Imaye Taga (sometimes Amaya or Amiya, he, אמייה "אמיר" טגה, born 1 February 1985) is an Ethiopian-born

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

i 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 ...

who played for the Israel U21 national team, and currently serves as a member of the

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

of Netanya, Israel.

Biography

Imaye (Amir) Taga was born in

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

to an Ethiopian-Jewish family. The family

immigrated Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

to Israel in 1991 during Operation Solomon when he was 6 years old. On 11 August 2006 Amiya's younger brother Avi Taga was found dead by his eldest brother and the Israeli Police in

Kiryat Ekron Kiryat Ekron or Qiryath Eqron ( he, קִרְיַת עֶקְרוֹן) is a town located on the coastal plain in the Central District of Israel. Located immediately south of the city of Rehovot on Highway 411 next to the Bilu Junction, in it had a ...

. Taga had been missing from home since Wednesday, 9 August 2006. Club officials went to visit the player at his family residence to console him during the traditional Jewish mourning period of the

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

. In 2007 he changed his name back to his childhood name. "Imaye" in the Amharic language means "a child".

Sports career

Taga attended the ORT boarding school in Netanya where he was discovered by scouts of the local side - Maccabi Netanya. Taga grew up through the ranks at Netanya, he played throughout the youth system and made his debut for the senior side at the 2003–04 season. He played for six years in the first team. On July 28, 2010, he left Netanya and signed a two years contract with

Hapoel Ashkelon Hapoel Ashkelon F.C. ( he, מועדון כדורגל הפועל אשקלון, ''Moadon Kaduregel Hapoel Ashkelon'') is an Israeli football club based in Ashkelon. The club currently competes in Liga Alef and plays at the 5,250-capacity Sala Sta ...

. After two years spent in Ashkelon, Taga signed with Hapoel Acre on April 11, 2012. On July 5, 2015, after five years of playing outside of Netanya, Taga returned to play for his home club of Maccabi Netanya. After 2 seasons with Netanya, Taga retired from football as he ventured into local politics. Taga is regarded as local legend in Netanya as he played 186 games in all club competitions in a total of 8 years playing for Maccabi Netanya. On 28 February 2006, Taga made his debut for the Israel U-21s in a friendly game against

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

. On 11 October 2006, Taga scored the historic goal for Israel in the playoff game against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, which secured Israel's shock qualification to

UEFA U-21 Championship 2007 The UEFA European Under-21 Championship 2007 were held from 10 June 2007 to 23 June 2007. It was the 16th staging of UEFA's European Under-21 Championship. Summary For the first time, a host nation was chosen ahead of the competition – the Neth ...

with a 2–1 aggregate win. On 3 August 2010, Taga got called up for the senior national team for the first time in his career. He was about to win his first cap for the national team, but an injury prevented that from happening and Taga never played a single game for the national team.

Honours

* Toto Cup (Leumit): **Winner (1): 2004–05 *

Liga Leumit Liga Leumit ( he, ליגה לאומית, lit. ''National League'') is the second division of the Israeli Football League, and below its Premier League. Structure There are 16 clubs in the league. At the end of each season, the two lowest-place ...

: **Winner (1): 2016–17 **''Runner-up (1):'' 2004–05 *

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 ...

: **''Runner-up (2):'' 2006–07, 2007–08

Club career statistics

:''(correct as of 11.8.15)''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Taga, Imaye 1985 births Living people Ethiopian Jews Ethiopian emigrants to Israel Citizens of Israel through Law of Return Israeli Jews Israeli footballers Association football midfielders Maccabi Netanya F.C. players Hapoel Ashkelon F.C. players Hapoel Acre F.C. players Liga Leumit players Israeli Premier League players Footballers from Netanya Israel under-21 international footballers