Arif Aiman

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.Liga Premier Malaysia 2020 - Negeri Sembilan 1-3 Johor Darul Ta'zim II
- CMS FAM. He played 73 minutes in a 3–1 away win against Negeri Sembilan. On 14 March 2020, he made his Johor Darul Ta'zim first team debut against Felda United. 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. 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. 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. 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. On 28 November 2022, he scored a goal in a friendly match against Borussia Dortmund in Johor's last match of in 2022. 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. 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. 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. 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.

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. 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

;Notes

International

International goals

Senior

¹ Not FIFA 'A' International match.

Honours

Club

Johor Darul Ta'zim
* Malaysia Super League: 2021, 2022, 2023
* Malaysia FA Cup: 2022, 2023
*Malaysia Cup: 2022, 2023
* Malaysia Charity Shield: 2021, 2022, 2023

International

Malaysia
*King's Cup runner-up: 2022
*Merdeka Tournament runner-up: 2023

Individual

* Most Valuable Player (MVP) – Malaysia National Football Awards: 2021, 2022
* Best Striker Awards – Malaysia National Football Awards: 2021, 2022
* Best Young Player – Malaysia National Football Awards: 2021, 2022
* Malaysia FA Cup Top Scorer: 2023

References

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2002 births
Living people
Footballers from Pahang
Malaysian men's footballers
Malaysia men's international footballers
Malaysia Super League players
Johor Darul Ta'zim F.C. players
Men's association football forwards
2023 AFC Asian Cup players