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Yossi Benayoun
Personal information
Benayoun playing for Maccabi Haifa in 2015
Date of birth	(1980-05-05) 5 May 1980 (age 45)
Place of birth	Dimona, Israel
Height	1.73 m
Playing position	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)
National team
1995	Israel U16	30	(6)
1996–1997	Israel U18	8	(12)
1998–2001	Israel U21	11	(5)
1998–2017	Israel	102	(24)
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Yossi Shai Benayoun (Hebrew: יוסי שי בניון; born 5 May 1980) is a former professional footballer from Israel. He played as a midfielder and spent most of his career in Israel and England. He was also the captain of the Israel national team.

Yossi was born in Dimona, Israel. People sometimes called him "The Diamond from Dimona." As of 2023, he works as the sporting director for the Israel national team.

Benayoun played for teams like Hapoel Be'er Sheva and Maccabi Haifa in Israel. Then, he moved to Racing de Santander in Spain. After three years, he joined the Premier League in England, playing for West Ham United and later Liverpool.

In 2010, he signed with Chelsea. He didn't play much there and was loaned to Arsenal and back to West Ham. However, he still won the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League with Chelsea. After that, he played for Queens Park Rangers before returning to Maccabi Haifa.

Yossi Benayoun played for the Israeli national team for 20 years, from 1998 to 2018. He is Israel's most capped player ever, with 102 games. He is also their joint third top scorer, with 24 international goals.

Currently, Benayoun is the sporting director for Beitar Jerusalem, which was his last club as a player.

Early Life and Youth Career

Yossi Benayoun was born in Dimona, Israel. His family has Sephardic and Moroccan Jewish roots. His father, Dudu Benayoun, was also a footballer for Hapoel Dimona.

Discovering a Talent

Yossi's football talent was noticed when he was just nine years old. By age 11, people called him a genius. When he was 13, his face appeared on the covers of Israeli magazines. He started playing with Hapoel Be'er Sheva. To get to practice, he and his father would hitchhike 60 kilometers (about 37 miles) roundtrip.

When he was 15, the famous Dutch club Ajax invited Yossi and his family to the Netherlands. By his 16th birthday, he was the top scorer and best player for the Ajax youth team. Ajax offered him a four-year professional contract. However, Yossi and his family found it hard to adjust to Amsterdam. They returned to Israel after only eight months.

Club Career Highlights

Hapoel Be'er Sheva: A Tough Start

At 16, Yossi joined the senior team of Hapoel Be'er Sheva for the 1997–98 Liga Leumit season. Sadly, his team was relegated to Israel's second division. In the very last game, against Maccabi Haifa, Yossi had a penalty kick in the 90th minute. The goalkeeper saved it, but Yossi scored the rebound. His team won, and he celebrated, thinking they had avoided relegation. But then he learned their rival had also won. This meant his team was still relegated, and Yossi burst into tears. He finished that season with 15 goals in 25 games.

Maccabi Haifa: Winning Championships

After that season, Benayoun moved to Maccabi Haifa. In 1998, Haifa reached the quarterfinals of the Cup Winners' Cup. Yossi scored important goals against Paris Saint-Germain and SV Ried.

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 named the Most Valuable Player of the season, scoring 13 goals. The next season, Yossi helped Maccabi Haifa win another championship. He played 130 games for Haifa, scoring 55 goals.

Racing de Santander: Moving to Spain

In 2002, Benayoun moved to Racing de Santander in Spain's top league, La Liga. He played three seasons there, scoring 20 goals in 101 games. One memorable moment was a hat-trick against Deportivo La Coruña in a 4–1 away win.

Yossi turned down a move to Russia, preferring to play in England or stay in Spain. Many English clubs became interested in him.

West Ham United: Premier League Debut

West Ham United, a newly promoted team in the Premier League, signed Benayoun in July 2005. He signed a four-year contract. He made his Premier League debut on 13 August 2005. His first goal for West Ham came on 12 September 2005 against Aston Villa.

In May 2006, Benayoun played in the 2006 FA Cup Final against Liverpool. West Ham lost the game on penalties after a 3–3 draw. He played 63 league games for West Ham, scoring 8 goals.

Liverpool: European Nights and Hat-Tricks

Benayoun warming up for Liverpool in 2009

Benayoun joined Liverpool in July 2007. He was given the number 11 shirt. He scored his first goal for Liverpool in September 2007 against Reading in the League Cup.

On 7 November 2007, in a UEFA Champions League game against Beşiktaş, Benayoun scored a hat-trick. Liverpool won that game 8–0. He also scored a hat-trick in the FA Cup against a non-league team, Havant & Waterlooville. In his first season, he played 48 games and scored 11 goals.

In February 2009, Benayoun scored an important header against Real Madrid in the Champions League. This gave Liverpool a 1–0 win at their famous stadium, the Santiago Bernabéu. On 21 April 2009, he scored two goals in a thrilling 4–4 draw against Arsenal.

On 6 July 2009, he signed a new contract with Liverpool until 2013. On 12 September 2009, he scored his first Premier League hat-trick for Liverpool in a 4–0 win against Burnley. He was the first player to score hat-tricks in the Premier League, Champions League, and FA Cup. Yossi played 92 league games for Liverpool, scoring 18 goals.

Chelsea: A Brief Spell

Benayoun playing for Chelsea in 2010

Benayoun signed for Chelsea on 2 July 2010. He agreed to a three-year deal. He made his first competitive appearance on 8 August in a match against Manchester United. On 21 August, he scored his first league goal for Chelsea in a 6–0 win against Wigan Athletic.

In September, Yossi suffered a serious Achilles injury. He returned to play in April 2011. In August 2011, Benayoun gave his number 10 shirt to new teammate Juan Mata. He said, "For me it's just a number, not my lucky 15."

Arsenal (loan): A New Challenge

Benayoun warming up for Arsenal in 2011

On 31 August 2011, Benayoun joined Arsenal on a one-year loan. He made his debut on 10 September 2011. He scored his first goal for Arsenal in a League Cup match against Shrewsbury Town.

Yossi also scored his first Champions League goal for Arsenal against Olympiacos. He captained Arsenal in a League Cup game against Manchester City. He played 19 league games for Arsenal, scoring four goals.

West Ham United (loan): A Quick Return

On 31 August 2012, Benayoun returned to West Ham United on loan. He played only six games before an injury ended his loan spell early. He returned to Chelsea in December 2012.

Queens Park Rangers: Back in England

Benayoun joined Queens Park Rangers in December 2013. He scored his first goal for the club on 22 March 2014 against Middlesbrough. He scored again three days later against Wigan Athletic. He played 16 games for QPR, scoring 3 goals.

Return to Maccabi Haifa: Captain and Cup Winner

On 6 June 2014, Benayoun officially returned to Maccabi Haifa. He was made the team's captain. In his two seasons, Maccabi Haifa won the Israel State Cup in 2016, their first in 18 years. He scored 11 goals in 55 games.

Maccabi Tel Aviv and Beitar Jerusalem

Benayoun played one season for Maccabi Tel Aviv. He then signed for Beitar Jerusalem in 2017. He scored three league goals before leaving for Maccabi Petah Tikva. After a short time there, 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

Benayoun was part of the Israel U16 team that finished third in the 1996 UEFA European Under-16 Championship.

He made his first game for the senior Israel national team on 18 November 1998 against Portugal. Benayoun scored his first international hat-trick against San Marino on 8 September 1999. Israel won that game 8–0.

During the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, Benayoun became a key player for Israel. He scored important goals against Cyprus and twice against Switzerland. His strong performances helped Israel try to qualify for the World Cup.

Before the UEFA Euro 2008 qualifiers, Benayoun was made captain of the Israeli national team. On 2 September 2010, he scored his second international hat-trick against Malta in a 3–1 win. Yossi Benayoun is Israel's most capped player ever with 102 games. He is also their joint third top scorer with 24 international goals.

Career Statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club	Season	League		National cup		League cup		Continental		Other		Total
Club	Season	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Hapoel Be'er Sheva	1997–98	25	15	0	0	0	0	0	0	–		25	15
Maccabi Haifa	1998–99	29	16	3	2	3	2	7	2	–		42	22
	1999–2000	36	19	4	3	5	2	0	0	–		45	24
	2000–01	37	13	3	2	2	0	4	0	–		46	15
	2001–02	28	7	4	1	2	1	0	0	–		34	9
	Total	130	55	14	8	12	5	11	2	0	0	167	70
Racing de Santander	2002–03	31	4	0	0	–		–		–		31	4
	2003–04	35	7	2	0	–		1	0	–		38	7
	2004–05	35	9	0	0	–		0	0	–		35	9
	Total	101	20	2	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	104	20
West Ham United	2005–06	34	5	6	0	0	0	–		–		40	5
	2006–07	29	3	1	0	0	0	2	0	–		32	3
	Total	63	8	7	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	72	8
Liverpool	2007–08	30	4	3	3	3	1	11	3	–		47	11
	2008–09	32	8	1	0	0	0	9	1	–		42	9
	2009–10	30	6	2	0	1	0	12	3	–		45	9
	Total	92	18	6	3	4	1	32	7	0	0	134	29
Chelsea	2010–11	7	1	0	0	1	0	1	0	1	0	10	1
	2011–12	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	2012–13	6	0	2	0	0	0	5	0	0	0	13	0
	Total	14	1	2	0	1	0	6	0	1	0	24	1
Arsenal (loan)	2011–12	19!!4	0	0	3	1	3	1	0	0	25	6
West Ham United (loan)	2012–13	6	0	–		–		–		–		6	0
Queens Park Rangers	2013–14	16!!3	1	0	0	0	–		–		17	3
Maccabi Haifa	2014–15	26	5	4	0	1	0	0	0	–		31	5
	2015–16	29	6	5	1	5	2	0	0	–		39	9
	Total	55	11	9	1	6	2	0	0	0	0	70	14
Maccabi Tel Aviv	2016–17	27	1	4	1	5	1	11	2	–		47	5
Beitar Jerusalem	2017–18	14	3	0	0	3	1	4	1	–		21	5
Maccabi Petah Tikva	2017–18	10	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	–		10	4
	2018–19	12	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	–		12	3
	Total	22	7	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	22	7
Beitar Jerusalem	2018–19	15	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	–		15	0
Career total		599	146	45	13	34	11	70	13	1	0	749	183

International Goals

Scores and results list Israel's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Benayoun goal.

List of international goals scored by Yossi Benayoun
No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	5 September 1999	Tsirion Stadium, Limassol, Cyprus	Cyprus	2–2	2–3	UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
2	8 September 1999	Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan, Israel	San Marino	1–0	8–0	UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
3				4–0
4				6–0
5	15 November 2000	Estadio Primeiro de Maio, Braga, Portugal	Portugal	1–2	1–2	Friendly
6	5 September 2002	Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg	Luxembourg	5–0	5–0	Friendly
7	8 September 2004	Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan, Israel	Cyprus	1–1	2–1	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
8	9 October 2004	Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan, Israel	Switzerland	1–0	2–2	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
9	9 October 2004	Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan, Israel	Switzerland	2–2	2–2	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
10	9 February 2005	Teddy Kollek Stadium, Jerusalem, Israel	Croatia	2–2	3–3	Friendly
11	8 October 2005	Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan, Israel	Faroe Islands	1–0	2–1	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
12	15 August 2006	Arena Petrol, Celje, Slovenia	Slovenia	1–0	1–1	Friendly
13	6 September 2006	Stadion de Goffert, Nijmegen, Netherlands	Andorra	1–0	4–1	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
14	15 November 2006	Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan, Israel	Croatia	2–3	3–4	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
15	26 March 2008	Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan, Israel	Chile	1–0	1–0	Friendly
16	6 September 2008	Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan, Israel	Switzerland	1–2	2–2	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
17	11 October 2008	Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg	Luxembourg	1–0	3–1	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
18	15 October 2008	Skonto Stadium, Riga, Latvia	Latvia	1–0	1–1	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
19	11 February 2009	Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan, Israel	Hungary	1–0	1–0	Friendly
20	3 March 2010	Dan Păltinişanu, Timișoara, Romania	Romania	1–0	2–0	Friendly
21	2 September 2010	Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan, Israel	Malta	1–0	3–1	UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
22				2–1
23				3–1
24	4 June 2011	Skonto Stadium, Riga, Latvia	Latvia	1–0	2–1	UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying