Omer Golan
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | October 4, 1982 | ||
| Place of birth | Holon, Israel | ||
| Height | 1.82 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Striker \ centre back | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Maccabi Petah Tikva | ||
| Number | 15 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Maccabi Petah Tikva | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2000-2007 | Maccabi Petah Tikva | 161 | (49) |
| 2008-2010 | K.S.C. Lokeren | 60 | (13) |
| 2010- | Maccabi Petah Tikva | 41 | (10) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2002-2003 | Israel U21 | 5 | (2) |
| 2004- | Israel | 37 | (8) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17 July 2009. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Omer Golan (Hebrew: עומר גולן; born 4 October 1982) is an Israeli footballer. He plays as a striker for his home club Maccabi Petah Tikva and for the Israeli national football team.
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[edit] Club career
[edit] Maccabi Petah Tikva
Golan played in the youth ranks of Maccabi Petah Tikva, before being transferred to the first team in 2000. In the 2003–04 Israeli Premier League, Golan was the third equal highest goalscorer, netting 13 times. In the 2005–06 Israeli Premier League, Golan was the fifth equal highest goalscorer, with 11 strikes.
Golan was a member of the winning Toto Cup side of 2003-04, who were victorious against Maccabi Haifa 3-0 in the final. Golan scored goals in the semi-finals and the final of the tournament. He scored the final goal of the semi-final that finished in a 3-1 win against Maccabi Netanya, and the last goal of the final against Maccabi Haifa.
Golan also scored a hat-trick in the 2005–06 UEFA Cup first round qualifying against Macedonian side FK Bashkimi in an 11-0 aggregate victory for the Israeli side. Golan scored a second hat-trick in the next phase of qualification, the first round, against Serbian side FK Partizan to ensure a 5-4 aggregate progression to the group stages of the tournament. However, Maccabi was outlcassed in the group stages, that included RCD Espanyol, U.S. Città di Palermo, FC Lokomotiv Moscow and Brøndby IF. Losing all of its matches, the Israeli club only managed one goal in four matches. This goal was scored by Golan in a 2-1 loss to Palermo.
In 161 appearances for the club, Golan scored 49 times.
[edit] Lokeren
In
[edit] Maccabi Petah Tikva
After an unsuccessful spell at Lokeren, Golan returned to Maccabi Petah Tikva.
[edit] International career
Golan made his international debut for the Israel national football team when he came on as a 74th minute substitute for Eyal Berkovich in a friendly against the Moldova national football team on 28 April 2004. His first international goal came on 9 February 2004 against the Croatia national football team, when he scored the final goal to tie the game at 3-3.
On 17 November 2007, Omer Golan scored the winning goal for Israel against Russia, handing England a lifeline in their qualification group for Euro 2008, meaning England could still qualify; if Russia had won, qualification for England would be near impossible. Golan was, for a short period, proclaimed a hero by English football fans;[1] but England lost the match to Croatia meaning they did not qualify for Euro 2008.
According to Golan, before he scored against Russia, many thought that he was on the national team because of his strong friendship with Avi Luzon, then IFA chief and former owner of Maccabi Petah Tikva.[2]
[edit] Honours
- Toto Cup Winner (1):
- 2003-04
[edit] References
- ^ "England gifted lifeline by Israel". BBC Sport. 17 November 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/7097938.stm. Retrieved 17 November 2007.
- ^ Boker, Moshe (2008-10-10). ""אני כבר לא השחקן של לוזון"" (in Hebrew). Walla!. http://sports.walla.co.il/?w=/100/1358667. Retrieved 11 April 2009.
