Irfan Bachdim


Irfan Haarys Bachdim is an Indonesian professional footballer who plays for Liga 1 club PSS Sleman and the Indonesia national team. He plays mainly at second striker but can also operate as a winger.

Early life

Bachdim's father, Noval Bachdim, is an Indonesian national of Arab-Indonesian descent born in Malang. He settled in Lawang, Malang, till the 1980s before moving to Netherlands, wherein he lived for 20 years after. Bachdim's mother, Hester van Dijk, is a Dutch national. The Bachdim family reside in Amsterdam. Additionally, Bachdim's grandfather, Ali Bachdim is a veteran of TNI Angkatan Laut.
Bachdim played for and in Indonesia as an Indonesian national without having to undergo the naturalization process, as he had remained a national throughout his entire life.
Bachdim was born to a family of footballers. Noval Bachdim formerly played for PS Fajar Lawang in the 1980s. Meanwhile, Ali Bachdim is a former player for Persema Malang and PSAD Jakarta.
Bachdim met his idol Max Caubo when he played a football game in Hanoi against the Vietnamese national team.

Career

Early career

Bachdim started his football career at the Ajax Youth Academy in Amsterdam along with Mitchell Donald, Jeffrey Sarpong, Christian Supusepa and Ryan Babel. He transferred after three years to SV Argon, where he became the league top scorer despite of his midfield position.

FC Utrecht

He was then recruited by scouts of FC Utrecht. He started for FC Utrecht junior team, all the while appearing on occasions for the senior reserve team. He made his debut for FC Utrecht in 1. Eredivisie on February 17, 2008, playing 90 minutes against VVV-Venlo.
Irfan joined the Indonesian U-23 national football team during one training camp which took place in the Netherlands. However, he was injured one week prior to the 2006 Asian Games.

HFC Haarlem

With no contract extension with FC Utrecht, Bachdim signed for HFC Haarlem in July 2009 in a free transfer deal. In March 2010 he underwent trials for Persib Bandung and Persija Jakarta. However, neither party signed him.

Persema Malang

Bachdim's desire to play in Indonesia was finally realised on August 9, 2010, upon his recruitment by the then-coach of Persema Malang, Timo Scheunemann, after the latter observed the former and other young footballers in a charity match for football figure Lucky Acub Zaenal at Stadion Gajayana, Malang.
Bachdim was recruited along with Kim Jeffrey Kurniawan, a footballer of Indonesian-German descent who previously played for FC Heidelsheim. Bachdim himself has been a holder of Indonesian passport since his childhood and is therefore recognized as a non-naturalized player.
After Persema's decision to leave Liga Super Indonesia to Liga Primer Indonesia, Bachdim considered leaving Persema due to the threat of not being able to play for the national team. However he ended up committing himself to Persema by signing a three-year contract, despite continuous intimidation from PSSI to leave the club and valuable contracts offered by several LSI clubs.
In the end Menpora Andi Mallarangeng guaranteed his right to perform for the national team. He was called by the U-23 team to play at the SEA Games 2011 and the qualifications for the 2012 Olympic Games.

Chonburi FC

Bachdim gave a trial at Thailand club BEC Tero Sasana where he was able to give an average performance, then he was not selected by team. Later he was signed by another Thailand club Chonburi on a 2 years contract.
In early December 2013 J-League clubs Vegalta Sendai and Ventforet Kofu trialed Irfan Bachdim for 2 weeks. He said that if he did not get a contract with these clubs, he would go back to Chonburi to prove himself to the new manager.

Ventforet Kofu

Bachdim announced on Monday, 27 January 2014 that he had officially joined J. League first-division side Ventforet Kofu.
According to Ventforet, the club thought highly of the forward's potential during a tryout held by the J. League Players Association. His fast playing style caught the club's eye even though he wasn't in top physical condition at the time.
Ventforet general manager Satoru Sakuma said Bachdim will be the J. League's first Indonesian player and his contract will run through the end of the 2014 season.

Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo

Japanese media on Monday, December 22, 2014 published that Consadole Sapporo has signed the Indonesia international Irfan Bachdim from Ventforet Kofu. The introduction of Irfan Bachdim as one of six new players of the club was presented on January 20, 2015. On May 3, 2015 Irfan Bachdim made his first J2 appearance on Sunday in Consadole Sapporo's 3–0 win over leaders Jubilo Iwata. After replacing Brazilian teammate Nildo on the right wing, Irfan drew cheers from the crowd when he streaked up the sideline and sent a well-placed cross in his first play.

Career statistics

International

National team appearances

International goals

No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.1 December 2010Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Jakarta, Indonesia5–15–12010 AFF Championship
2.4 December 2010Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Jakarta, Indonesia4–06–02010 AFF Championship
3.5 June 2012Rizal Memorial Stadium, Manila, Philippines1–22–2Friendly
4.26 September 2012Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah Stadium, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei0–10–5Friendly
5.26 September 2012Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah Stadium, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei0–30–5Friendly
6.26 September 2012Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah Stadium, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei0–50–5Friendly
7.14 July 2014Saoud bin Abdulrahman Stadium, Al Wakrah, Qatar2–22–2Friendly
8.6 September 2016Manahan Stadium, Surakarta, Indonesia2–03–0Friendly
9.9 October 2016Maguwoharjo Stadium, Sleman, Indonesia2–22–2Friendly
10.8 November 2016My Dinh National Stadium, Hanoi, Vietnam1–23–2Friendly
11.8 June 2017Phnom Penh Olympic Stadium, Phnom Pehn, Cambodia0–10–2Friendly
12.15 October 2019Kapten I Wayan Dipta Stadium, Gianyar, Indonesia1–31–32022 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honors

Club honors

;Consadole Sapporo
;Bali United
;Indonesia
Bachdim is well known for starring in many product advertisements including Pocari Sweat, Suzuki, Nike, and many more. He is one of very select few Indonesian Footballers who have appeared in other scopes outside of football. He was massively popular domestically, particularly among female fans.
Bachdim is married to Jennifer Kurniawan, a Chinese Indonesian model of mixed German descent and sister of Kim Kurniawan. On 8 July 2011, Bachdim and Kurniawan tied the knot in Germany. On 5 February 2012, Bachdim's first child and daughter, Kiyomi Sue Bachdim, was born. Two years later, on 21 March 2014, Bachdim's second child and first son, Kenji Zizou Bachdim, was born.