Arif Aiman
Personal information
Full name Arif Aiman Bin Mohd Hanapi
Date of birth (2002-05-04) 4 May 2002
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
2015–2017 Mokhtar Dahari National Football Academy
2018–2020 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 23 (6)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Malaysia
Men's football
Merdeka Tournament
Runner-up2023
King's Cup
Runner-up2022
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16 December 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 21 November 2023

Arif Aiman bin Mohd Hanapi (born 4 May 2002) is a Malaysian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Johor Darul Ta'zim and the Malaysia national football 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 fellow 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]

Style of play

Arif Aiman 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[lower-alpha 1] League Cup[lower-alpha 2] 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 60—60
Johor Darul Ta'zim 2020 Malaysia Super League 20—11——31
2021 Malaysia Super League 212—1015[lower-alpha 3]0—363
2022 Malaysia Super League 21344517[lower-alpha 3]01[lower-alpha 4]0388
2023 Malaysia Super League 2412 34656[lower-alpha 3]3—3924
Total 6817782181831011536
Career total 7417782181831012136
Notes

International

As of matches played 21 November 2023.[19]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Malaysia 202170
202280
202386
202400
Total236

International goals

Senior

No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.14 June 2023Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium, Terengganu, Malaysia Solomon Islands2–14–1Friendly
2.20 June 2023 Papua New Guinea3–010–0
3.4-0
4.9-0
5.10-0
6.13 Oktober 2023Bukit Jalil National Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia India2–14–22023 Merdeka Tournament

Honours

Johor Darul Ta'zim

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