Atep Ahmad Rizal (born 5 June 1985 in

Cianjur Cianjur ( su, ᮎᮤᮃᮔ᮪ᮏᮥᮁ) is a town and district in the West Java province of Indonesia, and is the seat of Cianjur Regency. The district of Cianjur is located along one of the main roads between Jakarta (120 km to the northwe ...

West Java West Java ( id, Jawa Barat, su, ᮏᮝ ᮊᮥᮜᮧᮔ᮪, romanized ''Jawa Kulon'') is a province of Indonesia on the western part of the island of Java, with its provincial capital in Bandung. West Java is bordered by the province of Banten ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

), simply known as Atep, is an Indonesian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a winger for Liga 3 club

Persika 1951 Persatuan Sepakbola Indonesia Karawang 1951 (simply known as Persika 1951) is an Indonesian football club based in Karawang Regency, West Java. This team competes in Liga 3 West Java Zone and their homebase is Singaperbangsa Stadium Singap ...

Club career

Persija Jakarta

In 2004, Atep was signed by Persija Jakarta after a fairly good season with

Persiba Bantul Persatuan Sepak Bola Indonesia Bantul, commonly known as Persiba Bantul, is a semi-professional Indonesian football club based in Bantul, Yogyakarta. They currently compete in the Liga 3. History Persiba Bantul was established on 21 Septemb ...

. It does not take long for him to get a place in the first team. His remarkable achievements with Persija opened wide opportunities for his international career. In 2005, he was called up to the Indonesian national team in the

AFF Cup The ASEAN Championship (formerly a.k.a. ASEAN Football Federation Championship; less formally known as the AFF Championship), currently a.k.a. ASEAN Mitsubishi Electric Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the primary football tournament organized ...

and scored once. His excellent performance at Persija attracted many clubs to sign him, including Persib Bandung who were in talks of bringing him in for the 2008 season. He stayed at Persija until the end of the 2007 season.

Persib Bandung

In 2008, Persib Bandung finally managed to sign Atep, after failing to get it in the previous season. Although his arrival was greeted so positively by Bobotoh, he did not get so many chances to play early in the season so many predicted that he would leave in the transfer season at the break of the competition. But he survived and his end began to get a chance to play even though only as a backup player. On 6 May 2009, he scored his first league goal in a 2–1 defeat to

Pelita Jaya Madura United Football Club is an Indonesian professional football club. The club is based in Pamekasan, Madura, East Java. They currently play in the Liga 1. Established on 10 January 2016, Madura United FC is one of few professional clubs ...

. the In

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

season Atep became a hero for Persib after scoring a spectacular goal against

Arema Cronus Arema Football Club is an Indonesian professional football club based in Malang, East Java. The club competes in the Liga 1, the top flight of Indonesian Football. They are considered one of the best and most successful football clubs in ...

that sent Persib to the final against Persipura. The following season's league start was postponed, which cleared the way for Persib to compete in the

AFC Cup The AFC Cup is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). Under its current rules, the competition is played primarily between clubs from nations that did not receive direct qualifying s ...

before the league began. There, Atep scored in every match they played. Atep left Persib at the end of the

2018 Liga 1 The 2018 Liga 1, also known as Go-Jek Liga 1 for sponsorship reasons, was the second season of Liga 1 under its current name and the ninth season of the top-flight Indonesian professional league for association football clubs since its establishm ...

, after playing for the club for 10 years.

Mitra Kukar

Upon his release from Persib at the end of the 2018 season, Atep joined recently-relegated side

Mitra Kukar Persatuan Sepakbola Mitra Kutai Kartanegara is an Indonesian association football club based in Tenggarong, Kutai Kartanegara, East Kalimantan. They currently compete in the Liga 3. History This club was founded in 1979 as NIAC Mitra. NIAC stoo ...

PSKC and Muba Babel

In 2020, Atep signed for

PSKC Cimahi Persatuan Sepakbola Kota Cimahi is an Indonesian football club based in Cimahi, West Java. They currently compete in the Liga 2. Their nicknames are ''Laskar Sangkuriang'' and ''Panser Cimahi''. History PSKC Cimahi was established on 2001 and ...

. After the 2020 season was declared void, he transferred to Muba Babel United the following year and made his league debut on 6 October in an away match against Sriwijaya.

Style of play

Atep was known for his dribbling abilities and his influences on the pitch that made him Persib captain in many occasions before passing the captaincy to

Supardi Nasir Supardi Nasir Bujang (born 9 April 1983) is an Indonesian professional footballer who plays as a full-back for Liga 2 club PSPS Riau. He debuted on the Indonesia national team as a substitute at the 2007 AFF Championship. Personal life Nasir ...

in 2018. He is regarded as an icon for Bobotoh or the supporters of Persib, with the nickname "Lord Atep". When he scored, Bobotoh performed push-ups as an appreciation mark.

International career

International goals

Honours

Persib U-21 * Soeratin Cup *PSSI U-20 Championship: Runner-up 2003 Persib Bandung *

Indonesia Super League Liga 1 ( en, League 1), also known as BRI Liga 1 for sponsorship reasons with Bank Rakyat Indonesia, is the men's top professional football division of the Indonesian football league system. Administered by the PT Liga Indonesia Baru (), Liga 1 i ...

* Piala Presiden:

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

Filmography

* Hari Ini Pasti Menang (2013)

References

External links

*
Profil Atep
* Atep o
soccerway
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rizal, Atep Indonesian footballers 1985 births Living people People from Cianjur Indonesia international footballers 2007 AFC Asian Cup players Association football wingers Sundanese people Liga 1 (Indonesia) players Persija Jakarta players Persiba Bantul players Persib Bandung players Indonesian Super League-winning players