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Yosef Shai BenayounIsraeli footballer, attacking midfielder for Liverpool Football Club
Date of Birth: 05.05.1980
Country:  Great Britain |
Content:
Biography of Yossi Benayoun
Yossi Benayoun is an Israeli footballer, an attacking midfielder for the football club "Liverpool" and the captain of the Israeli national team.
Early Career
At the age of 17, Benayoun played for the senior team of "Be'er Sheva", but was unable to save the team from relegation to the second division. After that, he moved to "Maccabi" Haifa, where he scored over 50 goals in two seasons. In the following season, Benayoun helped the Haifa team win the championship title in Israel and became the club's top scorer. In total, he scored 55 goals in 130 matches for "Maccabi" Haifa.
International Career
In 2003, Benayoun joined the Spanish club "Racing" from Santander, where he became one of the best players and top scorers during the 2004-05 season. He scored 21 goals in 101 matches for "Racing". In July 2005, Benayoun signed a four-year contract with "West Ham" after the clubs agreed on a transfer fee of 2.5 million pounds.
Career at Liverpool
Benayoun made his debut in the Premier League on August 13, 2005, in a match against "Blackburn". With him, Benayoun reached the final of the FA Cup and became one of the leaders of the club. The following season was not as successful, with "West Ham" barely avoiding relegation in the final match against Manchester United. On July 12, it was announced that Yossi had signed a four-year contract with the club. On July 13, he was presented to the press along with another newcomer to Liverpool, Ryan Babel. Benayoun's debut took place on August 15, 2007, in a match against "Toulouse" in the third qualifying round of the Champions League. In his first season at Liverpool, Yossi scored two hat-tricks - in November he scored three goals against "Besiktas" in a group stage match of the Champions League, ending in a crushing victory for the Turkish team at Anfield with a score of 8-0. In January 2008, he scored another three goals against "Havant & Waterlooville", an amateur club, in the fourth round of the FA Cup. At the end of the season, Benayoun was one of six Liverpool players who scored ten or more goals in all competitions in the 2007/2008 campaign. On August 5, 2008, it was confirmed that Yossi had changed his number from 11, which he wore in the previous season, to his favorite number 15 - the number he represents in the Israeli national team.
International Career
Benayoun was a player in the Israeli national team under 16, which finished third in the 1996 European Championship for youth in this age category. He made his debut in the senior national team in November 1998 in a match against Portugal. During the qualifying campaign for the 2006 World Cup, Benayoun became one of the leaders of his national team. In the home match against Cyprus, he equalized the score (the match ended in victory for Israel), then scored twice in the match against Switzerland, and then provided an assist that helped his team win.
