Kenny Saief
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Kenneth Hasan Saief | ||
Date of birth | December 17, 1993 | ||
Place of birth | Panama City, Florida, United States[1] | ||
Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)[2] | ||
Position(s) | Left Midfielder | ||
Team information | |||
Current team |
Lechia Gdańsk (on loan from Anderlecht) | ||
Number | 35 | ||
Youth career | |||
2005–2006 | Maccabi Haifa | ||
2006–2008 | Hapoel Haifa | ||
2008 | Maccabi Netanya | ||
2008–2010 | Beitar Nes Tubruk | ||
2010–2011 | TSV 1860 München | ||
2011 | Bnei Sakhnin | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2010–2011 | Bnei Sakhnin | 6 | (1) |
2011–2012 | Hapoel Haifa | 3 | (0) |
2012–2013 | Ironi Kiryat Shmona | 2 | (0) |
2013–2014 | Ironi Nir Ramat HaSharon | 28 | (9) |
2014–2018 | Gent | 81 | (13) |
2018 | → Anderlecht (loan) | 17 | (1) |
2018– | Anderlecht | 12 | (0) |
2019 | → FC Cincinnati (loan) | 9 | (1) |
2020– | → Lechia Gdańsk (loan) | 9 | (1) |
International career‡ | |||
2008–2009 | Israel U16 | 9 | (1) |
2011 | Israel U18 | 8 | (0) |
2011 | Israel U19 | 2 | (2) |
2013–2015 | Israel U21 | 2 | (0) |
2016 | Israel | 2 | (0) |
2017– | United States | 4 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22 June 2020 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of November 15, 2018 |
Kenneth "Kenny" Hasan Saief (Arabic: حسن كينيث "كيني" سيف, Hebrew: קנת' חסן "קני" סייף, born December 17, 1993) is an Israeli-American soccer player of Druze descent who plays for Polish club Lechia Gdańsk on loan from Anderlecht, and the United States national team.
Early life
Saief was born in Panama City, Florida, U.S., to Druze-Israeli parents and moved to Israel at the age of three.[3]
Club career
Saief began his professional career with Bnei Sakhnin in 2011, before he was transferred to Hapoel Haifa one season later. The next year, he moved to Hapoel Ironi Kiryat Shmona and reached the final of the Israel State Cup. Saief made only two appearances however, which resulted in a transfer to Ironi Nir Ramat HaSharon. There he gained more playing opportunities.
Saief attracted the attention of Belgian Pro League team K.A.A. Gent, who signed him for a three-year deal on August 8, 2014.[4] On May 22, 2018, Saief officially signed to Anderlecht.
On March 6, 2019, Saief was loaned to FC Cincinnati of Major League Soccer. On March 24, 2019, Saief scored his first MLS goal against the New England Revolution.[5] On June 11, 2019, Saief's loan was terminated due to injury complications.[6]
On February 12, 2020 he was loaned to Polish Ekstraklasa's Lechia Gdańsk until the end of 2019/2020 season.
International
Saief has represented the Israel national team at various youth levels. He reportedly stated that he expected to play for the United States men's national soccer team,[7] although he was called up to the Israel national football team and made his debut in a friendly 2–1 loss to Croatia.[8]
On June 3, 2017 Saief was called up by the United States men's national soccer team as part of their 40-man preliminary roster for the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup.[9] As part of his callup, Saief filed a one-time switch with FIFA, tying him permanently to the US program.[10]
On June 22, 2017 U.S. Soccer confirmed that Saief had been approved by FIFA for a change of association.[11]
He was chosen to make his first start for the USMNT against Paraguay on March 27, 2018.[12]
Career statistics
- As of match played December 19, 2018[13]
Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Europe | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Bnei Sakhnin | 2010–11 | Ligat HaAl | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 6 | 0 | |
Hapoel Haifa | 2012–13 | Ligat HaAl | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 4 | 0 | |
Ironi Kiryat Shmona | 2012–13 | Ligat HaAl | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
Ramat HaSharon | 2013–14 | Ligat HaAl | 28 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | 31 | 10 | |
Gent | 2014–15 | Pro League | 20 | 2 | 4 | 1 | – | – | 24 | 3 | ||
2015–16 | 28 | 4 | 1 | 0 | – | 8[a] | 0 | 37 | 4 | |||
2016–17 | First Division A | 31 | 7 | 3 | 0 | – | 13[b] | 1 | 47 | 8 | ||
2017–18 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | |||
Total | 82 | 13 | 10 | 1 | – | 21 | 1 | 113 | 15 | |||
Anderlecht (loan) | 2017–18 | First Division A | 17 | 1 | – | – | – | 17 | 1 | |||
Anderlecht | 2018–19 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 5 | 0 | 17 | 0 | ||
Total | 29 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | 5 | 0 | 34 | 1 | |||
Career total | 150 | 23 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 26 | 1 | 190 | 26 |
- ^ One appearance in the Belgian Super Cup and seven in the Champions League
- ^ Appearances in the Europa League
Honors
- Gent
References
- ^ "Kenny Saief was born in Panama City Florida" (in Dutch). Retrieved August 21, 2014.
- ^ "Kenny Saief Football Statistics - WhoScored.com". www.whoscored.com.
- ^ "Five Things to Know About U.S. MNT Midfielder Kenny Saief". www.ussoccer.com.
- ^ "Kenny Saief signs 3-season deal" (in Dutch). Archived from the original on August 9, 2014. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
- ^ "Kenny Saief Joins Orange And Blue From RSC Anderlecht". FCCincinnati.com. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
- ^ "FC Cincinnati to terminate Kenny Saief loan weeks early". www.theathletic.com. Retrieved June 11, 2019.
- ^ "Gent midfielder Saief says it's 'matter of time' before USMNT call-up", SBI Soccer, Ryan Tomlich, December 10, 2015.
- ^ "CROATIA VS. ISRAEL 2 – 0". Soccer Way. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
- ^ "USA Submits 40-Player Preliminary Roster for 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup =3 June 2017". ussoccer.com.
- ^ "FIFA APPROVES CHANGE OF ASSOCIATION REQUEST FOR MIDFIELDER KENNY SAIEF". US Soccer. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
- ^ "Kenny Saief seals national team switch from Israel to United States". ESPN FC. June 22, 2017. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
- ^ "Delgado makes US debut in exhibition vs Paraguay". USA TODAY.
- ^ "K. Saief". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
External links
- Kenny Saief – Israel Football Association league player details
- Kenny Saief at Soccerway
- 1993 births
- Living people
- People from Panama City, Florida
- Association football midfielders
- American soccer players
- Soccer players from Florida
- United States men's international soccer players
- Israeli footballers
- Israel under-21 international footballers
- Israel international footballers
- American people of Israeli descent
- Druze people of American nationality
- Arab citizens of Israel
- Druze people of Israeli nationality
- Arab-Israeli footballers
- Druze sportspeople
- Maccabi Haifa F.C. players
- Hapoel Haifa F.C. players
- Maccabi Netanya F.C. players
- Beitar Nes Tubruk F.C. players
- TSV 1860 Munich players
- Bnei Sakhnin F.C. players
- Hapoel Ironi Kiryat Shmona F.C. players
- Hapoel Nir Ramat HaSharon F.C. players
- Israeli expatriate sportspeople in Belgium
- K.A.A. Gent players
- R.S.C. Anderlecht players
- FC Cincinnati players
- Israeli Premier League players
- Belgian First Division A players
- Israeli expatriate footballers
- Expatriate footballers in Belgium
- Expatriate footballers in Germany
- Expatriate footballers in Poland
- Dual internationalists (football)
- Major League Soccer players
- Israeli football biography stubs
- American soccer midfielder stubs