Yossi Benayoun facts for kids
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Benayoun playing for Maccabi Haifa in 2015
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Yossi Shai Benayoun | ||
| Date of birth | 5 May 1980 | ||
| Place of birth | Dimona, Israel | ||
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1989–1992 | Hapoel Dimona | ||
| 1992–1995 | Hapoel Be'er Sheva | ||
| 1995–1996 | Ajax | ||
| 1996–1997 | Hapoel Be'er Sheva | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1997–1998 | Hapoel Be'er Sheva | 25 | (15) |
| 1998–2002 | Maccabi Haifa | 130 | (55) |
| 2002–2005 | Racing Santander | 101 | (20) |
| 2005–2007 | West Ham United | 63 | (8) |
| 2007–2010 | Liverpool | 92 | (18) |
| 2010–2013 | Chelsea | 14 | (1) |
| 2011–2012 | → Arsenal (loan) | 19 | (4) |
| 2012 | → West Ham United (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| 2013–2014 | Queens Park Rangers | 16 | (3) |
| 2014–2016 | Maccabi Haifa | 55 | (11) |
| 2016–2017 | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 27 | (1) |
| 2017–2018 | Beitar Jerusalem | 14 | (3) |
| 2018–2019 | Maccabi Petah Tikva | 22 | (7) |
| 2019 | Beitar Jerusalem | 15 | (0) |
| Total | 599 | (146) | |
| International career | |||
| 1995 | Israel U16 | 30 | (6) |
| 1996–1997 | Israel U18 | 8 | (12) |
| 1998–2001 | Israel U21 | 11 | (5) |
| 1998–2017 | Israel | 102 | (24) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Yossi Shai Benayoun (born May 5, 1980) is a former professional footballer from Israel. He played as a midfielder for many years. Yossi spent most of his career playing in Israel and England. He also had the honor of being the captain of the Israel national team.
Born in Dimona, Israel, Yossi is sometimes called "The Diamond from Dimona" in his home country. As of 2023, he has been working as the sporting director for the Israel national team. He also holds the position of sporting director for Beitar Jerusalem, which was the last club he played for.
Benayoun played for Hapoel Be'er Sheva and Maccabi Haifa in Israel. Later, he moved to Racing de Santander in Spain. After three years, he joined the Premier League in England, playing for West Ham United and then Liverpool. In 2010, he signed with Chelsea. While at Chelsea, he was loaned to Arsenal and back to West Ham. He won the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League with Chelsea. After leaving Chelsea, he played for Queens Park Rangers before returning to Maccabi Haifa.
Yossi Benayoun played for the Israeli national team for twenty years, from 1998 to 2018. He is Israel's most capped player ever, with 102 appearances. He is also tied for their third highest goal scorer, with 24 international goals.
Contents
- Early Life and Youth Career
- Club Career Highlights
- International Career
- Honours
- Images for kids
- See also
Early Life and Youth Career
Yossi Benayoun was born in Dimona, Israel. His family has Sephardic Moroccan Jewish roots. His father, Dudu Benayoun, was also a footballer who played for Hapoel Dimona.
Discovering a Talent
Yossi's amazing football talent was noticed when he was just nine years old. By the age of 11, people called him a genius. When he was 13, his face even appeared on the covers of Israeli magazines! Benayoun started playing with Hapoel Be'er Sheva. To get to practice, he and his father would hitchhike a 60-kilometer round trip.
Time at Ajax Academy
When Yossi was 15, the famous Dutch club Ajax invited him and his family to the Netherlands. By his 16th birthday, he was the top scorer and best player on the Ajax youth team. Ajax offered him a four-year professional contract. However, Yossi and his family found it hard to get used to life in Amsterdam. They decided to return to Israel after eight months.
Club Career Highlights
Starting in Israel: Hapoel Be'er Sheva
At 16, Yossi joined the senior team of Hapoel Be'er Sheva for the 1997–98 Liga Leumit season. Even though he scored 15 goals in 25 games, his team was unfortunately relegated to Israel's second division. In the very last game of the season, he scored a goal that he thought would save his team. But when he found out they were still relegated, he cried.
Success with Maccabi Haifa
After that season, Benayoun moved to Maccabi Haifa. In 1998, he helped Haifa reach the quarterfinals of the Cup Winners' Cup. He scored important goals against teams like Paris Saint-Germain.
In the 1999–2000 season, Yossi scored 19 goals in 38 matches. In the 2000–01 season, he led Haifa to win their first championship in seven years. He was also chosen as the Most Valuable Player of the season. The next season, he helped Maccabi Haifa win another championship. He played 130 games for Haifa, scoring 55 goals in total.
Moving to Spain: Racing de Santander
In 2002, Benayoun moved to Racing de Santander in Spain's top league, La Liga. He played 101 games for Racing and scored 21 goals. One of his most memorable moments was scoring a hat-trick (three goals in one game) against Deportivo La Coruña in a 4–1 away win.
Playing in England: West Ham United
In July 2005, Yossi joined Premier League team West Ham United. He signed a four-year contract. He made his debut on August 13, 2005, and scored his first goal for the club on September 12, 2005. In May 2006, Benayoun played in the 2006 FA Cup Final against Liverpool. West Ham lost the match on penalties after a 3–3 draw. He played 63 games for West Ham, scoring 8 goals.
Time at Liverpool
Yossi Benayoun joined Liverpool in July 2007. He was given the number 11 shirt. He scored his first goal for Liverpool in September 2007 in a League Cup match. On November 7, 2007, he scored a hat-trick in a UEFA Champions League game against Beşiktaş, which Liverpool won 8–0. He scored another hat-trick in the FA Cup against a non-league team called Havant & Waterlooville.
In February 2009, Benayoun scored a late goal against Real Madrid in the Champions League, giving Liverpool a 1–0 win. He also scored dramatic late winners against Fulham and Arsenal. He became a regular starter for Liverpool. In September 2009, he scored his first Premier League hat-trick for Liverpool in a 4–0 win against Burnley. He played 92 games for Liverpool, scoring 18 goals.
Joining Chelsea
Benayoun signed with Chelsea on July 2, 2010. He made his first league goal for Chelsea in a 6–0 win against Wigan Athletic. Unfortunately, he suffered a serious Achilles injury in September 2010, which kept him out for a while. He later recovered and returned to play. He played 14 games for Chelsea, scoring 1 goal.
Loan to Arsenal
In August 2011, Benayoun joined Arsenal on a one-year loan. He scored his first goal for Arsenal in a League Cup match. He also scored his first Premier League goal for Arsenal against Aston Villa. Yossi even captained Arsenal in a League Cup game against Manchester City. He played 19 league games for Arsenal, scoring 4 goals.
Loan to West Ham United
In August 2012, Benayoun returned to West Ham United on loan for the 2012–13 season. He played only six games before an injury ended his loan spell early.
Queens Park Rangers
Benayoun joined Queens Park Rangers in December 2013. He scored his first goal for the club in March 2014 against Middlesbrough. He played 16 games and scored 3 goals for QPR.
Return to Maccabi Haifa
On June 6, 2014, Yossi officially returned to Maccabi Haifa. He was made the team's captain. During his two seasons, Maccabi Haifa won the Israel State Cup after 18 years. He scored 11 goals in 55 games during this period.
Maccabi Tel Aviv and Beitar Jerusalem
After leaving Maccabi Haifa, Benayoun played one season for Maccabi Tel Aviv. In 2017, he signed with Beitar Jerusalem. He started well, scoring three league goals. After a short time with Maccabi Petah Tikva, he returned to Beitar Jerusalem in 2019.
Retirement from Football
In April 2019, Yossi Benayoun announced that he was retiring from playing professional football.
International Career
Yossi Benayoun was part of the Israel Under-16 team that finished third in the 1996 UEFA European Under-16 Championship.
He made his first appearance for the senior Israel national team in November 1998. He scored his first international hat-trick in a UEFA Euro 2000 qualifier against San Marino in September 1999.
During the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, Benayoun became a key player for Israel. He scored important goals against Cyprus and Switzerland. His strong performances helped Israel try to qualify for the World Cup.
Before the UEFA Euro 2008 qualifiers, Yossi was given the captaincy of the Israeli national team. In September 2010, he scored his second international hat-trick against Malta. Benayoun is Israel's most capped player of all time, with 102 appearances. He is also tied for the third highest goal scorer for his country, with 24 international goals.
Honours
Maccabi Haifa
- Israeli Premier League: 2000–01, 2001–02
- Israel State Cup: 2015–16
West Ham United
- FA Cup runner-up: 2005–06
Chelsea
- UEFA Europa League: 2012–13
Individual
- Israeli Footballer of the Year: 2000–01
Images for kids
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Benayoun playing for Maccabi Haifa in 2015
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Benayoun warming up for Liverpool in 2009
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Benayoun playing for Chelsea in 2010
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Benayoun warming up for Arsenal in 2011
See also
In Spanish: Yossi Benayoun para niños
