Hanif Sjahbandi

Hanif Abdurrauf Sjahbandi (born 7 April 1997) is an Indonesian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Super League club PSS Sleman.

Early career His parents first enrolled Hanif into the Asian Soccer Academy (ASA) but found it unsatisfactory and eventually established their own football school called TwoTouch Football Academy to develop their child's talents. In July 2009, Hanif participated in a Manchester United Soccer School (MUSS) summer course in Indonesia, in which he was selected as one of the best students in his age group (12). That led him to an invitation to participate in MUSS's World Skills Final in December 2009.

Club career Persipasi Bandung Raya Hanif's professional career started when he joined Persipasi Bandung Raya in the 2015 Indonesia President's Cup, a year before the club changed owners and became Madura United. Playing as an energetic midfielder, Hanif emerged as one of the young players who attracted public attention. After this tournament, agents took him overseas to follow training in several clubs, including J1 League club FC Tokyo.

Persiba Balikpapan After his overseas training stints, Hanif in 2016 returned to Indonesia and joined Persiba Balikpapan. Persiba at that time participated in the 2016 Indonesia Soccer Championship A, a competition that replaced the abandoned 2015 Indonesia Super League. He made his first goal when Persiba went against Persegres Gresik United on 26 October 2016, in week 26 of the championship.

Arema F.C. After the ISC evolved into Indonesia's current top-tier football league, Liga 1, in 2017, Hanif joined Arema, which initially contracted him for two years. He was recommended by coach Aji Santoso to replace Dutch-born Indonesia national football team regular Raphael Maitimo. Despite the cancellation of the 2020 Liga 1 competition due to the COVID-19 pandemic that led to a year of no professional football activities in Indonesia, Arema kept Hanif who has grown into an important part of its midfield.

Persija Jakarta Sjahbandi was signed for Persija Jakarta to play in Liga 1 in the 2022–23 season. He made his league debut on 31 July 2022 in a match against Persis Solo at the Patriot Candrabaga Stadium, Bekasi.

International career Hanif was among the 23 players who coach Eduard Tjong called for the Indonesia U-19 team that played in the 2014 AFF U-19 Youth Championship in Vietnam. While the team lost all of their group matches, Hanif emerged into a player who regularly won calls for subsequent junior-level national teams. Hanif made his international debut for the senior team on 21 March 2017 in a friendly match against Myanmar.

Career statistics Club

International

International goals International under-23 goals Goal Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1 20 August 2018 Patriot Candrabhaga Stadium, Bekasi, Indonesia 3–1 3–1 2018 Asian Games

Honours Club Arema Indonesia President's Cup: 2017, 2019

International Indonesia U-23 SEA Games bronze medal: 2017 AFF U-22 Youth Championship: 2019 Indonesia Aceh World Solidarity Cup runner-up: 2017