Last Friday, Arif Aiman came up just short in his bid to be named the AFC (Asian Football Confederation) Player of the Year.
The award ultimately went to Saudi Arabia star Salem Al-Dawsari but, even without taking home the prize, Arif had already made history by becoming the first Malaysian ever to be nominated.
Four days on, the 23-year-old is already piecing together his next piece of work that will hopefully see him be in the running to again be named the continent's best player in 12 months' time.
With Johor Darul Ta'zim desperately needing to ignite their AFC Champions League Elite campaign after picking up a solitary point from their opening two matches, Arif produced a trademark electrifying display -- even if he did not get on the scoreboard -- to help his side claim a creditable 2-0 win away to Chengdu Rongcheng.
And considering it was in the same competition that really saw him catch the eye last term, the stage is once more set for Arif to enhance his ever-growing reputation on the continental front -- especially considering he has achieved everything possible domestically.
Since making his professional debut in 2020, Arif has been involved in four of JDT's 11 consecutive Malaysia Super League titles.
He also has three Malaysia Cups and FA Cups to his name and, on an individual basis, has been named the Most Valuable Player in the country for the past four campaigns.
Arif is a bona fide star in Malaysian football. Like JDT, it is a bigger stage where they are now looking to make their mark.
Yet, while they continue to do as they please in the MSL -- having started the 2025-26 season with seven straight wins and scoring a staggering 33 goals while conceding just three -- it has not exactly been smooth sailing for the Southern Tigers.
A disappointing 2-1 loss to Buriram United in their ACL Elite campaign opener was followed by a 0-0 draw at home to Machida Zelvia, which might have even been a defeat were it not for a heroic display from goalkeeper Syihan Hazmi.
Off the field, the club has also been rocked by the ongoing naturalisation scandal that Malaysian football is currently embroiled in.
Late last month, FIFA ruled that seven naturalised players of Malaysian heritage had gained eligibility to represent the nation using falsified documents -- claiming that none of them actually had grandparents that had been born in the country.
Each of the septet were slapped with 12-month suspensions. Three of them -- João Figueiredo, Hector Hevel and Jon Irazábal -- were recent arrivals at JDT who were already shaping up as pivotal players for the season ahead.
The Football Association of Malaysia has appealed the ruling but, regardless of the outcome, the show still has to go on for now.
JDT will be grateful that they still have plenty of other talent to call upon, perhaps none more influential than Arif.
While it was Óscar Arribas who fired them ahead against Chengdu following an enterprising charge down the right, Arif was undeniably their most-dangerous weapon throughout the 90 minutes.
His sheer pace was almost impossible to cope with, while his trickery had the opposition defenders completely tied in knots.
Unsurprisingly, the second goal that sealed the win for the Southern Tigers was created by him.
Cleverly peeling out to the left to find space as JDT countered, Arif then slipped a neat ball through to Ager Aketxe before bursting into the area to receive the return pass.
With a defender charging out to confront him, the Malaysia international opted against the obvious low ball across the face of goal and, instead, clipped a reverse ball back to the penalty spot -- where an unmarked Nacho Méndez was eagerly waiting to volley home with aplomb.
It was enough to secure a much-needed win for JDT that has gone some way in lifting the doom and gloom that has surrounded the club, and Malaysian football as a whole, for the past few weeks.
Even in a side littered with big-name foreign signings, Arif has always managed to stand out. Last season, as they reached the round of 16 of the ACL Elite, he was even -- more often than not -- their best player.
With that looking to be the case once more this season, it should not be a surprise if Arif is again in the running to be named the AFC Player of the Year around this time in 2026.
He has, after all, already started putting together his portfolio for submission.