David Najem
{{short description|Afghan footballer}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2019}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = David Najem
| image =
| caption =
| fullname = David Najem{{cite web|url=http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/david-najem|title=David Najem Bio|work=MLSSoccer.com}}
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1992|5|26}}
| birth_place = Clifton, New Jersey, United States
| height = {{height|ft=5|in=9}}
| position = Full-back, Defensive midfielder
| currentclub =
| clubnumber =
| youthyears1 = 2006–2013
| youthclubs1 = New York Red Bulls
| youthyears2 = 2006–2010
| youthclubs2 = Paramus Catholic High School
| collegeyears1 = 2010–2013
| college1 = Columbia Lions
| collegecaps1 = 64
| collegegoals1 = 10
| years1 = 2013–2015
| clubs1 = FC Eintracht Bamberg
| caps1 = 37
| goals1 = 2
| years2 = 2016–2017
| clubs2 = New York Red Bulls II
| caps2 = 45
| goals2 = 1
| years3 = 2018–2019
| clubs3 = Tampa Bay Rowdies
| caps3 = 17
| goals3 = 1
| years4 = 2020–2021
| clubs4 = New Mexico United
| caps4 = 25
| goals4 = 0
| nationalyears1 = 2019–
| nationalteam1 = Afghanistan
| nationalcaps1 = 12
| nationalgoals1 = 0
| club-update = November 8, 2021
}}
David Najem (Dari: داوید نجم; born May 26, 1992) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for the Afghanistan national team.
Najem grew up in Clifton, New Jersey and attended Paramus Catholic High School, where he set school career records for both goals and points.[http://www.newyorkredbulls.com/post/2016/05/19/new-york-red-bulls-ii-sign-david-najem "New York Red Bulls II Sign David Najem"], New York Red Bulls, May 19, 2016. Accessed May 20, 2016. "Najem, a native of Clifton, N.J., joins the club after spending two seasons in Regionalliga Bayern, Germany's Fourth Division, with FC Eintracht Bamberg 2010.... Najem attended Paramus Catholic High School where he was a two-time captain and set the school record with 54 goals and 146 career points in his career."
Career
=Early career=
Najem was a member of the New York Red Bulls Academy since the age of 14 and played with the U-23 team during his college career. He attended Paramus Catholic High School, where he captained the team for two seasons and set the school record for career goals scored with 54. In 2010, Najem enrolled at Columbia University, and played four seasons with the men's soccer team. During his senior year in 2013, he was awarded as the Ivy League Offensive player of the year, tallying five goals and six assists.{{cite news|url=http://www.gocolumbialions.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=204964746|title=David Najem Profile|work=GoColumbiaLions.com}}
=Eintracht Bamberg=
After graduating from Columbia, Najem went on trial with lower division clubs in Germany and eventually signed with FC Eintracht Bamberg from the Regionalliga Bayern league in 2014.{{cite web|url=http://www.topdrawersoccer.com/the91stminute/2014/11/david-najem-and-life-in-fourth-division-germany/|title=David Najem and life in fourth division Germany|work=TopDrawerSoccer.com}}{{cite news|url=http://www.gocolumbialions.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=209412375|title=Najem Signs Professional Contract with German Club FC Eintracht Bamberg 2010|work=GoColumbiaLions.com}}
=New York Red Bulls II=
On May 19, 2016, Najem returned to the United States to sign with New York Red Bulls II. Najem will partner up with manager, John Wolyniec who formerly played for the New York Red Bulls and coached him in the academy.{{cite web|url=http://www.newyorkredbulls.com/post/2016/05/19/new-york-red-bulls-ii-sign-david-najem|title=New York Red Bulls II Sign David Najem|work=NewYorkRedBulls.com}} Najem made his official debut for the club coming on as a late match substitute in a 1–0 victory against FC Montreal.{{cite web|url=http://www.newyorkredbulls.com/post/2016/05/22/usl-match-recap-red-bulls-ii-maintain-road-perfection-1-0-win-fc-montreal|title= USL MATCH RECAP: Red Bulls II Maintain Road Perfection with 1-0 win at FC Montreal|work= newyorkredbulls.com }} After starting in every match during the clubs playoff run, on October 23, 2016, Najem helped the club to a 5–1 victory over Swope Park Rangers in the 2016 USL Cup Final.{{cite web|url=http://www.uslsoccer.com/news_article/show/712570?referrer_id=2333971|title=Allen's Hat Trick Leads Red Bulls II to USL Cup|work=uslsoccer.com|date=October 23, 2016 |accessdate=October 23, 2016}}
=Tampa Bay Rowdies=
Najem signed with the Tampa Bay Rowdies on January 11, 2018.{{cite web|url=http://www.rowdiessoccer.com/news_article/show/874405|title=Rowdies Continue to Build Roster with Signing of Defender David Najem|work=RowdiesSoccer.com|date=January 11, 2018|accessdate=January 11, 2018|archive-date=January 11, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180111224605/http://www.rowdiessoccer.com/news_article/show/874405|url-status=dead}}
=New Mexico United=
In January 2020, Najem joined New Mexico United.{{cite web |title=New Mexico United Welcomes Accomplished Defender to the 2020 Squad |url=https://www.newmexicoutd.com/news_article/show/1082501 |website=NewMexicoUTD.com |accessdate=31 January 2020 |archive-date=January 31, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200131192926/https://www.newmexicoutd.com/news_article/show/1082501 |url-status=dead }}
International
He made his debut for Afghanistan national football team on June 7, 2019, in a friendly against Tajikistan, as a starter.{{cite web|publisher=National-Football-Teams|url=https://www.national-football-teams.com/matches/report/23198/Tajikistan_Afghanistan.html|title=Tajikistan v Afghanistan game report|date=June 7, 2019}}
Personal life
David's brother, Adam, is also a professional footballer.{{cite web|url=https://www.prosoccerusa.com/mls/philadelphia-union/philadelphia-unions-adam-najem-earns-first-call-up-to-afghanistan-national-team/|title=Philadelphia Union's Adam Najem earns first call-up to Afghanistan national team|website=prosoccerusa.com|author=Joe Tansey|date=August 14, 2018|accessdate=August 14, 2018|archive-date=August 14, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180814200947/https://www.prosoccerusa.com/mls/philadelphia-union/philadelphia-unions-adam-najem-earns-first-call-up-to-afghanistan-national-team/|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web|url=http://wigrysuwalki.eu/aktualnosci/adam-najem-pilkarzem-wigier/|title=Adam Najem piłkarzem Wigier « Oficjalny Serwis Suwalskiego Klubu Sportowego Wigry.|website=wigrysuwalki.eu|access-date=2020-02-02}}
Career statistics
{{updated|match played November 8, 2021}}
= Club statistics =
| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" | |||||||
| rowspan="2" |Club{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Afghanistan - David Najem|url=https://us.soccerway.com/players/david-najem/333851/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211029023505/https://us.soccerway.com/players/david-najem/333851/ |archive-date=October 29, 2021 |access-date=|website=Soccerway}}
! rowspan="2" |Season ! colspan="3" |League ! colspan="2" |League Cup ! colspan="2" |Domestic Cup ! colspan="2" |Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division
!Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| rowspan="3" |FC Eintracht Bamberg
| rowspan="2" |Regionalliga Bayern |13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 1 |
| 2014–15
|24 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 1 |
| colspan="2" |Total
!37 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 2 |
| rowspan="3" |New York Red Bulls II
|2016 | rowspan="2" |USL |15 | 0 | 4{{Efn|Appearance(s) in USL Cup playoffs|name=fn1|group=lower-alpha}} | 0 | colspan="2" |— | 19 | 0 | |
| 2017
|30 | 1 | 3{{Efn | name=fn1|group=lower-alpha}} | 0 | colspan="2" |—
|34 | 1 | |
| colspan="2" |Total
!45 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 52 | 1 |
| rowspan="3" |Tampa Bay Rowdies
|2018 |USL |5 |0 | colspan="2" |— |0 |0 |5 |0 | |||||||
| 2019
|11 |1 |1{{Efn|Appearance(s) in USL Championship playoffs|name=fn2|group=lower-alpha}} |0 |2{{Efn|Appearance(s) in the US Open Cup|name=fn3|group=lower-alpha}} |1 |14 |2 | |||||||
| colspan="2" |Total
!16 !1 !1 !0 !2 !1 !19 !2 | |||||||
| rowspan="3" |New Mexico United
|2020 | rowspan="2" |USL Championship |11 |0 |2{{Efn | name=fn2|group=lower-alpha}}
|0 | colspan="2" |— |13 |0 | ||||||
| 2021
|14 |0 | colspan="2" |— | colspan="2" |— |14 |0 | |||||||
| colspan="2" |Total
!25 !0 !2 !0 !0 !0 !27 !0 | |||||||
| colspan="3" |Career total
!123 | 4 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 135 | 5 |
{{Reflist|group=lower-alpha}}
= International statistics =
{{Updated|match played June 15, 2021}}
| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+Caps earned by year !Year !Caps !Goals |
| 2019
|2 |0 |
| 2020
|0 |0 |
| 2021
|3 |0 |
| Total
!5 !0 |
|---|
Honors
=Club=
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Soccerway|david-najem/333851}}
- {{NFT player|74503}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Najem, David}}
Category:Afghan men's footballers
Category:Afghanistan men's international footballers
Category:American people of Afghan descent
Category:American men's soccer players
Category:Men's association football midfielders
Category:Columbia Lions men's soccer players
Category:Columbia College (New York) alumni
Category:FC Eintracht Bamberg players
Category:New York Red Bulls II players
Category:Sportspeople from Livingston, New Jersey
Category:Soccer players from Essex County, New Jersey
Category:Soccer players from Clifton, New Jersey
Category:Sportspeople of Afghan descent
Category:Tampa Bay Rowdies players
Category:USL Championship players
Category:Paramus Catholic High School alumni