Kim Jeffre Kurniawan

At 34 years old, Kim Jeffre Kurniawan has this physical status:

Kim Jeffrey Kurniawan, a German-born Indonesian professional footballer who currently plays for Perpetuawan as a midfielder, was born on March 23, 1990.

Personal life

Kim Kurniawan was born in Germany to a German mother and an Indonesian father with Chinese lineage. Kwee Hong Sing, his paternal grandfather, was an Indonesian footballer who competed for Perpetuja and the Indonesia national team in the 1950s.

Kurniawan, a German nationality, voted to leave Indonesia after the PSSI, the national football association, gave him a naturalization route that might lead to him winning a spot on the national team. He officially obtained an Indonesian passport in December 2010 and became the country's second naturalized footballer after Cristian Gonzáles; Gonzáles had done so in November 2010. Jennifer Kurniawan, a Kurn football player, was married to Irfan Bachdim, an Indonesian football player who was born and bred in the Netherlands. Bachdim and Kurniawan, who are both playing for PSS Sleman, arrived in Indonesia in 2010 and became partners in Persema Malang in 2011.

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Early career

When working at a soccer academy in Karlsruhe, Kurniawan, then age 6, the club Karlsruher SC was recruited by a German club Karlsruher SC, who was still competing in the top-flight Bundesliga. He remained there for 12 years, playing in youth games against international clubs such as Inter Milan, FC Valencia, and other German clubs, including Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Schalke 04, and Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Kurniawan sustained a knee injury in his last junior season at 18, ending his hopes of playing high-level professional football in Germany.

Club career

For the better part of a year, his knee injury kept him off the field for the remainder of a year. Kurniawan later joined FC 07 Heidelsheim, which played in the Verbandsliga, the top-six of German football, at the time. He had a fruitful first season, appearing in every game while also scoring two goals. He had intended to prolong his service, but this changed after he was given an invitation to play in Indonesia with the possibility of representing his country's national team.

Kurniawan was sent to Indonesia in 2010 by two other Indonesia-based footballers, Irfan Bachdim and Alessandro Trabucco. In 2010, his career began with an invitation to charity games in Surabaya and Malang, East Java cities. Timo Scheunemann, a German who was coaching top-flight team Persema Malang, contacted Kurniawan and offered him a trial, which the latter applauded. Scheunemann recruited Kurniawan and Bachdim to play in the 2011 season of the breakaway Indonesian Premier League, angering the PSI who later delayed Kurniawan's naturalization process. Kurniawan could not play as a local player until he officially became Indonesian. He was also unable to participate in the Suzuki AFF Cup 2010 due to an injury. Despite the challenges, Kurniawan signed a Persema Malang contract in 2011 and stayed for almost three years.

Despite trials at several clubs, Kurniawan attempted to play in Thailand but did not manage to secure a job due to Persema's financial difficulties in late 2013.

Kurniawan's departure in Thailand prompted them to search for opportunities in Indonesia once more. Kurniawan joined Pelita Bandung Raya, a team that played in Bandung, West Java, in the Indonesia Super League, in December 2013. He spent two seasons with Serbian coach Dejan Antonic before the club was sold in late 2015 due to financial difficulties.

Kurniawan joined Persib Bandung in early 2016 after the top team in Bandung hired Antonic. Kurniawan was one of the first two footballers to play in illegal tournaments in his first season, including the 2016 Indonesia Soccer Championship A, where the team finished fifth and the 2016 Bhayangkara Cup, where the team reached the final.

Kurniawan's second season saw his team finish 13th in the 2017 Liga 1, the first full season of top-flight Indonesian football since FIFA lifted the ban. Unfortunately, injuries dogged his career once more. In the traditionally hostile Persija-Persib match, he broke his fibula at the end of the season after being tackled by a Persija Jakarta player. Kurniawan had to miss the majority of the 2018 Liga 1 for the first time. Kurniawan established a variety of shops in Bandung during the revival, ranging from a clothing store to a barbershop that has gained traction among fans.

Kurniawan's undeterred will recover from injury in late 2018 that culminated in a revival of form in the 2019 Liga 1 season, as well as a variety of goals, and his famous shops, which affectionately refer to him as "Little Kimmy." Fans expected him to leave in Bandung at first. Kurniawan, on the other hand, shocked Persib followers when he decided to move in February 2021.

Kurniawan joined PSS Sleman in early 2021, just before the pre-season Piala Menpora tournament. He wanted to reunite with coach Dejan Antonic and brother-in-law Irfan Bachdim, who both joined the up-and-coming Liga 1 team for the 2020 season, which unfortunately did not due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

International career

Kurniawan returned to Indonesia in 2010 after injuries shattered any expectation of being called by his birth country Germany. Tempted by the prospect of representing his father's country, he turned down the PSSI naturalization bid. Kurniawan was given the call by the Indonesian national under-23 team to compete in the Southeast Asian Games 2011. He worked in several cities, including Hong Kong, but did not make it to the final squad.

He was invited to the official FIFA friendly games against Cameroon and Myanmar in 2015. Kurniawan was brought on and made his debut for the senior team in a 2-1 victory over Sidoarjo on March 30, 2015.

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