| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ahmad Latiff Khamaruddin | ||
| Date of birth | May 29, 1979 | ||
| Place of birth | Singapore | ||
| Playing position | Striker, midfield | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Tampines Rovers | ||
| Number | - | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1997-1999 | Geylang United FC | 17 | (5) |
| 2000-2001 | Persikabo Bogor | 4 | (1) |
| 2001/2002 | Happy Valley | 1 | (0) |
| 2002-2003 | Singapore Armed Forces FC | 29 | (12) |
| 2004-2005 | Woodlands Wellington FC | 133 | (95) |
| 2006 | Tampines Rovers FC(loan) | 7 | (0) |
| 2006/2007 | Johor FA | 16 | (9) |
| 2007 | Woodlands Wellington FC | 22 | (36) |
| 2007/2008 | PDRM FA | 18 | (12) |
| 2008-2010 | Singapore Armed Forces FC | 95 | (192) |
| 2011- | Tampines Rovers | 0 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 1997-present | Singapore | 51 | (14) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of May 20, 2009. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Ahmad Latiff Khamaruddin (born 29 May 1979) is a professional soccer player who plays for the Tampines Rovers in the S.League and the Singapore national football team.
Once touted as a successor to golden boy Fandi Ahmad, he can play as an attacking midfielder or striker with talented playmaking skills. However, due to his consistent bad disciplinary track record for the national team and the club sides, he is deemed as 'bad boy' for Singapore football. He has been given nicknames such as "the bad boy of Singapore football," obviously for his disciplinary problems on and off the pitch, and also "the blond bombshell," in reference to his bleached blond hair.
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He started his career at Singapore Police FC (now Home United FC) in 1996, before moving to Geylang United FC the following year. In 1998, his sparkling performances led Singapore to win the Tiger Cup, the nation's first international trophy, despite getting sent off in the final win against Vietnam.
His flamboyant performances caught the eyes of many top football coaches in Asia, who were confident that he would be the next big thing in Asian football. However, his disciplinary problems had got the better of him and he has failed to live up to the high expectations set for him.
In 1999, he moved to SAFFC where he helped the club win the S-League title in the following season. In 2001, he made his first career move abroad to Indonesia before coming back to SAFFC in 2002, where he played as a playmaker instead of being a striker in which he led the team to a runaway S-League title win.
In 2004, he once again moved to Woodlands Wellington FC but his form dipped considerably from his days in SAFFC.
Eventually in 2006, he made his move abroad once again to Johor FA, the Malaysian state playing in the Malaysian Premier League, where he played well for the side alongside with fellow national skipper Aide Iskandar. After the Malaysian football season ended, he made a loan move with Aide Iskandar to Tampines Rovers FC for the rest of S-League season.[1]
Prior to the start of the 2007 S-League season, Latiff returned to his former club, Woodlands Wellington FC. He was appointed as club captain by manager Jorg Steinbrunner, and led Woodlands Wellington FC to their first piece of silverware in their history, which is the Singtel League Cup, a preseason tournament.
On 2 July 2008, Ahmad Latiff made his debut for Singapore Armed Forces FC in the S.League. It will be his third spell at the club after previously playing for the Warriors in 1999 and 2002.
Latiff has made very important contributions to SAFFC in his third spell, scoring into the roof of the net against PSMS Medan in the qualifying round to send the Warriors into the AFC Champions League group stages for the very first time.
He also netted a splendid volley against Shanghai Shenhua in the fifth game of the competition's group stages, helping his team win a historic first ever point in the AFC Champions League.
He made his debut of the Singapore against Lebanon on 24 May 1997.
In 1998, his sparkling performances led Singapore to win the Tiger Cup, the nation's first international trophy, despite getting sent off in the final win against Vietnam.
He had been in the Singapore inconsistently after the 1998 Tiger Cup win due to his poor disciplinary track record. He was recalled to the Singapore in 2006 after his good performances for Johor FA but he may face the axe once again after committing some disciplinary offences during the Singapore away trip to United Arab Emirates for the Asian Cup qualifying match against Iraq.