Ryan Adeleye facts for kids
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ryan Alexander Hezekiah Adeleye ריאן אלכסנדר חזקיה אדלי |
||
| Date of birth | April 28, 1987 | ||
| Place of birth | Elizabeth, New Jersey, United States | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Team information | |||
|
Current team
|
Atlantic City FC | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2005–2006 | Davidson Wildcats | ||
| 2007–2008 | North Carolina Tar Heels | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2008 | Carolina Dynamo | 5 | (0) |
| 2009 | Newark Ironbound Express | 5 | (0) |
| 2009–2013 | Hapoel Be'er Sheva | 43 | (2) |
| 2013–2014 | Hapoel Ashkelon | 41 | (4) |
| 2015 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 2 | (0) |
| 2015–2016 | Hapoel Jerusalem | 24 | (1) |
| 2016–2017 | Pittsburgh Riverhounds | 12 | (0) |
| 2018– | Atlantic City FC | 0 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of March 9, 2018 | |||
Ryan Alexander Hezekiah Adeleye (Hebrew: ריאן אלכסנדר חזקיה אדלי) is an American-Israeli professional soccer player. He was born on April 28, 1987, in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Ryan plays as a defender for Atlantic City FC in the National Premier Soccer League.
Contents
Ryan Adeleye's Early Life and Soccer Journey
Growing Up and High School Soccer
Ryan Adeleye was born to Manny Adeleye and Lori Herzig. His father is from Nigeria and became Jewish. His mother is Jewish and from Connecticut. Ryan grew up in a family with a mix of cultures.
He went to high school at Newark Academy. There, he was a star soccer player. He earned many awards, including all-state and all-conference honors. This showed he was one of the best players in his area.
College Soccer Career
After high school, Ryan went to Davidson College from 2005 to 2006. He then moved to the University of North Carolina. There, he joined the North Carolina Tar Heels men's soccer team.
In 2007, Ryan scored an important goal against Duke. This helped him earn the "ACC player of the week" award. After college, he hoped to join a professional team through the 2009 MLS SuperDraft, but he was not chosen.
Playing in the Maccabiah Games
In the summer of 2009, Ryan was picked for the US men's soccer team. They went to Israel for the 2009 Maccabiah Games. This is a big international sports event for Jewish athletes.
Ryan Adeleye's Professional Career
Starting in Israel
While playing for the US Maccabiah team, Ryan played in a friendly match. It was against an Israeli professional team called Hapoel Be'er Sheva. Ryan played so well that the team's manager, Guy Azouri, was impressed.
After the Maccabiah Games, Ryan and his teammate Daniel Schultz were invited to try out for Hapoel Be'er Sheva. Ryan was signed to the team. Because he was from another country, he was considered a "foreigner" player. The team waited for him to become an Israeli citizen through the Law of Return. This law allows Jewish people to become citizens of Israel.
First Professional Games
Ryan made his first professional appearance for Hapoel Be'er Sheva on August 18, 2009. It was a Toto Cup match against Hapoel Petah Tikva. His team lost that game 1–0.
In October 2009, something scary happened during a training session. Ryan collapsed, which worried everyone. But he was able to return to training a week later after doctors said it was okay. This event reminded the team of a former player, Chaswe Nsofwa, who had sadly passed away during a training match.
About a month later, on December 5, 2009, Ryan played his first league game. He came into the game in the 86th minute. His team won that match 2–0 against Hapoel Petah Tikva.
Playing for Different Clubs
Ryan continued to play for Hapoel Be'er Sheva until 2013. He then moved to Hapoel Ashkelon, where he played until 2014. In 2015, he played briefly for the Fort Lauderdale Strikers in the United States.
Later in 2015, he returned to Israel to play for Hapoel Jerusalem. From 2016 to 2017, he played for the Pittsburgh Riverhounds in the US. Since 2018, Ryan has been playing for Atlantic City FC.
See also
- List of select Jewish football (association; soccer) players
