Adam Ahmad Najem (

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

: آدام نجم; born January 19, 1995) is a professional

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 le ...

who plays as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for Bhayangkara and the Afghanistan national team.

Career

Youth and college

Raised in

Clifton, New Jersey Clifton is a city in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Criss-crossed by several major highways, the city is a regional commercial hub for North Jersey and is a bedroom suburb of New York City in the New York Metropolitan Area. As ...

, Najem played prep soccer at

Paramus Catholic High School Paramus Catholic High School is a co-educational Roman Catholic high school located in Paramus in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The school, founded in 1965, under Archbishop Thomas A. Boland, and Superintendent of Schools, Mon ...

. Najem played four years of

college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and the Philippines. The United Kingd ...

at the

University of Akron The University of Akron is a public research university in Akron, Ohio. It is part of the University System of Ohio. As a STEM-focused institution, it focuses on industries such as polymers, advanced materials, and engineering. It is classified ...

between 2013 and 2016, making 89 appearances, scoring 33 goals and tallying 29 assists. While at college, Najem also appeared for

Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental association football, soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United Stat ...

sides New York Red Bulls U23 and Michigan Bucks, where he won the 2016 PDL Championship.

Club

Najem signed with

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

side

Philadelphia Union The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in Chester, Pennsylvania. The Union compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the club began playing in 201 ...

on February 8, 2017, after acquiring his rights from

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The club was established in October 1994 and be ...

in exchange for a second-round 2018

MLS SuperDraft The MLS SuperDraft is an annual college draft for teams of Major League Soccer in the United States and Canada. It takes place in January and is used by teams to select players who have graduated from college or otherwise been signed by the le ...

pick. He made his professional debut on April 1, 2017, while on loan with the Union's

United Soccer League United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a Association football, soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues curren ...

affiliate

Bethlehem Steel The Bethlehem Steel Corporation was an American steelmaking company headquartered in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. For most of the 20th century, it was one of the world's largest steel producing and shipbuilding companies. At the height of its succe ...

, playing 90 minutes in a 3–2 loss to

Rochester Rhinos Rochester New York FC, formerly known as the Rochester Rhinos, are an American professional soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States. Founded in 1996, as the Rochester Raging Rhinos, they changed their name to Rochester Rhinos to ...

. Najem joined USL Championship expansion club

Memphis 901 Memphis 901 FC is an American professional soccer team based in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 2018, the team made its debut in the USL Championship in 2019. Stadium The club currently plays on the grounds of AutoZone Park, a baseball stadiu ...

on February 5, 2019. Najem joined Polish I liga club

Wigry Suwałki Wigry Suwałki is a Polish football club based in Suwałki, Podlaskie Voivodeship. In the 2022–23 season, they will compete in IV liga, having withdrawn from II liga II liga (Druga Liga, ), currently named eWinner II liga due to sponsorsh ...

on January 22, 2020 On August 5, 2020, Najem returned to the United States, joining USL Championship side Tampa Bay Rowdies. On August 9, 2021, Najem signed with Canadian Premier League side

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

. On February 9, 2022, the club announced that Najem and all but two other players would not be returning for the 2022 season. On May 19, 2022, Najem signed a 25-day short-term contract with New York Red Bulls II. Najem made his first appearance for New York on May 21, 2022, during a 2-0 loss to Indy Eleven.

International

In August 2018, Najem received his first international call-up to the Afghanistan national team.

Personal

Adam's brother,

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

, is also a professional footballer.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Najem, Adam 1995 births Living people Paramus Catholic High School alumni People from Clifton, New Jersey People from Wayne, New Jersey Afghan men's footballers Afghanistan men's international footballers American people of Afghan descent American men's soccer players Men's association football midfielders Akron Zips men's soccer players Canadian Premier League players Flint City Bucks players New York Red Bulls II players New York Red Bulls U-23 players Philadelphia Union players Philadelphia Union II players Memphis 901 FC players Bhayangkara F.C. players Soccer players from New Jersey Sportspeople from Passaic County, New Jersey Sportspeople of Afghan descent USL League Two players Major League Soccer players USL Championship players Liga 1 (Indonesia) players Expatriate men's footballers in Poland Expatriate men's footballers in Indonesia Tampa Bay Rowdies players Homegrown Players (MLS) Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada Afghan expatriate sportspeople in Indonesia