Irfan Bachdim

Early life

Bachdim was born in Amsterdam, Netherlands to a former Indonesian footballer of Arab-Indonesian descent, Noval Bachdim and Dutch mother, Hester van Dijk.

Early career

He started his career in Ajax along with Mitchell Donald, Jeffrey Sarpong, Christian Supusepa and Ryan Babel, but moved to Hoofdklasse side SV Argon after 3 years. He became the top scorer in the league, despite his position as a midfielder.

FC Utrecht

FC Utrecht scouted him and brought him to FC Utrecht. He was the first choice for the FC Utrecht junior team and sometimes played for the reserve team. He made his debut for FC Utrecht in Eredivisie on 17 February 2008, playing 90 minutes against VVV-Venlo.

When the Indonesia U-23 had a training camp in the Netherlands, Irfan played a number times for the team, but he was injured a week before going to the 2006 Asian Games.

HFC Haarlem

On July 2009 he signed for HFC Haarlem in a free transfer deal. On March 2010 he had trials for Persib Bandung and Persija Jakarta but neither club signed him.

Persema Malang

Bachdim desire to play in Indonesia was finally realized when he joined the club Persema Malang with Timo Scheunemann as his coach at that time. The contract was signed on 9 August 2010. His performance in his first game for the Indonesia national team made him well known among the Indonesian public.

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.

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.

International goals

Club honours

Country honours

Personal life

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. In July 8, 2011, Bachdim and Kurniawan tied the knot in Germany. In February 5, 2012, Bachdim's first child and daughter, Kiyomi Sue Bachdim, was born. Two years later, in March 21, 2014, Bachdim's second child and first son, Kenji Zizou Bachdim, was born.