Raihan Rahman Explained

Raihan Rahman
Full Name:Muhammad Raihan bin Abdul Rahman[1]
Birth Date:7 February 1991
Birth Place:Singapore
Height:1.73 m
Position:Midfielder / Defender
Youthclubs1:Sengkang Punggol
Youthclubs2:National Football Academy
Years1:2009–2011
Clubs1:Young Lions
Caps1:16
Goals1:0
Years2:2012–2013
Clubs2:LionsXII
Caps2:11
Goals2:0
Years3:2013
Clubs3:Young Lions
Caps3:22
Goals3:1
Years4:2014–2015
Clubs4:LionsXII
Caps4:9
Goals4:0
Years5:2016
Clubs5:Hougang United
Caps5:8
Goals5:2
Years6:2017–2019
Clubs6:Balestier Khalsa
Caps6:50
Goals6:6
Years7:2020–
Clubs7:Tanjong Pagar United
Caps7:63
Goals7:1
Nationalyears1:2012
Nationalteam1:Singapore
Nationalcaps1:3
Nationalgoals1:0
Club-Update:19 July 2022
Nationalteam-Update:16 October 2012

Muhammad Raihan bin Abdul Rahman (born 7 February 1991), better known as Raihan Rahman or just Raihan, is a Singaporean professional footballer who plays either as a midfielder or defender.

Club career

Young Lions

Raihan began his professional football career with Under-23 side Young Lions in the S.League in 2009.

LionsXII

It was announced in 2011 that Raihan would be joining the newly formed LionsXII to compete and participate in the 2012 Malaysia Super League. However, he left the club in the mid transfer window in 2013.

Young Lions

After he left the club, he signed for the Under-23 team, Young Lions

LionsXII

Raihan then later returned to the LionsXII at the end of the 2013 S.League season and was stayed in the club for 2 years, from 2014 to 2015. However, injuries meant that Raihan only made 9 appearances for the LionsXII in all competitions.[2]

Hougang United

Following the disbandment of the LionsXII, Raihan signed for Hougang United for the 2016 S.League season. While clubs like Warriors FC and Geylang International were rumoured to be interested in his services, he chose Hougang because they were his first club, having trained with Sengkang Punggol as a 15 year old. Despite some fine performances, he was released by the Cheetahs at the end of the season.

Balestier Khalsa

Raihan came close to retiring before it was announced on Balestier Khalsa's Facebook and Instagram page on 5 January 2017 that he would be joining the Tigers ahead of the 2017 S.League campaign.[3] He made his debut for the club against Warriors and scored a debut goal by a penalty. He scored his second goal for the Tigers through a stupendous free kick, handing his side a 2-1 win against Brunei DPMM FC in the Tigers' 5th league game of the season.[4]

His injury in a match against Hougang United in 2018 rendered him unable to continue playing in the season, causing Head Coach Marko Kraljevic to find replacements.[5]

International career

Raihan is a versatile player that can play both in defence as well as in midfield. By the age of 20, Raihan had been involved in many international tournaments at youth levels, including a bronze medal in the 2009 Southeast Asian Games. Raihan made his international debut in 2010 against Poland in a 6-1 loss.[6] In 2011, he received another call-up to the national team as Radojko Avramović named him in the 33-man provisional squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.[7] He was in the starting line up for the first time against Jordan on 12 November 2011. He made his third appearance in a 4-0 loss against Syria on 15 November 2013.[8]

Due to injuries, Raihan did not get any call ups from 2015 onwards.

Controversy

In 2017, Raihan was charge for an act of misconduct for allegedly using a racial slur by Jordan Webb during an off-the-field altercation. Webb claimed Raihan had called him a "n*****" in the 75th minute of the match. “I heard it loud and clear, 1,000 per cent. Raihan wouldn’t be able to sit here to my face and say he didn’t” said Webb in the newspaper report. Raihan was cleared of all charges by the Football Association of Singapore Disciplinary Committee (DC) and demanded an apology from Webb. K Bala Chandran, chair of the DC, noted that the evidence was inconclusive and the members of the DC had "doubts over what happened".[9]

Others

Singapore Selection Squad

He was selected as part of the Singapore Selection squad for The Sultan of Selangor’s Cup to be held on 6 May 2017.[10]

Career statistics

Club

. Caps and goals may not be correct.

ClubSeasonS.LeagueSingapore CupSingapore
League Cup
AsiaTotal
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Young Lions2009120--10130
201060----60
20114040
Total220001000230
ClubSeasonMalaysia
Super League
Malaysia
FA Cup
Malaysia CupAsiaTotal
LionsXII2012[11] 70001080
2013[12] 40100050
Total110101000130
ClubSeasonS.LeagueSingapore CupSingapore
League Cup
AsiaTotal
Young Lions20131811030221
Total181103000221
ClubSeasonMalaysia
Super League
Malaysia
FA Cup
Malaysia CupAsiaTotal
LionsXII2014[13] 901000100
2015????????????????
Total90100000100
ClubSeasonS.LeagueSingapore CupSingapore
League Cup
AsiaTotal
Hougang United20162121040Not qualified262
Total212104000262
Balestier Khalsa20172141131256
201850000050
20191600000160
Total424113100466
Tanjong Pagar United20201100000Not qualified110
2021800000Not qualified80
20222413000Not qualified271
2023100000Not qualified10
Total441300000471
Career Total167881120001879

Notes and References

  1. Web site: U23 Young Lions. Football Association of Singapore. 6 March 2014. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140227060131/http://fas.org.sg/national-team/u23-young-lions. 27 February 2014.
  2. News: S.League memories revived as ex-LionsXII star Raihan joins Hougang. ESPNFC.com. 7 April 2017.
  3. News: Raihan out to prove his worth with Balestier. 18 February 2017. FourFourTwo. 7 April 2017. en-SG. https://web.archive.org/web/20170408081804/https://www.fourfourtwo.com/sg/features/raihan-out-prove-his-worth-balestier. 8 April 2017. dead.
  4. Web site: Great Eastern-Hyundai S.League. www.facebook.com. en. 7 April 2017.
  5. Web site: 24 April 2018 . Balestier coach Kraljevic rues Raihan Rahman's season-ending injury - FOX Sports Asia . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20180424140231/http://www.foxsportsasia.com/football/860699/balestier-coach-kraljevic-rues-key-man-raihan-rahmans-season-ending-injury/ . 24 April 2018 . 24 August 2023.
  6. Web site: Poland v Singapore, 23 January 2010. 11v11.com. 23 May 2017.
  7. Web site: Courtsyounglions.com. https://archive.today/20130119171451/http://www.courtsyounglions.com/profile/raihan_rahman.php/. dead. 19 January 2013. www.courtsyounglions.com. 23 May 2017.
  8. Web site: Singapore - R. Abdul Rahman - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway. sg.soccerway.com. 23 May 2017.
  9. Web site: Balestier midfielder Raihan cleared of misconduct charge, Latest Singapore Football News - The New Paper. Sazali Abdul. Aziz. www.tnp.sg.
  10. Web site: SINGAPORE SELECTION SQUAD FOR THE SULTAN OF SELANGOR'S CUP REVEALED - The Football Association of Singapore. https://web.archive.org/web/20170628215629/http://fas.org.sg/newsroom/press-release/singapore-selection-squad-sultan-selangor%E2%80%99s-cup-revealed. dead. 28 June 2017. www.fas.org.sg. 23 May 2017.
  11. Web site: LionsXII fixtures and results for 2012 season. LionsXII. 6 March 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20180729050118/http://lionsxii.sg/fixtures-and-results/?league=malaysia-super-league-2012. 29 July 2018. dead.
  12. Web site: LionsXII fixtures and results for 2013 season. LionsXII. 6 March 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20180216204656/http://lionsxii.sg/fixtures-and-results/?league=malaysia-super-league-2013. 16 February 2018. dead.
  13. Web site: LionsXII fixtures and results for 2014 season. LionsXII. 6 March 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140309085113/http://lionsxii.sg/fixtures-and-results/?league=malaysia-super-league-2014. 9 March 2014. dead.