN 2021: The 25 best ASEAN wonderkids in football". Goal.com. Archived from the original on 9 November 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
  9. ^ TIMESPORT (30 April 2023). "JDT beat Ulsan to seal historic ACL last-16 berth". New Straits Times. Archived from the original on 11 October 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  10. ^ "JDT thump Penang to enter FA Cup final". The Star. Archived from the original on 11 October 2023. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  11. ^ Noor, Rizar Mohd (29 November 2022). "Syukur dapat jaringkan gol - Arif Aiman". Harian Metro. Archived from the original on 11 October 2023. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  12. ^ NAZARALY, MUHAMMAD ZAKWAN (3 February 2023). "JDT tumbangkan Lokomotiv Moscow". Sinar Harian (in Malay). Archived from the original on 11 October 2023. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  13. ^ "Arif Aiman's hattrick propels JDT into FA Cup final". www.thesundaily.my. Archived from the original on 11 October 2023. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  14. ^ "HarimauMYstats". Archived from the original on 7 June 2022. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  15. ^ "Malaysia vs. Vietnam - Football Match Summary - June 11, 2021 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on 28 July 2022. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  16. ^ HarimauMYstats - Twitter, 21 June 2023.
  17. ^ ARIF AIMAN MOHD HANAPI Archived 11 January 2024 at the Wayback Machine - Malaysian Football League.
  18. ^ Arif Aiman Hanapi at Soccerway
  19. ^ Malaysia - Record International Players - RSSSF.org.
  20. ^ Arif Aiman Hanapi at National-Football-Teams.com
  21. ^ "Johor Darul Ta'zim win 8th consecutive Malaysia Super League title". ESPN. 17 September 2021. Archived from the original on 6 August 2022. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  22. ^ "Keputusan pemenang ABK 2021 Anugerah Bola Sepak Kebangsaan". Mysumber (in Malay). 22 December 2017. Archived from the original on 9 October 2022. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
Categories