Elyaniv Barda (or Elianiv, he, אליניב ברדה; born 15 December 1981) is an Israeli former

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

forward and winger, And the current manager of

Hapoel Be'er Sheva Hapoel Be'er Sheva Football Club ( he, מועדון הכדורגל הפועל באר שבע, ''Moadon HaKaduregel Hapoel Be'er Sheva'') is an Israeli football club from the city of Be'er Sheva, that competes in the Israeli Premier League. The c ...

. His former clubs include

Maccabi Haifa Maccabi Haifa ( he, מכבי חיפה) is one of the biggest sports clubs in Israel and a part of the Maccabi association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Haifa which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, such as Football ...

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 ...

and Belgian side

Racing Genk Koninklijke Racing Club Genk (), commonly known as KRC Genk, Racing Genk or simply Genk, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Genk in Belgian Limburg. Racing Genk plays in the Belgian Pro League and have won four champ ...

, with whom he won four trophies during a successful six-year spell.

Early life

Barda was born in

Beer Sheva, Israel Beersheba or Beer Sheva, officially Be'er-Sheva ( he, בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע, ''Bəʾēr Ševaʿ'', ; ar, بئر السبع, Biʾr as-Sabʿ, Well of the Oath or Well of the Seven), is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. ...

, to a Tunisian-Jewish family.

Club career

Hapoel Be'er Sheva

Barda began through the youth ranks of his hometown team,

, and then the first team. Between 1998 and 2002, which included seasons in both the

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 ...

and the second division, he scored 19 goals in 78 matches.

Maccabi Haifa

In 2003, Barda transferred to Israeli champions

, who went on to win the next three championships. At Maccabi Haifa, Barda played in the championship winning teams of 2003–04 and 2004–05. In two seasons at Maccabi Haifa, the forward scored 12 goals in 63 appearances.

Hapoel Tel Aviv

On the eve of the 2005–06 Israeli season, Barda, along with Haifa teammate

Walid Badir Walid Badir ( ar, وليد بدير, he, ואליד באדיר; born 12 March 1974) is an Arab-Israeli former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He won four league titles in five seasons with Maccabi Haifa before joining Hapoe ...

, was signed by

. Barda played 62 matches for

, scoring on 17 occasions. He also scored 3 goals in Hapoel's successful

2006–07 UEFA Cup The 2006–07 UEFA Cup was the 36th UEFA Cup, Europe's second-tier club football tournament. On 16 May 2007, at Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland, Sevilla won their second consecutive UEFA Cup, defeating Espanyol 3–1 on penalties after the match ...

campaign, where the Israeli team progressed past the group stages. Barda won silverware at Hapoel when he was a member of two

Israel State Cup The Israel State Cup ( he, גביע המדינה, ''Gvia HaMedina''), is a knockout cup competition in Israeli football, run by the Israel Football Association (IFA). The State Cup was first held in 1928 as the People's Cup. Because it involve ...

winning sides; in the 2005–06 season and the 2006–07 season.

Racing Genk

On 22 June 2007, Barda was signed by Belgian side

on a three-year contract, with the transfer fee believed to be in the region of €90,000. He had earlier failed to agree a move to Cypriot club

APOEL F.C. APOEL FC ( el, ΑΠΟΕΛ; short for Αθλητικός Ποδοσφαιρικός Όμιλος Ελλήνων Λευκωσίας, ''Athletikos Podosferikos Omilos Ellinon Lefkosias'', literally "Athletic Football Club of Greeks of Nicosia") ...

In his first season at Genk in 2007/08, he scored 16 goals in 32 appearances, finishing as the second highest goalscorer in the league. This included a hat-trick against

Zulte-Waregem Sportvereniging Zulte Waregem (), commonly known as Zulte Waregem or by their nickname Essevee (), is a Belgian professional football club based in Waregem, West Flanders. Zulte Waregem plays in the Belgian First Division A. Their highest finish ...

in a 5–2 victory. Barda, known for his versatility and pace in the early stages of his career in Belgium, was often employed as a lone striker in his first season at Genk, linking up well with midfield but still scoring and assisting to goals. On 6 January 2009, despite interest from Scottish club

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

, and Dutch clubs

FC Twente Football Club Twente () is a Dutch professional football club from the city of Enschede, sometimes known internationally as Twente Enschede. The club was formed in 1965 by the merger of 1926 Dutch champions Sportclub Enschede with Enschedese Bo ...

and

SC Heerenveen Sportclub Heerenveen (; West Frisian: Sportklub It Hearrenfean) is a Dutch football club from Heerenveen. They currently play in the Eredivisie, the top level of football in the Netherlands. History Sportclub Heerenveen was founded on 20 July ...

, the Israeli forward signed a new four-and-a-half year deal that would keep him at Genk until June 2013. Barda's second season at Genk was marred by injuries. He featured in just 25 league matches and contributed 5 league goals, plus another goal during the semi-finals of the

Belgian Cup The Belgian Cup (french: link=no, Coupe de Belgique; nl, Beker van België []; german: link=no, Belgischer Fußballpokal) is the main Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in Belgium, run by the Belgia ...

. On 23 May 2009, Genk defeated

K.V. Mechelen Yellow Red Koninklijke Voetbalclub Mechelen (), often simply called KV Mechelen () or KVM, or by their former French name FC Malinois, is a Belgian professional football club based in Mechelen in the Antwerp province. KV Mechelen plays in the ...

2–0 in the Cup final, securing a berth in the play-off round of the

UEFA Europa League 2009–10 Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs fo ...

. In this match, Barda provided the assist for the first goal of the match. The coming of age of young attacking players such as

Jelle Vossen Jelle Vossen (born 22 March 1989) is a Belgian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football)#Striker, striker for Belgian First Division A club S.V. Zulte Waregem, Zulte Waregem. Club career RC ...

Christian Benteke Christian Benteke Liolo (born 3 December 1990) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Major League Soccer club D.C. United and the Belgium national team. Benteke began his career at Standard Liège, playing a part in ...

and

Kevin De Bruyne Kevin De Bruyne (born 28 June 1991) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Manchester City and the Belgium national team. He is widely regarded as one of the best players in the world. Pundits have often desc ...

, as well as the expensive purchase of the popular Genk-born Benji De Ceulaer saw Barda increasingly being used as a substitute during the final two years of his Genk career. However, he remained an influential figure on the pitch, often scoring important goals when coming off the bench and tilting the momentum in Genk's favour because of his intelligent and determined playing style. On 21 May 2013, Genk announced that negotiations with the player would not continue after both parties failed to agree terms on a contract extension. During six years at the club, Barda made 196 appearances in all club competitions, scored 67 goals and provided 50 assists. He also holds Genk's record for most goals scored by a foreign player.

Return to Hapoel Be'er Sheva

After his spell in Belgium, Barda returned to Israel. On 25 June 2013 he signed a three-year contract at his hometown club

, where he started his professional career.

International career

Barda scored three times in 17 matches for the Israel U21 team between 2001 and 2003. On 17 November 2007, he scored the opening goal in Israel's win against

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

, a goal that could have saved

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

's UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying campaign if England beat or even drew with

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

on 21 November 2007, but England lost the match 2–3, meaning they did not qualify. On 21 November 2007, he scored his second goal for Israel in their 1–0 win against Macedonia. He made his debut for

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 ...

on 24 March 2007 in the Euro 2008 Qualifier against England (0–0).

Personal life

Elyaniv's younger brother

Yinon Yinon ( he, יִנּוֹן, lit. "it shall flourish") is a moshav in southern Israel. Located near Kiryat Malakhi, it falls under the jurisdiction of Be'er Tuvia Regional Council. In it had a population of . History The moshav was founded 1952 b ...

is also a striker who plays for Hapoel Bnei Lod.

Career statistics

Club

:''(correct as of 9 July 2015)''

International goals

Honours

Club

Maccabi Haifa * Toto Cup Top Division (1): 2002–03 *

(2): 2003–04, 2004–05 Hapoel Tel Aviv *

(2): 2005–06, 2006–07 Genk *

(2): 2008–09 Belgian Cup, 2008–09, 2012–13 Belgian Cup, 2012–13 *

Belgian Pro League The Belgian Pro League,(officially the Jupiler Pro League due to sponsorship reasons with Jupiler), is the top league competition for association football clubs in Belgium. Contested by 18 clubs since the 2020–21 season and reduced to 16 team ...

(1):

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

Belgian Super Cup The Belgian Super Cup ( nl, Belgische Supercup, ; french: Supercoupe de Belgique; german: Belgischer Fußball-Super Cup), ''Pro League Supercup'', is a Belgian club competition played as a single match between the Belgian First Division A champion ...

(1):

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

Hapoel Beer Sheva *

(3): 2015–16, 2016–17 2017–18 * Toto Cup Top Division (1): 2016–17

Individual

Hapoel Beer Sheva * Footballer of the Year in Israel (1): 2015–16 st place/small> *

Top scorer (1): 2015–16 nd place/small>

As a Manager

Hapoel Beer Sheva *

(1): 2021–22

References

External links

Elyaniv Barda profile and club history on Maccabi Haifa Official Website

Elyaniv Barda Profile and Statistics on One.co.il
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barda, Elyaniv 1981 births Living people Israeli footballers Association football forwards Hapoel Be'er Sheva F.C. players Maccabi Haifa F.C. players Hapoel Tel Aviv F.C. players K.R.C. Genk players Liga Leumit players Israeli Premier League players Belgian First Division A players Israel under-21 international footballers Israel international footballers Israeli expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Belgium Israeli expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Israeli football managers Hapoel Be'er Sheva F.C. managers Footballers from Beersheba Israeli people of Tunisian-Jewish descent Israeli Footballer of the Year recipients