Itay Menachem Shechter (or Etey Schechter,http://antisemitism.org.il/en/70261/ he, איתי שכטר; born 22 February 1987) is an Israeli professional

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 plays as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

for

Hapoel Petah Tikva Hapoel Petah Tikva F.C. ( he, הפועל פתח תקווה) is an Israeli football club based in the city of Petah Tikva, currently playing in the Liga Leumit. Its most successful period was throughout the 1950s and 1960s, in which the club won ...

. He has played for the

Israel national under-18 football team The Israel national under-18 football team represents Israel in international football at youth level and is controlled by Israel Football Association, the governing body for football in Israel. The current coach is Eli Ohana. UEFA European U-1 ...

Israel national under-19 football team Israel's national under-19 football team ( he, נבחרת הנוער של ישראל בכדורגל עד גיל 19), also known as Israel Under-19s or Israel U19s, is regarded as the feeder team for the Israel national under-21 football team. ...

Israel national under-21 football team The Israel national under-21 football team ( he, הנבחרת הצעירה של ישראל בכדורגל) is the national under-21 football team of Israel and is controlled by the Israel Football Association (IFA). It is considered to be the feed ...

, and

Israel 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 won a gold medal at the 2005 Maccabiah Games with Team Israel. He has formerly played for

Hapoel Nazareth Illit Hapoel Nof HaGalil Football Club (, ar, هبوعيل نوف هچليل) is an Israeli football club based in the city of Nof HaGalil, Formally known by the name "Nazareth Illit" until 2019 (The club accordingly was named as Hapoel Nazareth Il ...

Maccabi Netanya Maccabi Netanya F.C. ( he, מועדון כדורגל מכבי נתניה, ''Football Club Maccabi Netanya'') is an Israeli football club based in Netanya. Established in 1934, the club was a founding member of the Israeli League in 1949. Afte ...

, 1. FC Kaiserslautern , Swansea City, Hapoel Tel Aviv,

Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...

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 ...

Beitar Jerusalem Beitar Jerusalem Football Club ( he, מועדון כדורגל בית"ר ירושלים, Moadon Kaduregel Beitar Yerushalayim), commonly known as Beitar Jerusalem () or simply as Beitar (), is an Israeli football club based in the city of Jerus ...

Maccabi Tel Aviv Maccabi Tel Aviv ( he, מכבי תל אביב) is one of the largest sports clubs in Israel, and a part of the Maccabi association. Many sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv are in association with Maccabi and compete in a variety of sports, such ...

and

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 ...

Early life

Shechter was born in Ramat Yishai, Israel, to a family of

Ashkenazi Jewish Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...

(

Romanian-Jewish The history of the Jews in Romania concerns the Jews both of Romania and of Romanian origins, from their first mention on what is present-day Romanian territory. Minimal until the 18th century, the size of the Jewish population increased after ...

) descent. As a senior footballer, Shechter attended

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...

classes twice a week, and also puts on

tefillin Tefillin (; Modern Hebrew language, Israeli Hebrew: / ; Ashkenazim, Ashkenazic pronunciation: ), or phylacteries, are a set of small black leather boxes with leather straps containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah. Te ...

every morning.

Club career

Early career in Israel

Shechter started his career in the

Hapoel Haifa Hapoel Haifa Football Club ( he, מועדון הכדורגל הפועל חיפה, ''Moadon HaKaduregel Hapoel Haifa'') is an Israeli football club located in the city of Haifa. The club won one championship (1998–99) and 4 Israeli cups ( ...

youth team where in 1999–2000 he won the Israeli Youth Cup at the age of 13. One year later, Shechter moved to the youth club F.C. Emek Izra'el and helped the club promote in four seasons from the fourth league to the first league in youth football. Three years after moving to Emek Izra'el, the youth club was joined to the youth club of

, which played in 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 ...

at the same season, and the new club was renamed Hapoel Nazareth Illit/Emek Izra'el. Shechter was eventually promoted to the first team of

in the

. His first game in the

was on 29 August 2005 during Nazareth Illit's 1–2 defeat to F.C. Ashdod, when he came on as a substitute. He scored his first goal in Nazareth Illit first team against Maccabi Netanya in a 3–1 loss in the

, scoring the only goal for his club in this game. He won a gold medal with Team Israel, alongside

Yuval Spungin Yuval Spungin (or Yuval Shpungin, he, יובל שפונגין; born 3 April 1987) is an Israeli footballer who plays for Hapoel Kfar Shalem F.C., Hapoel Kfar Shalem. He has played for the Israel national under-17 football team, the Israel nation ...

, in the 2005 Maccabiah Games. Shechter has made 10 appearances for the

, was capped several times at youth level. His first appearance in the U-21 team was on the losing side to

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

, losing 2–1 in a friendly game, Shechter scored the only goal for the Israeli team in this game. In 2006, Shechter moved to Maccabi Netanya because he wanted to move to a bigger club than Nazareth Illit, which had just been relegated to

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 ...

. While at the club, Shechter would soon play in the important member in the first team, due to his goal and assist. In his three season with Maccabi Netanya, he would score twenty-one in eighty-three appearances. In addition, Shechter soon attracted interest from clubs not only from domestic, but also clubs from abroad like

Standard Liège Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège (; nl, Standard Luik ; german: Standard Lüttich ) or simply Standard in Belgium, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Liège. They are one of the most ...

and Club Brugge.

Hapoel Tel Aviv

After three years with

on 23 July 2009, he moved for $500,000 to Hapoel Tel Aviv where he played until 2011. He scored on his debut with Hapoel Tel Aviv in

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 ...

3–1 win against

IFK Göteborg Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna Göteborg (officially IFK Göteborg Fotboll), commonly known as IFK Göteborg, IFK (especially locally) or simply Göteborg, is a Swedish professional football club based in Gothenburg. Founded in 1904, it is the ...

in the third qualifying round. He made his league debut for the club, on the opening game of the season, in a goalless draw against

. One month later, on 21 September 2009, he scored his first goal for the club, in a 2–1 loss against

; followed up with his second and third goal on 4 October 2009, in a 3–0 win against his former club, Maccabi Netanya. In the Europa League group-stage match, he scored two goals and provided two assist in two consecutive games against

Hamburger SV Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. (), commonly known as Hamburger SV () or Hamburg (), is a German sports club based in Hamburg, with its largest branch being its football section. Though the current HSV was founded in June 1919 from a merger of three ...

and

Rapid Wien Sportklub Rapid Wien (), commonly known as Rapid Vienna, is an Austrian football club playing in the country's capital city of Vienna. Rapid has won the most Austrian championship titles (32), including the first title in the season 1911–12, ...

. Since in his first season, he scored in consecutive games, at least three times. He also scored a hat-trick, in a 7–1 win over

on 21 November 2009. His season ended in positive with the club when the club won the

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

. On 18 August 2010, Shechter made headlines during a

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

playoff match against Red Bull Salzburg in Austria, when he celebrated a goal by pulling a crocheted Hapoel Tel Aviv

kippah A , , or , plural ), also called ''yarmulke'' (, ; yi, יאַרמלקע, link=no, , german: Jarmulke, pl, Jarmułka or ''koppel'' ( yi, קאפל ) is a brimless cap, usually made of cloth, traditionally worn by Jewish males to fulfill the c ...

from his sock and placing it on his head. The display earned him a yellow card and garnered attention in Israel, where the gesture was widely interpreted as a triumphant gesture against the Nazi history of Austria's past. This interpretation was questioned when it was discovered that the head covering was given to him by a cancer patient and Hapoel Tel Aviv fan. On 20 October 2010, Shechter scored his first Champions League goal, in a 3–1 loss against

Schalke 04 Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as FC Schalke 04 (), Schalke 04 (), or abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional German football and multi-sports club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine ...

. Soon after that, Shechter's playing time significantly decreased, due to injuries; the first being his thigh muscle in late August; his second another thigh muscle in October; his third a dislocated shoulder and the last was another dislocated shoulder, which ruled him out for the rest of the season, during a match against Hapoel Acre. In December 2010, Italian side

Chievo Chievo (4,500 inhabitants) is a frazione of Verona located to the west of the city, around from the historic city centre, on the shores of the river Adige. It is best known for its football team, A.C. ChievoVerona, which competes in the second ...

wanted to sign Shechter on loan, with an option to buy the player. Among those who tried to sign him were

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 ...

, but the move was soon pulled.

1. FC Kaiserslautern

On 7 July 2011, Shechter's transfer to 1. FC Kaiserslautern from the

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

was completed. The fee was €2,500,000 and he signed a four-year contract with the club, where he was soon joined with compatriot

Gil Vermouth Gil Vermouth ( he, גיל "גילי" ורמוט; born August 5, 1985) is an Israeli former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or winger. Club career Vermouth is Jewish, and was born in Kiryat Yam, Israel. Vermouth st ...

. He made his debut for the club, on the opening game of the season, in a 2–0 loss against

Werder Bremen Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen (), Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen, Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, they are be ...

. Then, the next game, he scored his first goal for the club, in a 1–1 draw against

Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ' ...

. However, later in the season, he soon struggled to score goals, having only scored four times in all competitions and it went worse when he lost his first team place, due to a suspension against

Hannover 96 Hannoverscher Sportverein von 1896, commonly referred to as Hannover 96 (), Hannover, HSV or simply 96, is a German professional football club based in the city of Hanover, Lower Saxony. They played in the Bundesliga for a total of 30 years betwe ...

on 18 December 2011, causing him to miss two games. Another is suffering two injuries: calf muscle strain and muscular problems. After a 4–0 loss against

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...

, Shechter was subjected to anti-Semitic insults, which caused nationwide outrage and condemnation. At the end of the season, the club was relegated.

Swansea City

On 15 August 2012, Swansea City of the English

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

signed Shechter on a one-year loan deal from Kaiserslautern. After being included in the bench as an unused substitute against

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

on 1 September, he made his debut for the club two weeks later, coming on as a substitute for

Leon Britton Leon James Britton (born 16 September 1982) is an English footballer and coach who plays for Ammanford in the Cymru South. A midfielder, he spent most of his career with Swansea City, having joined Swansea on a permanent transfer in 2003. Brit ...

in the 79th minute of a 2–0 defeat at

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

. On 3 November, he contributed an assist for Pablo Hernández, in a 1–1 draw against

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

. Shechter was an unused substitute on 24 February 2013 as Swansea won the

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

with a 5–0 win over

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes. Th ...

the final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

. On 7 May, he scored his first Premier League goal and the only goal of his loan, in a 3–2 win over

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, ...

at the

DW Stadium The DW Stadium is a stadium in Robin Park, in Wigan, within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The ground is owned and managed by Wigan Football Company Limited, which is 85% owned by Wigan Athletic and 15% owned ...

. At the end of the season, Shechter paid tribute to the club for treating him very well. However, upon making his return to the club, Shechter revealed he was never part of the squad at Swansea City.

Return to Hapoel Tel Aviv

On 13 June 2013, Shechter returned to Hapoel Tel Aviv, exactly two years after he left for Kaiserslautern. Hapoel had to pay Kaiserslautern a mere €500,000 transfer fee, €2 million less than what the German club paid for his services just two years before. He previously went to training with the club in February after being barred from going to Dubai, due to United Arab Emirates’ policy on visits by Israelis.

Nantes and Maccabi Haifa

On 30 January 2014 he was loaned to

, joining the French club on a permanent basis on 22 May, on a two-year deal. During his time at the club he scored twice in a 4–0

Coupe de la Ligue The Coupe de la Ligue (), known outside France as the French League Cup, was a Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in Football in France, French football organized by the Ligue de Football Professionnel. The tournament was est ...

win over

Laval Laval means ''The Valley'' in old French and is the name of: People * House of Laval, a French noble family originating from the town of Laval, Mayenne * Laval (surname) Places Belgium * Laval, a village in the municipality of Sainte-Ode, Luxem ...

in October, and his only

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...

goal came the previous month to decide a 2–1 home win over

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

; however, on 2 February 2015 he returned to Israel and signed a 4 years deal with

Beitar Jerusalem

On 22 January 2016, Shechter he was loaned to

after scoring only one goal this term for

. On 22 May 2018, Shechter left

Maccabi Tel Aviv

On 24 May 2018, Shechter signed to

club

Hapoel Be'er Sheva

On 20 June 2021, Shechter signed for

Hapoel Petah Tikva

On 19 June 2023 signed for

International career

He participated in the

Valeri Lobanovsky Memorial Tournament Valeri Lobanovsky Memorial Tournament ( uk, Турнір Пам'яті Валерія Лобановського) is an international football tournament established in honour and memory of Valeri Lobanovsky since his death on 13 May 2002, hence th ...

2007, where he scored 2 goals as the top scorer and brought victory to his team. On 3 March 2010 he made his debut in the victory match against

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

. On 10 August 2011, scored his first goal for the national team after coming on as a substitute in the match against

Cote d'Ivoire Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

Personal life

Following a win against

in the Europa League in 2009, Shechter, along with Brazilian teammate Douglas da Silva, was arrested at

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

airport over rape allegations, but was soon released from custody. The prosecutor allowed the pair to go as there was no evidence to justify keeping them in jail. Prosecutors then dropped charges against Shechter, while Douglas' case continued. Eventually, police soon dropped the charges against the pair.

Career statistics

Club

International goals

:''Scores and results list Israel's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Shechter goal''.

Honours

Hapoel Tel-Aviv *

(1): 2009–10 * State Cup (2): 2009–10, 2010–11 Swansea City *

Football League Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

(1): 2012–13 Maccabi Tel Aviv *

(2): 2018–19, 2019-20 * State Cup (1):

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

Toto Cup The Israel Toto Cup ( he, גביע הטוטו, ''Gvia Ha'Toto'') is an association football tournament that features clubs in the two highest divisions in Israel: the Israeli Premier League ( Ligat Ha'Al), and the second division Liga Leumit. Fro ...

(2): 2018–19, 2020-21 * Super Cup (2):

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

Hapoel Be'er Sheva * State Cup (1): 2021–22 * Super Cup (1):

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

Footnotes

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shechter, Itay 1987 births Living people Israeli Ashkenazi Jews Israeli men's footballers Israel men's international footballers Hapoel Nof HaGalil F.C. players Maccabi Netanya F.C. players Hapoel Tel Aviv F.C. players 1. FC Kaiserslautern players Swansea City A.F.C. players FC Nantes players Maccabi Haifa F.C. players Beitar Jerusalem F.C. players Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C. players Hapoel Be'er Sheva F.C. players Hapoel Petah Tikva F.C. players Israeli Premier League players Bundesliga players Premier League players Ligue 1 players Israeli expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Wales Expatriate men's footballers in France Israeli expatriate sportspeople in Germany Israeli expatriate sportspeople in Wales Israeli expatriate sportspeople in France Israeli people of Romanian-Jewish descent Maccabiah Games medalists in football Maccabiah Games gold medalists for Israel Maccabiah Games competitors for Israel Competitors at the 2005 Maccabiah Games Men's association football forwards People from Ramat Yishay Footballers from Northern District (Israel) Israel men's youth international footballers Israel men's under-21 international footballers