Atep Ahmad Rizal (born 5 June 1985 in

Cianjur Cianjur () is a town and district in the West Java province of Indonesia, and is the regency seat, seat of Cianjur Regency. The district of Cianjur is located along one of the main roads between Jakarta (120 km to the northwest) and Bandung ...

West Java West Java (, ) is an Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province on the western part of the island of Java, with its provincial capital in Bandung. West Java is bordered by the province of Banten and the country's capital region of Jakarta to t ...

), simply known as Atep, is an Indonesian former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who last played as a winger for Liga 3 club Persika 1951.

Club career

Persija Jakarta

In 2004, Atep was signed by

Persija Jakarta Persatuan Sepakbola Indonesia Jakarta ( 'Indonesian Football Association of Jakarta'), abbreviated as Persija (), is an Indonesian professional Association football, football club based in the Indonesian capital city of Jakarta. Persija Jaka ...

after a fairly good season with

Persiba Bantul Persatuan Sepak Bola Indonesia Bantul, commonly known as Persiba Bantul, is a semi-professional Indonesian football club based in Bantul, Yogyakarta. They currently compete in the Liga Nusantara. History Persiba Bantul was established on 21 ...

. It did not take long for him to get a place in the first team. His remarkable achievements with Persija opened wide opportunities for his international career. In 2005, he was called up to the Indonesian national team in the AFF Cup and scored once. His excellent performance at Persija attracted many clubs to sign him, including

Persib Bandung Persatuan Sepakbola Indonesia Bandung (), also known in acronym as Persib (), is an Indonesian professional football club based in Bandung, West Java. The club competes in the Liga 1, the top tier of Indonesian football. Founded in 1919 as ...

who were in talks of bringing him in for the 2008 season. He stayed at Persija until the end of the 2007 season.

Persib Bandung

In 2008,

finally managed to sign Atep, after failing to get it in the previous season. Although his arrival was greeted so positively by Bobotoh, he did not get so many chances to play early in the season so many predicted that he would leave in the transfer season at the break of the competition. But he survived and his end began to get a chance to play even though only as a backup player. On 6 May 2009, he scored his first league goal in a 2–1 defeat to

Pelita Jaya Madura United Football Club is an Indonesian professional football club. The club is based in Pamekasan, Madura, East Java. They currently play in the Liga 1. The current form of the club was established on 10 January 2016; the team's lin ...

. the In

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

season Atep became a hero for Persib after scoring a spectacular goal against Arema Cronus that sent Persib to the final against Persipura. The following season's league start was postponed, which cleared the way for Persib to compete in the

AFC Cup The AFC Champions League Two (abbreviated as the ACL Two or ACL2) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation. It is the second-tier competition of Asian club football, ranked below the AFC C ...

before the league began. There, Atep scored in every match they played. Atep left Persib at the end of the

2018 Liga 1 The 2018 Liga 1, also known as Go-Jek Liga 1 for sponsorship reasons, was the 2th season of Liga 1 under its current name and the 9th season of the top-flight Indonesian professional league for association football clubs since its establishment ...

, after playing for the club for 10 years.

Mitra Kukar

Upon his release from Persib at the end of the 2018 season, Atep joined recently relegated side

Mitra Kukar Persatuan Sepakbola Mitra Kutai Kartanegara (simply known as a PS Mitra Kukar) is an Indonesian professional football club based in Tenggarong, Kutai Kartanegara, East Kalimantan. They currently compete in the Liga 4. History This club was f ...

PSKC and Muba Babel

In 2020, Atep signed for

PSKC Cimahi Persatuan Sepakbola Kota Cimahi (commonly known as PSKC Cimahi), was an Indonesian professional football club based in Cimahi, West Java. They were compete in the Liga 2. Their nicknames are ''Laskar Sangkuriang'' and ''Panser Cimahi''. They w ...

. After the 2020 season was declared void, he transferred to Muba Babel United the following year and made his league debut on 6 October in an away match against

Sriwijaya Srivijaya (), also spelled Sri Vijaya, was a Hindu-Buddhist thalassocratic empire based on the island of Sumatra (in modern-day Indonesia) that influenced much of Southeast Asia. Srivijaya was an important centre for the expansion of Buddh ...

Style of play

Atep was known for his dribbling abilities and his influences on the pitch that made him Persib captain in many occasions before passing the captaincy to

Supardi Nasir Supardi Nasir Bujang (born 9 April 1983) is an Indonesian professional footballer who plays as a full-back for Liga 2 club Nusantara United. He debuted on the Indonesia national team as a substitute at the 2007 AFF Championship. Personal lif ...

in 2018. He is regarded as an icon for Bobotoh or the supporters of Persib, with the nickname "Lord Atep". When he scored, Bobotoh performed

push-up The push-up (press-up in British English) is a common calisthenics Physical exercise, exercise beginning from the prone position. By raising and lowering the body using the arms, push-ups exercise the pectoralis major muscle, pectoral muscl ...

s as an appreciation mark.

International career

International goals

Honours

Persib U-21 *

Soeratin Cup Soeratin Cup is an Indonesian football competition for players under the age of eighteen. Previously the competition was sponsored by Indofood and was called Liga Indofood. Soeratin name used as the name for the dedicated this championship trophy ...

:? *PSSI U-20 Championship runner-up: 2003 Persib Bandung *

Indonesia Super League Liga 1 (), officially known as BRI Liga 1 for sponsorship reasons, is the men's top professional association football, football division of the Indonesian football league system. Administered by Liga Indonesia Baru, PT Liga Indonesia Baru (), Li ...

* Piala Presiden:

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

Filmography

* Hari Ini Pasti Menang (2013)

References

External links

*
Profil Atep
* Atep o
soccerway
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rizal, Atep Indonesian men's footballers 1985 births Living people People from Cianjur Indonesia men's international footballers Indonesia men's youth international footballers 2007 AFC Asian Cup players Men's association football wingers Sundanese people Liga 1 (Indonesia) players Liga 2 (Indonesia) players Liga Nusantara players Persija Jakarta players Persib Bandung players PS Mitra Kukar players PSKC Cimahi players 21st-century Indonesian sportsmen Muba Babel United F.C. players Persika 1951 players