Arif Aiman Hanapi

In this Malay name, there is no surname or family name. The name Mohd Hanapi is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by their given name, Arif Aiman. The word "bin" or "binti"/"binte" means 'son of' or 'daughter of', respectively.

Arif Aiman Hanapi

Arif with Malaysia in 2023
Personal information
Full name	Arif Aiman Bin Mohd Hanapi
Date of birth	(2002-05-04) 4 May 2002 (age 22)
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 III
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2020	Johor Darul Ta'zim II	6	(12)
2020–	Johor Darul Ta'zim	76	(24)
International career‡
2021–	Malaysia	32	(7)
Medal record Representing   Malaysia Men's football Merdeka Tournament Winner 2024 Runner-up 2023 King's Cup Runner-up 2022
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 2 October 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 16 November 2024

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. ^[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 U19 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 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 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. ^[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 2022 AFC Champions League group stage, he crossed the ball during the last kick of the match, which resulted Ulsan Hyundai player, Park Yong-woo 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 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, Arif 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 after a 2–0 over Terengganu. On 26 June 2023, he scored a first half hat-trick in the semi-finals of the 2023 Malaysia FA Cup against Selangor. ^[13] It was also his back to back hat-trick for club and country. During the 2023–24 AFC Champions League group stage match against Thailand club BG Pathum United on 3 October 2023, after the opponent, Victor Cardozo scored from the penalty spot, Arif scored 10 seconds after the game was restarted from kick-off after receiving a long ball pass from captain Jordi Amat. Arif then scored a brace in the 78th minute which secured a 4–2 win at the BG Stadium. On 7 November 2023, Arif assisted Akhyar Rashid who then scored the winner against Korean giants Ulsan Hyundai in a 2–1 home win. During the last AFC Champions League fixture against BG Pathum United at home, Arif recorded a goal and an assist in a 4–1 win over the Thailand club.

On 24 August 2024, Arif scored a goal during the 2024 Malaysia FA Cup final in a 6–1 thrashing win over Selangor. During the inaugural 2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite against Chinese club Shanghai Port at the Pudong Football Stadium on 18 September 2024, Arif scored the opener after dribbling past three players before slotting the ball behind Yan Junling with his weak foot from outside the box, making him the first Malaysian ever scoring goal in AFC Champions League Elite. He then scored a brace in the 56th minute with his weak foot again to bring the score to 2–1 but unfortunately, both team settled the match at 2–2. ^{[14] [15]} In the next AFC Champions League Elite match at home against Chinese club Shanghai Shenghua on 1 October, Arif scored with his weak foot in the 10th minute to open up the account in the match, Johor Darul Ta'zim ended up victorius in a 3–0 win. On 8 December during a league match against Kuala Lumpur City, Arif scored a hat-trick with two of his goal scoring with a 30 yard screamer including a penalty in which JDT won 3–0.

International career

Arif Aiman with Malaysia national team in November 2023

Arif made his first appearance for the Malaysia national team against Bahrain on 29 May 2021. His first competitive match with Malaysia was against Vietnam in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier as a substitution. He made his appearance in the 61st minute but the team eventually ended up losing 1–2. ^[16] Arif was then included in the 2020 AFF Championship squad where he recorded two assists against Laos at the Bishan Stadium in a 4–0 win.

Arif 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. ^[17] On 16 November 2023 in a 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers match against Kyrgyzstan, as Malaysia was losing 3–1, Arif then recorded a hat-trick of assist which then see Malaysia gain the 3 points in a 4–3 comeback win.

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

As of match played 26 November 2024 ^{[18] [19]}

Club	Season	League			Malaysia FA Cup		Malaysia Cup		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	6	0	—		—		—		—		6	0
Johor Darul Ta'zim	2020	Malaysia Super League	2	0	—		1	1	—		—		3	1
	2021		21	2	—		10	1	5 [a]	0	—		36	3
	2022		21	3	4	4	5	1	7 [a]	0	1 [b]	0	38	8
	2023		24	12	4	4	6	5	6 [a]	3	1 [b]	0	41	24
	2024–25		11	5	6	2	0	0	5 [c]	4	—		22	11
	Total		79	19	14	10	21	8	23	7	2	0	140	44
Career total			85	19	14	10	21	8	23	7	2	0	146	44

1. Appearances in AFC Champions League
2. Appearance in Piala Sumbangsih
3. Appearance in AFC Champions League Elite

International

As of matches played 26 March 2024. ^{[20] [21]}

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Malaysia	2021	7	0
	2022	8	0
	2023	8	6
	2024	5	1
Total		28	7

International goals

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	14 June 2023	Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium, Terengganu, Malaysia.	Solomon Islands	2–1	4–1	Friendly Match
2.	20 June 2023	Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium, Terengganu, Malaysia.	Papua New Guinea	3–0	10–0
3.				4–0
4.				9–0
5.				10–0
6.	13 October 2023	Bukit Jalil National Stadium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.	India	2–1	4–2	2023 Merdeka Tournament
	9 January 2024	Grand Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar.	Syria	1–0	2–2	Friendly Match 1
7.	25 January 2024	Al Janoub Stadium, Al Wakrah, Qatar.	South Korea	2–1	3–3	2023 AFC Asian Cup

¹ Not FIFA 'A' International match.

Honours

Club

Johor Darul Ta'zim

• Malaysia Super League: 2021, 2022, ^[22] 2023
• Malaysia FA Cup: 2022, 2023, 2024
• Malaysia Cup: 2022, 2023
• Piala Sumbangsih: 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024

International

Malaysia

• Pestabola Merdeka: 2024 ^[23]
• King's Cup runner-up: 2022

Individual

• Most Valuable Player (MVP) – Malaysia National Football Awards: 2021, 2022, 2023
• Best Striker Awards – Malaysia National Football Awards: 2021, ^[24] 2022, 2023
• Best Young Player – Malaysia National Football Awards: 2021, 2022, 2023
• Malaysia FA Cup Top Scorer: 2023

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. Archived from the original on 14 July 2022. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
3. "Youth Football Malaysia at Twitter". Twitter. Archived from the original on 16 March 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
4. "JOHOR Southern Tigers at Twitter". Twitter. Archived from the original on 9 November 2023. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
5. "JDT winger Arif Aiman wins 2021 MVP award". www.thesundaily.my. Archived from the original on 5 December 2021. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
6. Liga Premier Malaysia 2020 - Negeri Sembilan 1-3 Johor Darul Ta'zim II Archived 7 April 2023 at the Wayback Machine - CMS FAM.
7. HASHIM, MOHAMAD FAIZAL (6 November 2020). "Remaja 18 tahun penyelamat JDT". Utusan Malaysia (in Malay). Archived from the original on 17 October 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
8. "NXGN 2021: The 25 best ASEAN wonderkids in football". Goal.com. Archived from the original on 9 November 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
9. TIMESPORT (30 April 2023). "JDT beat Ulsan to seal historic ACL last-16 berth". New Straits Times . Archived from the original on 11 October 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
10. "JDT thump Penang to enter FA Cup final". The Star. Archived from the original on 11 October 2023. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
11. Noor, Rizar Mohd (29 November 2022). "Syukur dapat jaringkan gol - Arif Aiman". Harian Metro. Archived from the original on 11 October 2023. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
12. NAZARALY, MUHAMMAD ZAKWAN (3 February 2023). "JDT tumbangkan Lokomotiv Moscow". Sinar Harian (in Malay). Archived from the original on 11 October 2023. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
13. "Arif Aiman's hattrick propels JDT into FA Cup final". www.thesundaily.my. Archived from the original on 11 October 2023. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
14. "Two-goal Arif shows again why he's the crown jewel of JDT -- and Malaysia". ESPN.com. 18 September 2024. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
15. Rajan, K. (18 September 2024). "JDT squander lead twice in draw against Shanghai Port | New Straits Times". NST Online. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
16. "Malaysia vs. Vietnam - Football Match Summary - June 11, 2021 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on 28 July 2022. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
17. HarimauMYstats - Twitter, 21 June 2023.
18. ARIF AIMAN MOHD HANAPI Archived 11 January 2024 at the Wayback Machine - Malaysian Football League.
19. Arif Aiman Hanapi at Soccerway
20. Malaysia - Record International Players - RSSSF.org.
21. Arif Aiman Hanapi at National-Football-Teams.com
22. "Johor Darul Ta'zim win 8th consecutive Malaysia Super League title". ESPN . 17 September 2021. Archived from the original on 6 August 2022. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
23. BERNAMA (9 August 2024). "Malaysia Beat Lebanon 1-0 In Final Of 2024 Merdeka Tournament". BERNAMA. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
24. "Keputusan pemenang ABK 2021 Anugerah Bola Sepak Kebangsaan". Mysumber (in Malay). 22 December 2017. Archived from the original on 9 October 2022. Retrieved 28 July 2022.