Arif Aiman (centre) keeping his focus on the ball despite being surrounded by players from Selangor FC during their Malaysia Cup 2022 showdown in Bukit Jalil. — Bernama photo
KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 27): Sensational young Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) player Arif Aiman Mohd Hanapi does not want to get carried away by praise after his excellent performance helped the team achieve a treble by winning the FA Cup, Super League and Malaysia Cup this season.
The 20-year-old winger, on the other hand, is grateful to continue receiving opportunities and trust in the starting line-up of the Southern Tigers even though the team has many more experienced star players.
According to the ‘Most Valuable Player’ (MVP) of the 2021 National Football Awards (ABK21), all the success he has experienced will boost his spirit to become a better player in the future.
“This year is very meaningful to me and will be remembered forever because at a young age like mine, it is rare for people to get this kind of opportunity and I will use it to progress further in the future.
“I still have a long way to go and I will not stop learning. This is the beginning for me because I am young and I have a lot to go through,” he said when met after the 2022 Malaysia Cup final between JDT and Selangor FC at Bukit Jalil National Stadium on Saturday.
In the final of the prestigious tournament, JDT edged Selangor 2-1 with Herlison Caion De Souza Ferreira putting the Red Giants in front before JDT came back to score two goals which were netted by Bergson Da Silva and Fernando Forestieri.
The success enabled JDT to achieve the treble for the first time, in addition to successfully repeating the achievement of winning the Malaysia Cup in 2017 and 2019 and putting behind the disappointment of losing in the final of the last edition to Kuala Lumpur (KL) City FC.
JDT had also won the Charity Shield Cup, the curtain-raiser of this season.
Adding on, Arif Aiman said his main mission after this would be to help JDT achieve more success in the next more challenging season, in addition to giving the best performance with the national squad on the international stage.
This season saw Arif Aiman collecting a total of eight goals in all competitions – three in the Super League campaign, four in the FA Cup, and one in the Malaysia Cup.—Bernama