Muhammad Shahfiq bin Ghani (born 17 March 1992), also known as Shahfiq Shahfiq or just Shahfiq, is a Singaporean professional footballer who plays either as a forward or midfielder for Malaysia Super League club Negeri Sembilan and the Singapore national team. Shahfiq is known as a free-kick specialist.

Shahfiq Ghani
Shahfiq Ghani playing for LionsXII in 2013
Personal information
Full name Muhammad Shahfiq bin Ghani[1]
Date of birth (1992-03-17) 17 March 1992 (age 32)
Place of birth Singapore
Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Forward / Midfielder
Team information
Current team
Negeri Sembilan
Youth career
2005–2010 National Football Academy
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010–2012 Young Lions 37 (7)
2013–2014 LionsXII 22 (5)
2015 Young Lions 22 (4)
2016–2017 Geylang International 21 (3)
2018–2022 Hougang United 26 (6)
2023–2024 Geylang International 15 (1)
2024– Negeri Sembilan
International career
2010– Singapore U23 15 (3)
2012– Singapore 14 (2)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Singapore
SEA Games
Bronze medal – third place Naypyidaw 2013 Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 30 December 2017
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22:23, 25 November 2016 (UTC)

Club career

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Young Lions

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Shahfiq began his club career with S.League club Young Lions in 2010. He scored 7 goals in 37 competitive matches over three Seasons from 2010 to 2012.

LionsXII

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Shahfiq was selected to be in the LionsXII squad in 2013.[2][3] He contributed with 5 goals in 13 MSL matches as LionsXII won the 2013 Malaysia Super League. He drew criticism from head coach V. Sundramoorthy for his dismissal for slapping Sarawak's Muamer Salibašić in a Malaysia Cup match on 24 August 2013.[4]

A spinal injury threatened to rule Shahfiq out for the start of the 2014 season.[5] He missed the Charity Cup match against Pahang and the Malaysia FA Cup match against DRB-Hicom, returning as a 74th-minute substitute against Selangor on 25 January. In total, he spent only 77 minutes on the pitch for his club in 2014.[6]

During his two-year spell with LionsXII, he scored six goals in 31 appearances.

Return to Young Lions

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In 2015, Shahfiq return to the Young Lions, where he scored 5 goals in 22 league appearances for his club.

Geylang International

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In 2016, it was announced that Shahfiq would be joining Geylang International at the start of the 2016 S.League season on a 2 year contract.[6] However, he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee during pre-season training and was ruled out for 6 months.[7] This resulted in Shafiq missing most of the games of the season although he did make a return during the second half of the season. He returned to full fitness in July and made a surprise cameo appearance in the League Cup Plate Final against Hougang United.[6] He marked his return from injury by scoring a goal for his club in a friendly match against the Cambodia national football team and laying off an assist for a last gasp goal in a 2-1 victory over Balestier Khalsa in the league.

He scored in his first goal for the club during the last game of the season in a 4-1 win over Home United.[8] He came back strongly enough to be recalled back to the national team and making the final 23 for Singapore's disappointing 2016 AFF Championship.[9]

Shahfiq scored his first goal of the 2017 S.League season in a 2-0 win over Brunei DPMM FC while also winning another penalty which teammate Víctor Coto converted.[10]

Hougang United

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After being rumoured to join UKM F.C. in Malaysia, Shahfiq signed for Hougang United in 2018.

International career

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Shahfiq was part of the Singapore national under-23 football team that won the bronze medal at the 2013 Southeast Asian Games.

He earned his first senior international cap in a friendly match against Hong Kong on 15 August 2012.[11] His first international goal came against China PR in a friendly match in 2013.[12]

Personal life

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Shahfiq graduated from the Singapore Sports School in 2008.[13]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of match played 27 Feb 2022. Caps and goals may not be correct.
Club Season S.League Singapore Cup Singapore
League Cup
Asia Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Young Lions 2010 16 3 4 0 - - 20 3
2011 8 2 8 2
2012 13 2 4 0 17 2
Total 37 7 4 0 4 0 0 0 45 7
Club Season Malaysia
Super League
Malaysia
FA Cup
Malaysia Cup Asia Total
LionsXII 2013[14] 13 5 0 0 6 1 19 6
2014[15] 9 0 0 0 0 0 9 0
Total 22 5 0 0 6 1 0 0 28 6
Club Season S.League Singapore Cup Singapore
League Cup
Asia Total
Young Lions 2015 ?? ?? ?? ?? - - ?? ??
Total ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ??
Geylang International 2016 6 1 0 0 1 0 7 1
2017 17 5 1 0 2 0 20 5
Total 23 6 1 0 3 0 0 0 27 6
Hougang United 2018 12 2 2 0 0 0 14 2
2019 10 8 2 0 0 0 12 8
2020 11 1 0 0 1 0 3 0 15 1
2021 11 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 1
2022 15 1 4 0 0 0 2 0 21 1
Total 59 12 8 0 2 0 5 0 73 13
Geylang International 2023 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Career total 137 29 9 0 15 1 3 0 155 31
  • Young Lions and LionsXII are ineligible for qualification to AFC competitions in their respective leagues.
  • Young Lions withdrew from the 2011 and 2012 Singapore Cup and the 2011 Singapore League Cup due to their players participating in AFC and AFF youth competitions.

International

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International goals

No Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 6 September 2013 TEDA Football Stadium, Tianjin, China PR   China 1–1 6–1 Friendly
Singapore national team
Year Apps Goals
2012 2 0
2013 6 1
2014 1 0
Total 9 1

Statistics accurate as of match played 5 March 2014

U23 International goals

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No Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 8 June 2013 Indonesia   Indonesia 1-0 1-1 U23 International Friendly
2 14 September 2013 Darul Makmur Stadium, Kuantan   Thailand 1-0 2-1 2013 Merdeka Tournament
3 2 April 2014 Hougang Stadium, Singapore   Indonesia 1-2 1-2 U23 International Friendly
4 14 September 2014 Ansan Wa~ Stadium, Korea   Palestine 1-0 2-1 2014 Asian Games
5 14 September 2014 Ansan Wa~ Stadium, Korea   Palestine 2-0 2-1 2014 Asian Games
6 16 May 2015 Shizuoka, Japan   Shizuoka Sangyo University SC 1-0 3-0 U23 International Friendly
7 16 May 2015 Shizuoka, Japan   Shizuoka Sangyo University SC 2-0 3-0 U23 International Friendly
8 22 May 2015 Jalan Besar Stadium, Singapore   Laos 3-1 5-1 U23 International Friendly
9 30 May 2015 Jalan Besar Stadium, Singapore   East Timor 2-0 2-0 U23 International Friendly

Honours

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Club

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LionsXII

Hougang United

International

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Singapore

References

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  1. ^ "FAS names 2014 LionsXII squad list". Football Association of Singapore. Archived from the original on 19 October 2014. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
  2. ^ "LionsXII 2013 unveiled". LionsXII official website. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
  3. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 9 March 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ^ "Shahfiq let the team down: LionsXII coach Sundram". Today. 25 August 2013.
  5. ^ "MSL: Another blow for Fandi as Shahfiq injures spine". The New Paper. 6 January 2014.
  6. ^ a b c "The Forgotten Man: Shahfiq Ghani determined to win back fans' hearts". FourFourTwo. 24 October 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  7. ^ "Shahfiq out for 6 months with knee injury". TODAYonline. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  8. ^ "Geylang come up short". The New Paper. 26 October 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  9. ^ "Sundram names final 23-man AFF Suzuki Cup squad". FourFourTwo. 18 November 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  10. ^ "Geylang International vs. Brunei DPMM - Football Match Report - April 20, 2017 - ESPN". ESPNFC.com. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  11. ^ "Football: Singapore beat Hong Kong 2–0 for first win in 9 matches".
  12. ^ "China PR 6 - 1 Singapore Match report - 9/6/13 Friendlies - Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  13. ^ "Elite Student-Athletes". Singapore Sports School. Archived from the original on 11 March 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
  14. ^ "LionsXII fixtures and results for 2013 season". LionsXII official website. Archived from the original on 16 February 2018. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  15. ^ "LionsXII fixtures and results for 2014 season". LionsXII official website. Archived from the original on 9 March 2014. Retrieved 6 March 2014.