Yakubu Aiyegbeni

Profile Football Stars | Yakubu Aiyegbeni | His performances in the 2002-03 UEFA Champions League earned a loan move to English club Portsmouth as a permanent Became the which They were Promoted to the Premier League in 2003. During his spell at Maccabi Haifa, he won the Israeli Premier League on two consecutive Occasions: 2001-02 and 2002-03. He had an excellent scoring record with the club, both in the domestic and international competitions, breaking Several club records. Yakubu's highest scoring season at Haifa was 2001-02, when he scored 13 times in 22 games (League season was 33 matches). He scored seven goals in eight European Cup appearances in the 2002-03 season UEFA Champions League, (including a hat-trick against Olympiakos and a penalty in the 3-0 win over Manchester United). Yakubu moved to English club Portsmouth of the First Division (now the Championship) on loan on 6 January 2003. Signed by Harry Redknapp, Yakubu helped Portsmouth win the 2002-03 Division 1 title, scoring at a rate of one goal every two games (7 in 14 matches). The match ended 3-0 with Yakubu substituted for Pericard after 89 minutes. Seven days later, Yakubu scored a goal in each half of a 6-2 victory over Derby County for his first brace in English football.

Yakubu made his loan spell at Portsmouth permanent in May 2003 for a fee of £ 4 million. He played 37 of Portsmouth's 38 Premier League matches in 2003-04, starting all but two. Yakubu's 16 goals made him the club's leading goal-scorer, and joint-sixth highest scorer in the entire league. Yakubu ended the season with 11 goals in his last 10 Premier League matches, starting with one each in four straight games, the first being the only goal in the South Coast Derby versus Southampton on 21 March. Yakubu's 28 Premier League goals Between his two seasons the make him Portsmouth's highest ever scorer in the Premier League, with nine more than second-highest scorer Their Mwaruwari Benjani.

After the 2004-05 season, he transferred from Portsmouth to Middlesbrough for a fee of £ 7.5 million.  Yakubu scored the only goal of the game with a penalty in the first leg of the UEFA Cup last 16 round at home against Roma, giving Middlesbrough a 1-0 victory, who later went through on away goals. Yakubu scored his 100th goal in English football in a league game at West Bromwich Albion early in the 2008-09 Premier League season. He continued his great start to the season with a goal against Standard Liege in the UEFA Cup.

Yakubu's fourth and fifth goals of the league season cam  in an away 3-3 draw at Wigan Athletic on 19 November 2011. On 3 December 2011, Yakubu scored all four goals for Blackburn in a 4-2 home win over Swansea City . He scored two in each half, finishing with a penalty. It was his first hat-trick Blackburn and his first four-goal game since the last day of the 2003-04 season, for Portsmouth against Middlesbrough. He scored two goals, one being a penalty, in his side's shock 2-3 victory against Manchester United at Old Trafford on the 31 December 2011 on the which left him 13 goals for the season in all competitions. On 10 April 2012 Yakubu scored twice, while missing one penalty and scoring a second, in Blackburn's 2-3 loss at home to Liverpool.

In September 2000, Yakubu featured in Nigeria's squad for football at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Australia. Then of Maccabi Haifa, the 17-year old Yakubu wore the number 9 shirt. He scored the injury-time equalizer in Nigeria's first match, a 3-3 draw with Honduras on 13 September in Adelaide. At the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, Yakubu missed an open goal Notably from three meters against South Korea in the last Group game but later went on to score a penalty.

Personal information
Full name Yakubu Aiyegbeni
Date of birth 22 November 1982 (age 29)
Place of birth Benin City, Nigeria
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position Striker

Club information
Current club Blackburn Rovers
Number 24

Youth career
1995-1998 Gateway
1998 Julius Berger

Senior career
years Team
1998 Gil Vicente (loan)
Maccabi Haifa 1999-2003 72 (30)
1999-2000 Hapoel Kfar Saba (loan) 23 (16)
2003 Portsmouth (loan) 14 (7)
Portsmouth 2003-2005 67 (29)
Middlesbrough 2005-2007 73 (25)
Everton 2007-2011 82 (25)
2011 Leicester City (loan) 20 (11)
2011-Blackburn Rovers 25 (18)

National team
2000-Nigeria 57 (21)

Honours

Maccabi Haifa
     Israeli Premier League:
         Winner: 2000-01, 2001-02

     Toto Cup:
         Winner: 2002

Portsmouth
     Football League Division One:
         Winner: 2002-03

Yossi Benayoun

 

Profile Football Stars | Yossi Benayoun | Benayoun started his career aged nine with Hapoel Be'er Sheva. 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.  Haifa's Goalkeeper, Nir Davidovich, saved the shot but Benayoun scored the rebound to give his team the win Benayoun finished as the league's joint fourth-leading goalscorer That season, with 15 goals in 25 appearances. 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 president of Be'er Sheva), and it was Agreed That the two clubs would share the profits from selling Benayoun to a European club. Benayoun also scored 16 goals in 29 matches for Haifa in the 1998-99 Liga Leumit, finishing the season as the equal leading goalscorer for his eighth team

In 2002, Benayoun moved to Racing de Santander in Spain's La Liga, scoring five goals in 31 matches his first season (2002-03 La Liga), seven goals in 35 matches his second (2003-04 La Liga), and nine goals in 35 matches his third (2004-05 La Liga), the latter Including a hat-trick against Deportivo La Coruña in a 4-1 away victory. In total, he made 101 appearances for Racing, scoring 21 goals. Newly Promoted FA Premier League team West Ham United completed the signing of Benayoun in July 2005 for a fee of £ 2.5 Million, with Benayoun signing a four-year contract. Manager Alan Pardew hailed the signing citing Benayoun's ability to 'open the door when teams sit deep 'while Benayoun Revealed his excitement at the opportunity to play for West Ham and in the Premiership. The signing Appeared to be a match made in heaven Following Benayoun's first season in the which he scored five goals and made the Premier League Premier League eight assists. Benayoun played in the 125th FA Cup Final for West Ham against European Champions Liverpool. Benayoun scored five times in 34 matches in his first season at West Ham, three goals in 29 appearances his second season.

Benayoun moved to Liverpool under controversial circumstances. The Controversy was heightened on 10 July when the Israeli media reported That Benayoun's agent , Ronen Katsav, had Agreed a deal with Liverpool's Benayoun the which would mean taking a lower pay than the £ 50,000 a week Offered by West Ham in May. On 12 July, Liverpool's official website reported on Their That the signing of Yossi Benayoun had been completed a £ 5 million deal with him signing a four-year contract. Benayoun finished his second season at Anfield in spectacular fashion; scoring a goal in each of Liverpool's last three home matches. In the 2008-09 season, Benayoun played in 39 matches, scoring nine goals, Including eight league goals against Wigan, Blackburn, Newcastle, Sunderland, Fulham, Tottenham Hotspur and a brace against Arsenal. On 12 September 2009, he scored his first Premier League hat-trick for Liverpool in a 4-0 win against Burnley. He Remains the only player to score Premiership, Champions League and FA Cup hat tricks. He scored the first goal in Liverpool's 3-0 win over West Ham.

Benayoun signed for Chelsea on 2 July 2010, agreeing on a three-year deal, and keeping him with the Stamford Bridge club until summer 2013. On 26 August 2011, Juan Mata Offered Benayoun his number 10 shirt. "(Florent Malouda wears number 15 for Chelsea.) Benayoun changed to wear number 30 shirt. On 20 September 2011, Benayoun scored his first goal for Arsenal in the 78th minute of a League Cup match against Shrewsbury Town. Benayoun scored his first Champions League goal for Arsenal in a 3-1 defeat to Olympiakos.

Benayoun was a member of the Israel U16 team came That third in the 1996 UEFA European Under-16 Championship. Benayoun scored his first international hat-trick in a UEFA Euro 2000 qualifier against San Marino at Ramat Gan Stadium on 8 September 1999. The match finished as an 8-0 win for Israel. During the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, Benayoun Became the leading player of the Israeli national team after equalizing against Cyprus at home (That game ended in a 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 goal. Just prior to the UEFA Euro 2008 qualifiers, Benayoun was given the captaincy of the Israeli national team. In eight appearances in the qualifiers, Benayoun has scored two goals. On 2 September 2010, Benayoun scored his second international hat-trick against Malta in a 3-1 win.

Personal information
Full name Yosef Shai Benayoun
Date of birth 5 May 1980 (age 31)
Place of birth Dimona, Israel
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position Attacking midfielder

Club information
Current club Arsenal
(on ​​loan from Chelsea)
Number 30

Youth career
Hapoel Be'er Sheva 1989-1995
Ajax 1995-1996
Hapoel Be'er Sheva 1996-1997

Senior career
years Team
Hapoel Be'er Sheva 1997-1998 25 (15)
Maccabi Haifa 1998-2002 130 (55)
Racing de Santander 2002-2005 101 (21)
2005-2007 West Ham United 63 (8)
2007-2010 Liverpool 92 (18)
2010-Chelsea 8 (1)
2011-Arsenal (loan) 16 (2)

National team
1998-2001 Israel U21 11 (5)
1998-Israel 85 (24)

Honours

Club
Maccabi Haifa
     Israeli Premier League winners: 2000-01, 2001-02
     Israel State Cup finalist: 2002

West Ham United
     FA Cup finalist: 2006

Chelsea
     FA Community Shield finalists: 2010
     Premier League Asia Trophy: 2011 Barclays Asia Trophy

Individual
     Footballer of the Year - Israel: 2000-01