Jakarta, CNN Indonesia —
Singapore striker, Ikhsan Fandi, who found the net Indonesian National team in the first leg of the semifinals AFF Cup 2020 He has Indonesian blood, to be precise, from Pacitan, East Java.
Ikhsan is the son of Singaporean football legend, Fandi Ahmad, who entered the ranks of the Lion’s elite athletes thanks to his work on the gridiron in the 1980s to 1990s.
Indonesian blood flows in this family from Ikhsan’s grandfather or Fandi’s father. Fandi’s father is Ahmad Wartam, a goalkeeper who played for the Singapore national team in the 1960s. Ahmad’s father and mother are Pacitan people.
Indonesian blood from Pacitan is also mentioned as one of the reasons that made Fandi choose a career in the Indonesian football league instead of accepting the offer of Ajax Amsterdam.
Ikhsan is one of Fandi’s three sons who continued his footsteps as a footballer. Besides Ikhsan, his brother Irfan and his younger brother Ilhan are also registered in the Singapore national team for the AFF Cup this time.
In contrast to his brother who plays as a defender, and his younger brother who can occupy the position of midfielder or attacker, Ikhsan is a striker.
Since his teens, Ikhsan has been educated to be a soccer athlete by entering the National Football Academy and having the opportunity to try out playing in Spain and Chile.
At the senior level, Ikhsan’s career began at the Home United club in 2016. The military service program in Singapore made Ikhsan not appear much at Home United.
A year later, Ikhsan appeared in the Young Lions team, which is a collection of Singapore U-23 players. Having received offers to appear in Chile and England, Ikhsan then continued his career at Raufoss club in Norway in 2018.
Ikhsan has regained the trust of foreign teams, to be exact, FK Jerv in the 2020 season. Togetherness with the Norwegian team ended and now Ikhsan has joined a Thai club, BG Pathum United.
In the Singapore national team, Ikhsan has always been an option since the junior level. In the senior team, Ikhsan has already packed 24 caps and 11 goals.
Ikhsan has also appeared twice against Indonesia, which is the country of origin of his great-grandparents, to be precise in the 2018 AFF Cup and 2020 AFF Cup. Ikhsan also scored one goal against his ancestor’s goal.
(nva/jal)
– .
