Mohammad Hardi Jaafar (born 30 May 1979) is a

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

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 is a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. Hardi Jaafar is known for his shooting techniques, contributing many long shot goals and being a set piece taker. He is a former member of the

Malaysia national football team The Malaysia national football team () represents Malaysia in international football and is controlled by the Football Association of Malaysia. The national team is recognised by FIFA as the successor of the defunct Malaya national football ...

Career

He was the captain of the

Melaka Telekom Telekom Malaysia Football Club or commonly known as TMFC is a now defunct Malaysian association football, football club, which originated from Malacca until the club moved their base to Kuala Lumpur on their last season. The club's final home g ...

team prior to their withdrawal from the

Malaysia Super League The Malaysia Super League ( ms, Liga Super Malaysia) is the men's top professional football division of the Malaysian football league system. Administered by the Football Malaysia Limited Liability Partnership (FMLLP), now known as the Malays ...

competition. He then agreed to join his home team,

Perak FA Perak Football Club or Perak F.C. is a professional association football, football club based in Ipoh. Founded in 1921, the club's home ground since then has been Perak Stadium in Ipoh, Perak. The club represents the state of Perak in Malaysian ...

, for the 2007/08 season. He helped Perak to reach the quarterfinal of the

2008 AFC Cup The 2008 AFC Cup was the fifth edition of the AFC Cup, playing between clubs from nations who are members of the Asian Football Confederation. Qualified teams 20 clubs will be competing, including champions of the national leagues and champio ...

. With Malaysia, Hardi was given his first ever international caps against New Zealand on 19 February 2006. His impressive playing style and creative performances led to him being one of the three senior players chosen by

Norizan Bakar Norizan bin Bakar (born 27 January 1961 in Kampung Datuk Kaya Man, Perlis) is a former Malaysian football player. He currently the Director of Football for Felcra F.C. Club career Norizan played for his home state Perlis in semi-pro league f ...

for the 2006 Doha Asian Games. Hardi made his first appearance in the Asian Games by scoring a goal against the Oman under-23. He then scored a goal against China under-23 in the second match. However Malaysia finished bottom of the group after losing all three matches, 1–3 against Oman under-23, 1–3 against China under-23, and 0–4 to eventual silver medalist Iraq under-23. After the Asian Games, Hardi was selected for the

2007 ASEAN Football Championship The 2007 AFF Championship was the 6th edition of the AFF Championship, the football championship of Southeast Asia. The group stage was co-hosted by Singapore and Thailand from 12 to 17 January. Knockout stage with two-leg Home-and-away format w ...

. He started in all of the matches in the tournament. He made his first international goal in the semifinal against

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

. However Malaysia eventually lost to Singapore in the penalty shootout after drawing the second game in Singapore. He also was chosen to be on the national team for the

2007 AFC Asian Cup The 2007 AFC Asian Cup was the 14th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The finals were held from 7 to 29 July 2007. For the first time in its h ...

, where he played in all of Malaysia's matches. In this tournament, Malaysia were beaten by

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

in the opening game 1–5, won 5–0 against

Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked cou ...

, then lost to quarterfinalist

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

0–2. At the

2008 Merdeka Tournament The 40th Merdeka Tournament was played from 15 to 25 October 2008. The tournament was won by Vietnam, who defeated Malaysia 6-5 on penalties in the final. Teams * * * (host country) ** * * *** **** *''Mozambique replaced Kazakhstan following ...

, Hardi helped Malaysia reach the final but his team lost against

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

. Hardi also represented the Malaysia XI (Malaysia Selection) squad against

Chelsea F.C. Chelsea Football Club is an English professional football club based in Fulham, West London. Founded in 1905, they play their home games at Stamford Bridge. The club competes in the Premier League, the top division of English football. Th ...

Shah Alam Stadium The Shah Alam Stadium (Malay: ''Stadium Shah Alam'') is a multi-purpose stadium located in Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia. It is used mostly for football matches but also has facilities for athletics. The stadium is the officially home of Red Gi ...

on 29 July 2008. The Malaysia XI eventually lost 0–2. However, Chelsea manager

Luiz Felipe Scolari Luiz Felipe Scolari (; born 9 November 1948), also known as Felipão ("Big Phil"), is a Brazilian football manager and former player. He is the current manager of Athletico Paranaense. Scolari was a defender during his playing days, and notab ...

praised the Malaysia XI for giving a good fight against his team. For the 2009 Malaysia League, Hardi left

and returned to his former team,

Selangor FA Selangor Football Club (Malay: ''Kelab Bola Sepak Selangor''), commonly referred to as Selangor F.C. is a Malaysian professional football club based in the city of Shah Alam, Selangor, that currently competes in the Malaysia Super League, the ...

.Penampilan sulung Hardi
He made his second debut with Selangor in the match against Kedah, which Selangor won 4–1. He spent the 2012 season playing for

Felda United FC Felda United Football Club is a Malaysian football club based in Jengka, Pahang which is owned by the Malaysian Federal Land Development Authority (Felda).

. In 2013, he did not play for any club due to injury. He made a comeback in 2014 to join his former club

International goals

Honours

TM FC *

: Runners-up 2005-06 Selangor *

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

Malaysia FA Cup The Malaysia FA Cup ( ms, Piala FA) is an annual national knock-out football tournament in Malaysia. The cup was first held in 1990. The competition was previously managed by Football Association of Malaysia (FAM), before being transferred to Fo ...

Malaysia Charity Shield Piala Sumbangsih (English: Malaysia Charity Cup), also known as Piala Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah ( en, Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Cup), is the Malaysian super cup competition. It is the curtain raiser match to the new Malaysian football season, pitting ...

: 2009

References

External links

Player profile – doha-2006.com
* * {{Malaysia Squad 2007 AFC Asian Cup 1979 births Living people Malaysian people of Malay descent Malaysian men's footballers Malaysia men's international footballers 2007 AFC Asian Cup players Sportspeople from Ipoh Footballers from Perak TM F.C. players Perak F.C. players Selangor F.C. players FELDA United F.C. players MOF F.C. players Malaysia Super League players Men's association football defenders Footballers at the 2006 Asian Games Asian Games competitors for Malaysia