Afghanistan call-up lets Najem follow family path
Since he was a kid, Adam Najem has played in tournaments and pick-up games under the flag of his Afghan heritage. Growing up in Clifton, N.J., surrounded by the large extended family on his father’s side, soccer was a common vector to transmit Afghan culture among the sizeable diaspora in the diverse North Jersey community.
So Najem didn’t think much of a Facebook message he received three weeks ago, inquiring about his Afghan roots alongside his growth as a professional soccer player for the Philadelphia Union.
When the sender, a coach in California, asked if Najem might have interest in being put in contact with the Afghan national team, he was reservedly intrigued.
“Sometimes you’re skeptical about Facebook messages and stuff like that, but I saw myself talking to the head coach in the next two days,” Najem said Monday. “That was pretty interesting, and we just kept talking and he asked me my interest level, and he brought my brother into it as well. It’s kind of an exciting time to see that my brother and I can represent a country together and play together and have aspirations of playing in World Cup qualifying and Asian qualifying and go from there.”
In less than a month, Najem went from the inquiry stage to a plane to Dubai, where he’ll join Afghanistan’s senior team for an Aug. 19 friendly against Palestine in the capital, Kabul.
It’s a monumental game for both player and country. Najem, 23, has played five games for the Union in a season and a half since signing as a Homegrown Player from the New York Red Bulls. The former Akron Zip has played exclusively for USL affiliate Bethlehem Steel this season, notching two goals and two assists in 14 games.
The call-up includes an opportunity for his brother, David, a 26-year-old defender who also came up through the Red Bulls pipeline and now plays in USL for the Tampa Bay Rowdies. David won’t be on this trip due to a knee injury.
It’ll be Adam Najem’s first visit to Afghanistan, the country of his father’s birth. Ahmed Najem emigrated in 1989 and married the boys’ mother, Nelli, who is from Belarus. Afghan culture surrounded the brothers in their upbringing, with an extended clan of more than 100 people who travel from homes ranging from California to Canada for regular family gatherings.
Soccer remains a key link in the Najem household. Ahmed plays three pickup games a week — in the same Friday night league for the last 14 years, plus Sunday morning and another game here or there, plus organizing and coaching tournaments hosted by the Afghan Sports Federation. David and Adam tested themselves in those games against grown men from a young age. And in a pinch, mini-goals could always be set up in the living room.
“Since they were young, my brother and I, we played in the backyard when David was five years old, and he got interested in it,” Ahmed said. “And we started there. Then we went to the Boys & Girls club and went through that, and after a year or so, they were invited to traveling teams. From there, everything else came in place and Adam went right in David’s footsteps.”
To say that soccer runs deep in the Najem family puts it lightly. Ahmed’s great uncle, Abdul Fatah Najem (or “Najm,” depending on translation) played in the 1950s. He went on to serve as the physician for the last king of Afghanistan and became the country’s Public Health Minister in the late 1980s. A cousin of Ahmed’s, Hamid Najem, played in the 1980s. And Adam is excited to meet a distant cousin, Ali Benjamin Nadjem, who was born in Germany and plays fullback for St. Pauli II. Nadjem, who debuted for Afghanistan in March 2017, is also in the squad for Palestine.
Beyond the obvious importance for Adam, Ahmed is thrilled to see a third generation of the family play for the Lions of Khurasan.
“He’s super-excited,” Adam said. “I think he’s been looking at the Afghan football news for about two weeks straight. He sends me screenshots of pictures and articles. I can’t read Farsi, but he can, so he’s been my translator for everything. He’s really excited.”
“That’s my dream, to see them play with each other and not against each other which they did a couple of times with the Union and Red Bulls or with Bethlehem and Red Bulls,” Ahmed said of Adam and David. “… This will be a dream come true to watch them play and to play good soccer at national level.”
The friendly is the first match held in Afghanistan since 2013 — and just the third home match since 2003 — for a country bidding to leave FIFA’s list of unsafe nations for hosting. (Afghanistan’s national team was inactive altogether from 1984-2002). The game at Ghazi Stadium marks Afghan Independence Day, a national holiday. Najem’s inclusion exemplifies efforts by head coach Anoush Dastgir, the 28-year-old who took over for well-traveled German Otto Pfister, to revamp the player pool.
The game falls outside the FIFA-approved international window, requiring special permission from the Union for Najem to participate. He’s grateful for the club’s approval, and for speeding his recovery from a hamstring strain. He hopes to translate the international experience into form that benefits the club.
“I just want to push myself at any level I can,” Najem said. “And whether it’s Bethlehem or whether it’s with the first team or internationally, you want to showcase yourself to the best of my ability anytime I’m out there. The international level is a step up, and hopefully this camp will help me translate something and bring it back to Philly and crack the 18 soon.”
When they were growing up, Ahmed often reminded his sons about one pertinent connection to their roots: The name “Najem,” common in the Middle East, derives from the Arabic word for “star.”
“I would tell them, ‘don’t forget what your last name is. I want you to shine,’” Ahmed said.
Now Adam and David have the chance to do just that on the international level.
“Hopefully the boys can show what they have in their blood and that they can bring something that we’ve been wishing for so we can represent the county at the highest level,” Ahmed said.