Norhafiz Zamani bin Misbah (born 15 July 1981) is a Malaysian professional football coach and former player who played as a centre-back. He is a former member of the Malaysia national team. With a calm character and good at controlling the situation in the penalty box, have led him to be compared to compatriot

Soh Chin Ann Datuk Wira Soh Chin Ann (or Soh Chin Aun due to misspelling by Malaysian media; ; born 28 July 1950) is a Malaysian former footballer. He was affectionately known as ''Tauke'' or '' Towkay'' ( en, Boss) by his teammates and fans. RSSSF and I ...

Club career

Negeri Sembilan

He made his first appearance in professional football with Negeri Sembilan in 2001.

Pahang

He moved to

Pahang Pahang (; Jawi: , Pahang Hulu Malay: ''Paha'', Pahang Hilir Malay: ''Pahaeng'', Ulu Tembeling Malay: ''Pahaq)'' officially Pahang Darul Makmur with the Arabic honorific ''Darul Makmur'' (Jawi: , "The Abode of Tranquility") is a sultanate and ...

with a high-profile transfer after spending many years with Negeri Sembilan. Pahang was delighted with his signing and said 'Zamani is Malaysia's best defender this time'. He made superb performances with his new club. He played in the

ASEAN Club Championship The ASEAN Club Championship or ACC is an international club football competition organised by the ASEAN Football Federation between domestic champion clubs. The competition is backed by AFC and FIFA. The first edition was sponsored by LG Electron ...

with other clubs in Southeast Asia, such as

Tampines Rovers Tampines Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Tampines, Singapore, that competes in the Singapore Premier League, the top tier of Singapore football league system. Founded in 1945, the club have won the national league c ...

KL Plus FC

He wants to move to another club after underperformance with Pahang. He said that he wants to move because Pahang have more difficulties after his former teammate,

Indra Putra Mahayuddin Indra Putra Bin Mahayuddin (born 2 September 1981) is a former Malaysian professional footballer. He is the all-time highest goalscorer of the Malaysia Super League. He is a versatile forward, who can operate as a striker or a winger. Clu ...

moved to

Selangor Selangor (; ), also known by its Arabic language, Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 Malaysian states. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east ...

. He later transfer to KL PLUS FC.

Return to Negeri Sembilan

Norhafiz joined Negeri Sembilan for the 2011 Liga Super season. After spent 3 seasons playing with Negeri Sembilan, he moved to

Kelantan Kelantan (; Jawi: ; Kelantanese Malay: ''Klate'') is a state in Malaysia. The capital is Kota Bharu and royal seat is Kubang Kerian. The honorific name of the state is ''Darul Naim'' (Jawi: ; "The Blissful Abode"). Kelantan is located in th ...

on 2015.

Kelantan

On 1 December 2014, Norhafiz signed to Kelantan for 2015 season after spent 4 seasons playing for Negeri Sembilan. Norhafiz made his Kelantan debut on 1 March 2015 as a substitute in the 69th for Badhri Radzi in a league match lost to

Kedah Kedah (), also known by its honorific Darul Aman and historically as Queda, is a state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The state covers a total area of over 9,000 km2, and it consists of the mainland ...

. He made a strong defence partnership with Jonathan McKain. Norhafiz also operated as a

defensive 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 boundari ...

during his time at Kelantan. He made 18 league appearances during his debut season with Kelantan. On 27 December 2016, although the team was having financial problems, he has confirmed to remain with Kelantan for the third season despite offers from other clubs.

Penang

In 2018, he signed one year contract to played for Penang.

Return again to Negeri Sembilan and retired

Norhafiz return again to Negeri Sembilan and finally retired in 2020.

International career

National team

He was one of the players who won a silver medal at the

2001 SEA Games The 2001 Southeast Asian Games ( ms, Sukan Asia Tenggara 2001), officially known as the 21st Southeast Asian Games, was a Southeast Asian multi-sport event held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This was the fifth time that Malaysia plays as SEA Games ...

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

. In 2002, Norhafiz was called up for an international friendly match against

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. He also was part of the squad in the

2004 AFF Championship The 2004 AFF Championship (officially known as the 2004 Tiger Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 5th edition of the AFF Championship, the football championship of nations affiliated to the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF), and the last time und ...

which finished at third place. He then became the part of the national football team preparing for the 2007 AFC Asian Cup. He was then chosen into the squad of Malaysia 2007 Asian Cup. He only made his first appearance in the Asian Cup in the first group match against China where Malaysia had heavy defeated 1–5. After this run of bad luck, he became one of three senior players to play at the

2007 Merdeka Tournament The 2007 Merdeka Tournament is the 39th editions of the Merdeka Tournament and was held on 20 to 29 August 2007. Groups Group stage Group A ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- Group B ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- Knockout stage Semi ...

. With a combination of senior and U-23 players, Malaysia defeated Myanmar 3–1 in the final to win the trophy. At the 2008 Merdeka Tournament, Norhafiz helped Malaysia reach the final but his missed shot during the penalty shoot-out 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 ...

lost Malaysia the match. At November 2010, Malaysia coach, K. Rajagopal called up Norhafiz for the

2010 AFF Suzuki Cup The 2010 AFF Championship, sponsored by Suzuki and P&G and officially known as the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup, was the 8th edition of the AFF Championship, took place on 1–29 December 2010. Indonesia and Vietnam hosted the group stage from 1 to 8 ...

, but he was injured during the 2010 Asian Games and replaced by

Razman Roslan Mohd. Razman bin Roslan (born 14 August 1984) is a Malaysian professional footballer who currently plays for Melaka United. He mainly plays as a centre-back but can also play as a right-back. Razman began his career with Selangor FA youth tea ...

Malaysia XI

Norhafiz also appeared for the

Malaysia League XI The Malaysia League XI, commonly known as MSL All Stars, Malaysia Selection or Malaysia League Selection represents Malaysia Super League in friendly matches. Malaysia League XI mainly play non- FIFA 'A' international matches while the competiti ...

. He was selected by coach as defender in the Malaysia squad in a preseason friendly against Manchester United. At the

inaugural In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inaugur ...

Premier League Asia Trophy The Premier League Asia Trophy (formerly the FA Premier League Asia Cup) is a biennial pre-season association football friendly tournament in Asia. The two-day competition was inaugurated in 2003 and is "the only Premier League-affiliated comp ...

that involved two more English clubs

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Sin ...

and Newcastle United. After losing to

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

in the opening game, Malaysia contested for the 3rd place against Birmingham City. After the game which Malaysia lost, then manager of Birmingham City, Steve Bruce) was asked to single out a Malaysian player which had impressed him, his answer was Norhafiz Zamani Misbah. He featured and captained the Malaysia XI in the 2 matches friendly against Manchester United in July 2009. On 21 July 2011, Norhafiz captained Malaysia League XI match against Chelsea. Malaysia League XI later lost 0–1 on that match.

Managerial career

On 1 February 2021, Norhafiz was hired to became assistant coach for Mokhtar Dahari Academy to aid producing quality young players from the grassroots development program.

Career statistics

Club statistics

International

International goals

Honours

Club

;Negeri Sembilan * Malaysia FA Cup: 2003 * Malaysia Cup: 2011 *

Charity Cup The Charity Cup (known as the ASB Charity Cup for sponsorship reasons) is New Zealand's association football super cup, which takes place on annual basis. The competition was founded in 1978 as the NZFA Challenge Trophy. The Champions of the N ...

: 2012; runner-up 2004 ;Pahang *

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 ...

: runner-up 2005 * Malaysia FA Cup: 2006 *

: runner-up 2005 ;Kelantan * Malaysia FA Cup: runners up 2015

Individual

FAM Football Awards *Best Defender: 2011

References

External links

*
Norhafiz Zamani Misbah
at Football Malaysia {{DEFAULTSORT:Norhafiz Zamani Misbah 1981 births Living people Malaysian people of Malay descent Malaysian footballers Malaysia international footballers 2007 AFC Asian Cup players People from Malacca Negeri Sembilan FA players Sri Pahang FC players Kelantan FA players Malaysia Super League players Association football defenders Footballers at the 2002 Asian Games Footballers at the 2006 Asian Games Footballers at the 2010 Asian Games Asian Games competitors for Malaysia