David Najem (

Dari Dari (, , ), also known as Dari Persian (, ), is the variety of the Persian language spoken in Afghanistan. Dari is the term officially recognised and promoted since 1964 by the Afghan government for the Persian language,Lazard, G.Darī � ...

: داوید نجم; born May 26, 1992) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for USL Championship club New Mexico United and the Afghanistan national team. Najem grew up 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 ...

and attended

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 ...

, where he set school career records for both goals and points.

Career

Early career

Najem was a member of the

New York Red Bulls Academy The New York Red Bulls Academy is the multi-layered youth system of the New York Red Bulls. It is the first cost-free program in Major League Soccer that provides a professional soccer training environment for youth players in the New York Tri-Sta ...

since the age of 14 and played with the U-23 team during his college career. He attended

, 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 Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, 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.

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.

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 John Wolyniec (born January 24, 1977) is an American professional soccer coach and former player. During his playing days, Wolyniec played for Major League Soccer club New York Red Bulls three separate times: In 1999 as the MetroStars, from 2 ...

who formerly played for the

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 ...

and coached him in the academy. Najem made his official debut for the club coming on as a late match substitute in a 1–0 victory against FC Montreal. 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.

Tampa Bay Rowdies

Najem signed with the Tampa Bay Rowdies on January 11, 2018.

New Mexico United

In January 2020, Najem joined New Mexico United.

International

He made his debut for

Afghanistan national football team The Afghanistan national football team ( ''Tīm-e Millī-e Fūtbāl-e Afghānestān'') is the national football team of Afghanistan and is controlled by the Afghanistan Football Federation. Founded in 1922, they played their first international ...

on June 7, 2019 in a friendly against

Tajikistan Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...

, as a starter.

Personal life

David's brother,

Adam Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...

, is also a professional footballer.

Career statistics

Club statistics

International statistics

Honors

Club

New York Red Bulls II *

USL Cup The USL Championship Final is the post-season championship match of the USL Championship, the second tier of professional men's soccer in the United States. The winner is crowned champion in the same manner as in other North American sports lea ...

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Najem, David 1992 births Living people Afghan men's footballers Afghanistan men's international footballers American people of Afghan descent American men's soccer players Men's association football midfielders Columbia Lions men's soccer players Columbia College (New York) alumni New York Red Bulls II players Sportspeople from Livingston, New Jersey Soccer players from Essex County, New Jersey Sportspeople from Clifton, New Jersey Sportspeople of Afghan descent Tampa Bay Rowdies players USL Championship players Paramus Catholic High School alumni New Mexico United players