Ahmad Saba'a (or Ahmed Saba, ar, أحمد سبع, he, אחמד סבע; born 24 May 1980) is an

Arab-Israeli The Arab citizens of Israel are the largest ethnic minority in the country. They comprise a hybrid community of Israeli citizens with a heritage of Palestinian citizenship, mixed religions (Muslim, Christian or Druze), bilingual in Arabic an ...

former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

Biography

Ahmad Saba'a was born in

Majd al-Kurum Majd al-Krum ( ar, مجد الكروم, he, מַגְ'ד אל-כֻּרוּם ''Majd al-Kurum'') is an Arab citizens of Israel, Arab town located in the Galilee in Israel's Northern District (Israel), Northern District about 16 kilometers (10 miles) ...

, Israel, to a Muslim-Arab family. His cousin Dia Saba'a is a footballer as well.In 2010, Saba'a founded his own football school, operating in his hometown of

. The school has 180 protégés and its main goal is to bring local talent from Majd al-Kurum to the second and first division leagues in Israel. He is a cousin of Israeli professional

Dia Saba Dia Saba (sometimes Sabi'a or Seba, ar, ضياء سبع, he, דיא סבע; born 18 November 1992) is an Israeli professional association football, footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Israeli Premier League club Maccabi Haifa F. ...

Club career

Hapoel Majd al-Kurum

Ahmad grew up in the youth ranks of Hapoel Majd al-Krum and made his debut for the senior side in 1997. In 1999-00 he was one of the main players in the club's historic promotion to

Liga Artzit Liga Artzit ( he, ליגה ארצית, lit. ''Country League'') is the defunct third division of Israeli Football League, beneath its highest division Premier League and the second division Liga Leumit. Before being cancelled in 2009, it was run b ...

. He left Majd al-Krum in 2002.

Hapoel Acre

Ahmad moved to

Hapoel Acre Hapoel Acre Football Club ( he, מועדון כדורגל הפועל עכו, ''Moadon Kaduregel Hapoel Akko'') is an Israeli football club based in Acre, Israel. The club currently plays in Liga Leumit. History Founded in 1946, the club dwelt i ...

after signing a one-year contract in July 2002. Even though he played well for the club with 10 goals in 20 league games, he didn't extended his contract with the club.

Hapoel Bnei Lod

In August 2003 he moved to

Hapoel Bnei Lod Hapoel Bnei Lod Rakevet F.C. () are a football club, from the central Israeli city of Lod. The club plays in an all-red kit, and are currently in , the third tier of Israeli football. Home matches are played at the Lod Municipal Stadium. Histor ...

. He helped Lod win two promotions, the first came in the 2004–05 season when the club won

Liga Alef Liga Alef ( he, ליגה א', , League A) is the third tier of the Israeli football league system. It is divided into two regional divisions, north and south. History League football began in Israel in 1949–50, a year after the Israeli Declar ...

, the next season the club won Liga Artzit with Ahmad as one of the factors for the team's success. In 6 seasons with the club Saba'a scored 61 goals in 149 league games.

Maccabi Netanya

On 20 January 2009, Saba'a signed a one-year deal with Maccabi Netanya. His first goal for the club came against

Sliema Wanderers Sliema Wanderers Football Club, nicknamed "tax-Xelin" ( of the shilling), is a professional Maltese football club. It is the most successful team in Malta and hails from the seaside town of Sliema. It currently plays in the Maltese Premier Leag ...

in the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

on 23 July 2009. In his first season with Netanya he became the club's top scorer, a feat repeated the following three seasons. In June 2011 he extended his contract with the club for 3 more years under a new contract worth $390,000. In September 2011 he was appointed as the captain of the team. He was voted as player of the 2011–12 season while securing his position as the top goalscorer with 20 league goals. On 4 November 2012 he became the first to score a goal in the opening game of the new

Netanya Stadium The Netanya Stadium ( he, אצטדיון נתניה), commonly known as The Diamond Stadium, is a multi-use stadium in Netanya, Israel. It is used as the permanent home ground of Maccabi Netanya, and it has been used as the temporary homeground ...

as Netanya won the game 2–1 against

Hapoel Tel Aviv Hapoel Tel Aviv ( he, הפועל תל אביב) is a sports club in Israel, founded in the 1920s, and part of the Hapoel association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, suc ...

. In 4 seasons with the club Saba'a scored 62 goals in a total of 153 games in all club competitions. Saba'a is in the top ten all time goalscorers of Maccabi Netanya.

Hapoel Ironi Kiryat Shmona

On 16 May 2013, after 4 years with Netanya he moved to Hapoel Ironi Kiryat Shmona for a transfer fee of $120,000. Saba'a signed a two years contract with Kiryat Shmona.

Hapoel Ra'anana

After a terrible half season with Kiryat Shmona, in January 2014 Saba'a moved to

Hapoel Ra'anana Hapoel Ra'anana Association Football Club ( he, עמותת הפועל רעננה מחלקת כדורגל, ''Amutat Hapoel Ra'anana Mahleket Kaduregel'') is an Israeli football club based in the city of Ra'anana. They currently play in Liga Alef ...

. One month later he asked to be released from the club.

International career

After reaching the highest levels of Israeli domestic football, Saba'a has said that his goal is to one day play for the

Israeli national football team The Israel national football team ( he, נבחרת ישראל בכדורגל, ) represents Israel in international football, and is governed by the Israel Football Association (IFA). Israel's national team is the direct successor of the M ...

. He has never featured for any national youth football teams. On 18 March 2012 after a lot of media coverage on the fact that he has yet been called for the national team, Saba'a was quoted that he will not play for the Palestine national side - "I won't play for Palestine because I'm an Israeli player".

Statistics

Honours

Team

(2): ** 1999-00 (Northern division), 2004-05 (Southern division) *

Liga Bet Liga Bet ( he, ליגה ב', lit. ''League B'') is the fourth tier of the Israeli football league system. It is divided into four regional divisions. History League football started in Israel in 1949–50, a year after the Israeli Declaration of ...

(1): ** 2003-04 *

(1): ** 2005-06

Individual

* Sport 5 Player of the Season (1): 2011–12 * Footballer of the Year in Israel (1): 2012שחקן העונה: אחמד סבע כובש שוב
/ref> *

Israeli Premier League The Israeli Premier League ( he, ליגת העל, ''Ligat Ha`Al'', ), is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Israeli Football League – the state's league of Israel. The league is contested b ...

- 2011–12 Top Goalscorer (20 goals)

References

External links

*
Profile and statistics on One.co.il
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sabaa, Ahmad 1980 births Living people Arab citizens of Israel Arab-Israeli footballers Israeli Muslims Israeli footballers Association football forwards Hapoel Majd al-Krum F.C. players Hapoel Acre F.C. players Hapoel Bnei Lod F.C. players Maccabi Netanya F.C. players Hapoel Ironi Kiryat Shmona F.C. players Hapoel Ra'anana A.F.C. players Ihud Bnei Majd al-Krum F.C. players Hapoel Kafr Kanna F.C. players Liga Leumit players Israeli Premier League players Footballers from Majd al-Krum People from Majd al-Krum Israeli Footballer of the Year recipients