Yossi Benayoun: Difference between revisions

Yossi Benayoun
Personal information
Full name	Yosef Shai Benayoun; יוסף שי בניון
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s)	Attacking midfielder/ Right Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Liverpool
Number	11
	‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 16:16, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

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Yosef Shai "Yossi" Benayoun (Hebrew: יוסי בניון, sometimes spelled Benayun, born Hebrew: יוסי שי בניון on 5 May 1980 in Dimona, Israel) is an Israeli football player with Liverpool FC of the English Premier League. Benayoun plays as an attacking midfielder, occupying the space just behind the striker. In Israel he is nicknamed "The Kid"^[1] and "The Diamond", and he is the captain of the Israeli national football team.

Early years

Jason Burt writing for The Independent described Benayoun's youth years: "aged nine and he was spotted as a footballing talent. Aged 11 and the talent was labelled a genius. By 13 his face appeared on the front of magazines in Israel."^[2] Benayoun started his career aged 9 with Hapoel Be'er Sheva. To attend training he regularly hitchhiked the 60km roundtrip with his father.^[1] After making a name for himself, he was scouted by Ajax Amsterdam. They invited the 15 year old Benayoun and his family to the Netherlands. By his 16th birthday, he was the Ajax youth team's highest scorer and best player, and Ajax duly offered Benayoun a four-year professional contract.^[2] However, Benayoun and his family hadn't settled very well in Amsterdam, and so he turned his back on the contract and returned to Israel after just eight months.^[2] In Israel he was criticized for letting go of a golden opportunity.^[2]

Club Career

Hapoel Be'er Sheva

At the age of 17½, he was promoted to the Hapoel Be'er Sheva senior team, but could not prevent the club from being relegated to Israel's second division. In the last match of the season against Maccabi Haifa, Benayoun got a penalty kick in the 90th minute. Haifa's goalkeeper, Nir Davidovich saved the shot but Benayoun scored the rebound. However, their relegation rival had won their match, meaning that his team would be relegated nonetheless.^[3]

Maccabi Haifa

After that season, Benayoun moved to Maccabi Haifa in a deal signed by Ya'akov Shahar (Maccabi Haifa's president) and Eli Zino (the former Be'er Sheva president), and it was agreed that the two clubs would share the profits from selling Benayoun to a European club.

In 1998, under the guidance of Dusan Uhrin and Daniel Brailovsky, Benayoun and Haifa reached the quarterfinals of the Cup Winners' Cup, and he scored against Paris Saint-Germain by the help of Reuven Atar in an unforgettable match and SV Ried.

In 1999, he confronted his manager Eli Cohen, when Benayoun allegedly refused to be substituted during a match. This incident, plus a bad month for the club, ultimately caused Cohen's resignation.

In the 2000/2001 season under the guidance of Avram Grant, Benayoun led Haifa to a first championship after seven years and was chosen as the MVP of the season. The next season, Benayoun helped Maccabi Haifa win another championship, despite suffering from an injury in the beginning of the season. When he returned to play, he combined well with Giovanni Rosso, Raimondas Žutautas and Aiyegbeni Yakubu to win the championship.

Benayoun made 130 appearances for Maccabi, scoring 55 goals.^[3]

Racing Santander

In 2002, Benayoun moved to Racing de Santander in Spain, with his friends, Dudu Aouate, Omri Afek and Ilan Bakhar, where he became one of the big stars of the club and one of its leading scorers during the 2004/2005 season. He made 101 appearances for Racing, scoring 21 goals.^[3]

West Ham United

After his performances for the Israeli national team and Racing Santander, his name was connected with many teams, such as FK Moscow, CSKA Moscow, Arsenal, Liverpool, West Ham United and Bolton Wanderers, where the Israeli Tal Ben Haim played until joining Chelsea in the summer of 2007. West Ham completed the signing of Benayoun in July 2005 after an offer of £2.5 million was accepted by Racing and Benayoun signed a four-year contract.^[4]

His career at West Ham took off almost immediately, albeit amidst controversy surrounding his perceived shunning of Bolton Wanderers. He made his Premiership debut for West Ham on the opening day of the 2005-06 season (13 August, 2005 against Blackburn Rovers) and he laid on passes for 2 of West Ham's goals in their 3-1 win. He went on to score his first Premiership goal for the club when he netted the closing goal in a 4-0 home victory over Aston Villa on 12 September, 2005. Under manager Alan Pardew the now 27 year old flourished, producing skillful performances and goals on one of the world's biggest football stages, including a notably stunning chip from the edge of the box against Fulham (Monday 23 January, 2006).

A player with exceptional flair, creativity and originality, he proved himself to be up to the rigours of the English Premiership, by producing many assists and scoring four times in his opening Premiership season. Once doubted for his outwardly meek physical appearance, Benayoun surprised many with his body application even when faced with strong defenders by outmuscling defenders to score or set up chances. It is these attributes that have established his place as one of the leading right sided players in the Premiership. He also scored the goal that stopped West Ham's bitter rivals Spurs qualifying for the Champions League in the last minutes of the last game of the season.

Benayoun played in the 125th FA Cup Final for West Ham against European Champions Liverpool.^[5] in which he displayed a fine performance. West Ham eventually lost to Liverpool after a penalty shoot out. The result was 3-3 after 120 minutes. Benayoun was seen in tears at the final whistle, which set him as a fan favourite for his outward display of passion.

He scored two goals in a Premiership match against Fulham in the 2006-07 season, and in the last Premiership match of the season against Manchester United, he headed goalbound shots from Kieran Richardson and Alan Smith to safety. These saves ensured West Ham United stayed in the Premiership and avoided relegation.

In 63 appearances for the Hammers, Benayoun scored 8 goals.

Liverpool

Benayoun agreed a new five-year deal with West Ham in May 2007 but had not signed it when Liverpool F.C. confirmed in July 2007 that they had made an approach for him.^[6] West Ham rejected a £3 million bid from Liverpool, but Liverpool made an increased offer of £4.5 million.^[7]On 10 July, Israeli media reported that Benayoun's manager, Ronen Katsav, had agreed a deal with Liverpool which would mean Benayoun taking a lower pay than the £50,000 a week offered by West Ham in May.^[8] The BBC reported that West Ham had agreed a fee of £4 million with Liverpool and that the transfer was expected to be finalised on 11 July.^[9] On 12th July, Liverpool FC reported on their official website that the signing of Yossi Benayoun had been completed.^[10] He had signed a four-year contract in a reported £5 million deal.^[11] Benayoun was introduced as a Liverpool player along with Ryan Babel on 13 July, and was given the number 11 shirt. He made his first competitive start for Liverpool against Toulouse FC in the UEFA Champions League qualifier 3rd round 1st leg. He then came on as a substitute against Derby County in a 6-0 win. His first goal for Liverpool came on the 25th September 2007 when he scored against Reading in the Carling Cup with a wonderful solo effort. Then in his next match he scored his first Premiership goal for Liverpool with another stunning effort. After receiving a through ball from Jermaine Pennant, he took on his man and slid the ball past the Wigan (and former Liverpool goalkeeper), Chris Kirkland. On 6 November 2007 Benayoun scored an in-a-row hat-trick to go along with two assists against Beşiktaş J.K. in the Champions League. Liverpool went on to beat Beşiktaş J.K. 8-0, which set the record for largest margin of victory in a Champions League match. Benayoun made history by scoring the 500th goal in Liverpool Champions League history. Yossi scored a second hat trick against a mismatched opponent in his first season against non-league side Havant & Waterlooville in the FA Cup, a team 122 places behind Liverpool on the league pyramid. On 12th June 2008 it was reported that city rivals Everton are putting a bid of 3.5 million to sign him which was later denied by the everton officials.

Additionally, a West Ham fan named after Yossi Benayoun who is a regular user of The Goalposts Fans Forum, has proved to be a fountain of football knowledge.

His superior knowlege of the beautiful game sometimes leaves Spurs fans feeling very intimidated and envious of such a superior being.

International Career

Benayoun was a member of the Israel U16 team that came third in the 1996 UEFA European Under-16 Championship.^[12]

He made his senior debut for Israel against Portugal in November 1998.

During the World Cup 2006 qualifiers, Benayoun became the leading player of the Israeli national team after equalizing against Cyprus at home (in a game that ended 2-1 to Israel) and scoring twice against Switzerland. In the away game in Cyprus, Benayoun assisted the winning goal after Nir Davidovich saved a crucial penalty. His strong performances gave Israel a chance at qualifying for the World Cup, but they missed out on goal difference.

Just prior to the EURO 2008 Qualifiers, Benayoun was given the captaincy of the Israeli national team. In eight appearances in the qualifiers, Benayoun has scored two goals. Benayoun's motivation and dedication to the Israeli national team is well documented. He puts his body on the line for his country, and one such example occurred in a EURO 2008 Qualifier against the Croatian national team. Benayoun received several injections in order to be available for the match despite knowing the effects it could have in the following weeks. After the match, the injury worsened and he had to miss over three weeks of football for his team at the time, West Ham United.

References

^ ^a ^b "Benayoun the kid for Hammers". Article on uefa.com. July 22, 2005. Retrieved July 11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "The Premiership Interview : Yossi Benayoun". The Independent. September 24, 2005. Retrieved July 11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
^ ^a ^b ^c Soccerbase: Yossi Benayoun, Racing Post. Retrieved 23 June 2007.
^ "West Ham complete Benayoun swoop", BBC Sport, 19 July 2005. Retrieved 23 June 2007.
^ "Reds in seventh heaven", TheFA.com, 13 May 2006. Retrieved 26 June 2007.
^ "Liverpool admit Benayoun approach", BBC Sport, 14 June 2007. Retrieved 23 June 2007.
^ "Liverpool back for Benayoun", icEssex, 22 June 2007. Retrieved 23 June 2007.
^ "Benayoun leaves West Ham for Liverpool", ynetnews.com, 10 July 2007. Retrieved 10 July 2007.
^ "Liverpool close to Benayoun deal", BBC Sport, 10 July 2007. Retrieved 10 July 2007.
^ "Benayoun signs for Liverpool", Liverpool Football Club Official Website, 12 July 2007. Retrieved 13 July 2007.
^ "Benayoun seals Liverpool transfer", BBC Sport, 12 July 2007. Retrieved 14 July 2007.
^ "Benayoun the kid for Hammers", uefa.com, 22 July 2005. Retrieved 23 June 2007.

External links

[uefa-1] "Benayoun the kid for Hammers". Article on uefa.com. July 22, 2005. Retrieved July 11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)

[independent-2] "The Premiership Interview : Yossi Benayoun". The Independent. September 24, 2005. Retrieved July 11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)

[sbase-3] Soccerbase: Yossi Benayoun, Racing Post. Retrieved 23 June 2007.

[4] "West Ham complete Benayoun swoop", BBC Sport, 19 July 2005. Retrieved 23 June 2007.

[5] "Reds in seventh heaven", TheFA.com, 13 May 2006. Retrieved 26 June 2007.

[6] "Liverpool admit Benayoun approach", BBC Sport, 14 June 2007. Retrieved 23 June 2007.

[7] "Liverpool back for Benayoun", icEssex, 22 June 2007. Retrieved 23 June 2007.

[8] "Benayoun leaves West Ham for Liverpool", ynetnews.com, 10 July 2007. Retrieved 10 July 2007.

[9] "Liverpool close to Benayoun deal", BBC Sport, 10 July 2007. Retrieved 10 July 2007.

[10] "Benayoun signs for Liverpool", Liverpool Football Club Official Website, 12 July 2007. Retrieved 13 July 2007.

[11] "Benayoun seals Liverpool transfer", BBC Sport, 12 July 2007. Retrieved 14 July 2007.

[12] "Benayoun the kid for Hammers", uefa.com, 22 July 2005. Retrieved 23 June 2007.

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