Ilhan Fandi

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In this Malay name, there is no family name. The name Fandi is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Ilhan.
Ilhan Fandi
Personal information
Full name Ilhan bin Fandi Ahmad
Date of birth (2002-11-08) 8 November 2002 (age 18)
Place of birth Singapore
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Midfielder / Striker
Club information
Current team
 Young Lions
Number 17
Youth career
i2i Football Academy
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019– Young Lions 21 (6)
National team‡
2017 Singapore U16 7 (0)
2021– Singapore U22 0 (0)
2021– Singapore 1 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 4 April 2021
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 4 June 2021

Ilhan bin Fandi Ahmad (born 8 November 2002) is a Singaporean professional footballer who plays as a midfielder and forward for Singapore Premier League club Young Lions and the Singapore national team.[1][2]

Club career[]

Youth[]

Ilhan embarked on his quest to become a professional footballer in Europe, by enrolling in an English school to study and train. The teenager left for England on September 8, 2017 to study at the Queen Ethelburga's College in York for the next two years. Ilhan trained with the i2i Football Academy, which has links to English football club Leeds United. The academy also has partnerships with both York College and York St John University and will assist in linking up players with English professional and semi-professional clubs.[3][4]

Young Lions[]

Ilhan signed with the Singapore Premier League club Young Lions in 2019. He made his debut in a 1-1 draw against Brunei DPMM on August 7, 2019. He became the third son of Fandi Ahmad to lace up his boots for the Young Lions - following in the footsteps of his brothers Irfan Fandi and Ikhsan Fandi.[5] Ilhan made his first professional start in a league game at the age of 16 years and 331 days, where he scored his first goal in a 1-4 loss against Albirex Niigata Singapore on August 15, 2019.[6][7][8]

Ilhan scored his third goal for the club in a heavy 4-1 defeat at the hands of Hougang United in the Young Lions' opening match of the 2020 Singapore Premier League season.[9] As of April 2020, Ilhan has scored 3 goals in just 5 matches for the Young Lions.[10][11]

IIhan scored the first goal of the Young Lions' 2021 Singapore Premier League season, helping his team to a 3-3 draw against Balestier Khalsa FC.

International career[]

Despite being only 17, Ilhan has been invited to train with the Singapore national under-22. Ilhan received his first senior team training session in 2021.[12][13] Ilhan made his international debut in a closed-door friendly against Afghanistan on 29 May 2021.[14]

Style of play[]

Ilhan plays as a attacking midfielder, noted for his footwork, coordination and composure as cited by Singapore football legend, Noh Alam Shah.[15] In the 2020 season, he was given the role as a false 9 as he "has really good technique and good reading of the game", pointed out by head coach Nazri Nasir.[16]

Personal life[]

Ilhan is the third son of Singaporean footballing legend Fandi Ahmad and South African model Wendy Jacobs. His brothers, Irfan Fandi and Ikhsan Fandi, are also footballers playing for BG Pathum United and FK Jerv respectively.[17] He has an older sister Iman and a younger brother Iryan.

Career statistics[]

Club[]

As of match played 28 Aug 2021. 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 2019 4 2 0 0 0 0 — 4 2
2020 8 2 0 0 0 0 — 8 2
2021 17 6 0 0 0 0 — 17 6
Total 29 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 29 10
Career total 29 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 29 10
  • Young Lions are ineligible for qualification to AFC competitions in their respective leagues.

International Statistics[]

International caps[]

No Date Venue Opponent Result Competition
1 3 June 2021 King Fahd International Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia  Palestine 0-4 (lost) 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Round

U16 International caps[]

No Date Venue Opponent Result Competition
1 17 March 2017 Po Kong Village Road Park, Hong Kong  Hong Kong 0-6 (lost)
2 18 March 2017 Po Kong Village Road Park, Hong Kong   1-5 (lost)
3 19 March 2017 Po Kong Village Road Park, Hong Kong  Qatar 3-0 (won)
4 9 July 2017 , Thailand  Laos 0-2 (lost) 2017 AFF U-15 Championship
5 13 July 2017 , Thailand   0-2 (lost) 2017 AFF U-15 Championship
6 15 July 2017 , Thailand   0-2 (lost) 2017 AFF U-15 Championship
7 17 July 2017 , Thailand  Indonesia 0-2 (lost) 2017 AFF U-15 Championship

References[]

  1. ^ "Ilhan Fandi made his professional debut against DPMM FC | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  2. ^ "'Being in the UK on my own was tough, but I just needed to suck it up and deal with it' - Inside the life of Singapore's star in the making Ilhan Fandi (exclusive)". Goal. 6 January 2021.
  3. ^ Tham, Raymond (12 September 2017). "Fandi Ahmad's third son, Ilhan, to train and study in England for two years". Today Sports. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  4. ^ "Football legend's son "wants to do a sacrifice" and serve NS early". The Independent. 11 August 2018. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  5. ^ Alif, Chandra (9 August 2019). "Ilhan Fandi made his professional debut against DPMM FC". Goal. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  6. ^ Tan, Gabriel (15 September 2019). "Ilhan Fandi nets first professional goal with scorcher for Young Lions". Fox Sports Asia. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  7. ^ "Fandi's 3rd son scores on professional debut at 16 years & 331 days". Mothership.sg. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
  8. ^ "Fandi's 3rd son scores on professional debut at 16 years & 331 days". mothership.sg. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  9. ^ Nagib, Adeena Mohamed (2 March 2020). "Tampines Rovers goalkeeper Syazwan Buhari plays starring role in win". The New Paper.
  10. ^ Parmar, Jay. "From Ilhan Fandi to Farhan Zulkifli - Meet the future of Singapore". GOAL.com. GOAL.
  11. ^ "From Ilhan Fandi to Farhan Zulkifli - Meet the future of Singapore | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  12. ^ Singh, Dilenjit (24 March 2021). "Ilhan the latest Fandi in the Lions' den". The New Paper. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  13. ^ hermesauto (23 March 2021). "Football: Ilhan Fandi, 18, follows in his father and brothers' footsteps with Lions call-up". The Straits Times. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  14. ^ "Football: Yoshida happy with new 'leaders' as Lions draw 1-1 with Afghanistan". The Straits Times. 30 May 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  15. ^ "Football: I want to carry on my dad's legacy and make him proud, says Ilhan Fandi". The Straits Times. 27 September 2019. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  16. ^ "Ilhan relishes the pressure of being a Fandi". The New Paper. 24 February 2020. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  17. ^ "Spotlight on adidas footballers Marc and Ilhan – sons of Singapore legends". Yahoo Sports. 26 July 2019. Retrieved 10 August 2019.

External links[]

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