Alon Mizrahi

Alon Mizrahi

Personal information
Date of birth	November 22, 1971 (1971-11-22)
Place of birth	Tel Aviv, Israel
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position	Striker
Youth career
198x-1989	Bnei Yehuda
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1988-1990	Bnei Yehuda	1	(0)
1990-1991	Hapoel Tel Aviv	18	(4)
1991-1993	Bnei Yehuda	65	(46)
1993-1994	Maccabi Haifa	38	(28)
1994	Maccabi Tel Aviv	10	(1)
1995	Ironi Ashdod	14	(9)
1995-1996	Maccabi Haifa	11	(3)
1996-1997	Bnei Yehuda	44	(21)
1997-1999	Maccabi Haifa	42	(32)
1999-2000	OGC Nice	19	(4)
2000-2001	Beitar Jerusalem	50	(21)
2001-2003	Hapoel Kfar Saba	50	(22)
2003-2004	Maccabi Ah"i Nazareth	7	(1)
2004	Hapoel Be'er Sheva	27	(12)
2004	Bnei Yehuda	9	(0)
2005	Hapoel Be'er Sheva	18	(4)
National team
1992-2001	Israel	37	(16)
2007	Israel (beach soccer)	1	(1)
Teams managed
2008-present	Hapoel Yehud
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Alon Mizrahi (born November 22, 1971) is an Israeli former football player in a striker position. He is the most prolific scorer in Israeli football history. Today he acts as the manager of Hapoel Yehud in Liga Gimel.

His nickname is The Airplane, referring to the movement he used to do after scoring a goal. His son, Adam, is now a student at the London School of Economics, and is equally known for his excellent form in front of goal.

Records

• Mizrahi was the top scorer of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1993–94 and the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1998–99.
• As of August, 2004, Alon Mizrahi scored 207 goals in the Israeli premier division. Mizrahi broke the scoring record of the Israeli legendary striker Oded Machnes and became the greatest goal-scorer in Israeli history.
• Mizrahi has maintained an impressive strike rate, of a goal in every two games, throughout his career.
• Mizrahi won four time the "Goal King" title, awarded to the player who scores the most in the premier league season. He won the title twice with Bnei-Yeuda and twice with Maccabi Haifa.
• Mizrahi won 2 championships (1 with Bnei-Yehuda, 1 with Maccabi Haifa), 2 cups (with Maccabi Haifa) and participated twice in the Cup Winners' Cup (with Maccabi Haifa).
• Mizrahi scored 28 goals in 1993-1994 for Maccabi Haifa. This is an Israeli record (shared) of goals per season.
• Mizrahi has played 37 matches for the Israeli national soccer team and scored 16 goals.
• Mizrahi scored 15 goals in European club competitions.

Quotes

Mizrahi's quoted statements in the press and his overexertion of clichés have made him a subject for mockery, as it led him to become somewhat of a symbol for stupidity in the eyes of many.

Some selected quotes:

• "Ie field"
• "I want to play for a team in either Europe or Spain"
• "Every two games I have an average of one goal per game"
• "A.S. Roma has an excellent chance to win the Champions League, if they will keep up the current shape of last season"
• "The game was played smart. There was even a strategy!"
• "To stay in the league we need to defeat all the teams, and especially the ones we are going to play against."
• "I'm not hanging my boots, I'm just retiring."
• "It amazes me that all the teams in the last 16 are European." (about Euro 2004)
• "I have nothing to prove and I proved it today on the field."
• "We have to give the minimal maximum."

As a result, Mizrahi was the main "star" in a series of books titled "HuTsa Me'HeKshero" (Hebrew: הוצא מהקשרו‎, Taken Out of Context), which are collections of such quotes from Israeli sports. The books have become icons of Israeli sports pop culture, further cementing Mizrahi's status of mockery.

Mizrahi is aware that he is joked about because of the things he says, remarking:

• "In the aftermath, people will remember how much I scored, and not what I have said."

The mockery concerning Mizrahi's quotes is similar to the mockery and book concerning Francesco Totti in Italy.

International goals

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	24 March 1993	Kiryat Eliezer Stadium, Haifa, Israel	Russia	1–2	2–2	friendly
2.	24 March 1993	Kiryat Eliezer Stadium, Haifa, Israel	Russia	2–2	2–2	friendly
3.	5 August 1997	Dynama Stadium, Minsk, Belarus	Belarus	3–1	3–1	friendly
4.	19 February 1998	Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan, Israel	Turkey	3–0	4–0	friendly
5.	19 February 1998	Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan, Israel	Turkey	4–0	4–0	friendly
6.	18 March 1998	Stadionul Steaua, Steaua, Romania	Romania	1–0	1–0	friendly
7.	17 May 1998	Skonto Stadium, Riga, Latvia	Latvia	5–1	5-1	friendly
8.	10 October 1998	Stadio Olimpico, Serravalle, San Marino	San Marino	3–0	5–0	UEFA EURO 2000 Qualifying
9.	18 January 1999	Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan, Israel	Estonia	5–0	7–0	friendly
10.	23 March 1999	Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan, Israel	Cyprus	2–0	3–0	UEFA EURO 2000 Qualifying
11.	23 March 1999	Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan, Israel	Cyprus	3–0	3–0	UEFA EURO 2000 Qualifying
12.	6 June 1999	Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan, Israel	Austria	4–0	5–0	UEFA EURO 2000 Qualifying
13.	8 September 1999	Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan, Israel	San Marino	2–0	8–0	UEFA EURO 2000 Qualifying
14.	17 January 2001	Municipal Stadium, Beit She'an, Israel	Uzbekistan	2–0	2–0	friendly
15.	24 April 2001	Mikheil Meskhi Stadium, Tbilisi, Georgia	Georgia	0–1	3–2	friendly
16.	24 April 2001	Mikheil Meskhi Stadium, Tbilisi, Georgia	Georgia	3–2	3–2	friendly