KUALA LUMPUR – Young Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) player, Arif Aiman Hanapi has been crowned Most Valuable Player (MVP) in the 2021 National Football Awards ceremony that was held online last night.
The 19-year-old winger goes down in history as the youngest player ever chosen as MVP, surpassing teammate Safawi Rasid, who was 21 when he was selected as MVP in 2018.
Arif Aiman, a talented player who scored three goals and made three assists in 31 appearances this season, was also named Best Striker and Most Promising Player in this year’s awards.
He was instrumental in the Southern Tigers’ victorious campaign this season, as they earned their eighth Super League trophy and emerged Malaysia Cup runners-up, losing 0-2 to Kuala Lumpur (KL) City FC on November 30.
Speaking after being announced as MVP winner, Arif Aiman, who is currently in Singapore with the Southern Tigers for the AFF Cup competition, said that his victory would not have happened without the support of JDT owner, Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim and his teammates.
“Alhamdulillah I have been chosen as MVP this year, and this is my first time winning in my career as a professional footballer. I would like to thank Tunku Mahkota Johor (TMJ) for always supporting me.
“Thank you as well to coach Benjamin Mora and other coaches for always providing support, believing in me and fielding me in many games this year, my teammates and other seniors, as well as all my fans,” he said in a video clip aired during the live award ceremony.
The winner of the MVP award was announced by Malaysian Football League (MFL) president, Datuk Ab Ghani Hassan.
JDT once again dominated the awards, with Matthew Davies winning Best Defender for the second time after 2017, while Farizal Marlias celebrated his sixth Best Goalkeeper award, adding to his victories in 2009, 2015, 2018, 2019 and 2020.
JDT Brazilian striker, Bergson da Silva collected the Golden Boot award with a 30-goal haul in all competitions this season, and to round it all up, the Best Team award went to JDT.
KL City, who emerged as Malaysia Cup champions in the centennial edition this year, also had reason to celebrate tonight as Bojan Hodak was named Best Coach, and Romel Morales, dubbed the Colombian Hitman, walked away with the Best Foreign Player award, after netting 10 goals during their Malaysia Cup campaign.
The 2021 National Football Awards also saw former Kedah Darul Aman (KDA) FC, Baddrol Bakhtiar winning two awards, Best Midfielder and Super League Local Top Scorer award with seven goals, while Kelantan FC striker Nurshamil Abd Ghani won the Premier League Local Top Score with nine goals.
The Super League Top Scorer award fell to Selangor FC striker, Ifedayo Olusegun, with 26 goals this season, while Fernando Rodriguez (JDT II) and Jordan Mintah (Terengganu FC II) were joint Premier League Top Scorers, with 16 goals each.
The FAM-NSC project squad, who made their first appearance in the Premier League, were named winners of the Fair Play award.
The following are the Fan XI team players as voted by fans:
Coach: Nafuzi Zain (Terengganu)
Goalkeeper: Kevin Ray Mendoza (KL City)
Right-Back: Rizal Ghazali (KDA)
Centre-Back: Renan Alves (KDA)
Centre-Back: Ariffadzilah Abu Bakar (Terengganu)
Left-Back: La'vere Corbin-Ong (JDT)
Midfield: Zhafri Yahya (KL City)
Midfield: Baddrol Bakhtiar (KDA)
Midfield: Leandro Velazquez (JDT)
Right Winger: Arif Aiman Hanapi (JDT)
Striker: Bergson Da Silva (JDT)
Left Winger: Gonzalo Cabrera (JDT)
– Bernama, December 5, 2021
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