Kenneth Hasan "Kenny" Saief ( ar, كينيث حسن "كيني" سيف, he, קנת' חסן "קני" סייף; born ) is an American professional
soccer player who plays as a
left midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
for
Azerbaijan Premier League club
Neftçi and the
United States national team. He played 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 ...
internationally at both youth and senior levels, before switching allegiance.
Early life
Saief was born in
Panama City, Florida
Panama City is a city in and the county seat of Bay County, Florida, United States. Located along U.S. Highway 98 (US 98), it is the largest city between Tallahassee and Pensacola. It is the more populated city of the Panama City–Lynn ...
, U.S., to
Druze-Israeli parents; The family returned to
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 ...
when he was three.
Club career
Saief began his professional career with
Bnei Sakhnin
Bnei Sakhnin F.C. ( ar, اتحاد أبناء سخنين, he, איחוד בני סכנין, ''Ihud Bnei Sakhnin''; ''Ittihad Abna Sakhnin'', ) is an Israeli football club based at the Doha Stadium in Sakhnin. They are the most successful clu ...
in 2011, before he was transferred to
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 (1 ...
one season later. The next year, he moved to
Hapoel Ironi Kiryat Shmona and reached the final of the
Israel State Cup. Saief made only two appearances however, which resulted in a transfer to
Ironi Nir Ramat HaSharon. There he gained more playing opportunities.
Saief attracted the attention of Belgian Pro League team K.A.A. Gent, who signed him for a three-year deal on August 8, 2014. On May 22, 2018, Saief officially signed to
Anderlecht.
On March 6, 2019, Saief was loaned to
FC Cincinnati
Football Club Cincinnati, commonly known as FC Cincinnati, is an American professional soccer club based in Cincinnati. The club plays in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The team succeeded the lower-division team of the ...
of
Major League Soccer. On March 24, 2019, Saief scored his first MLS goal against the
New England Revolution
The New England Revolution is an American professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), in the Eastern Conference of the league. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having compe ...
. On June 11, 2019, Saief's loan was terminated due to injury complications.
On February 12, 2020 he was loaned to Polish Ekstraklasa's
Lechia Gdańsk until the end of 2019–20 season.
International career
Saief has represented the Israel national team at various youth levels. He reportedly stated that he expected to play for the
United States national team, although he was called up to the
Israel national team and made his debut in a friendly 2–1 loss to
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 June 3, 2017, Saief was called up by the United States as part of their 40-man preliminary roster for the
2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup
The 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the 14th edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the biennial international men's soccer championship of the North, Central American and Caribbean region organized by CONCACAF, and 24th CONCACAF regional championship ove ...
. As part of his callup, Saief filed a one-time switch with FIFA, tying him permanently to the US program.
On June 22, 2017, U.S. Soccer confirmed that Saief had been approved by FIFA for a change of association.
He was chosen to make his first start for the United States against Paraguay on March 27, 2018.
Career statistics
Honors
Gent
*
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 tea ...
:
2014–15
*
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 champio ...
:
2015
See also
*
Sports in Israel
Sport in Israel plays an important role in Israeli culture and is supported by the Ministry of Culture and Sport. The most popular sports in Israel have traditionally been Association football (mainly) and basketball (secondly) - with the first ...
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saief, Kenny
1993 births
Living people
People from Panama City, Florida
Association football midfielders
American soccer players
Soccer players from Florida
United States men's international soccer players
Israel under-21 international footballers
Israel international footballers
American people of Israeli descent
American Druze
People with acquired Israeli citizenship
Arab citizens of Israel
Israeli Druze
Arab-Israeli footballers
Druze sportspeople
Maccabi Haifa F.C. players
Hapoel Haifa F.C. players
Maccabi Netanya F.C. players
Beitar Nes Tubruk F.C. players
TSV 1860 Munich players
Bnei Sakhnin F.C. players
Hapoel Ironi Kiryat Shmona F.C. players
Hapoel Nir Ramat HaSharon F.C. players
K.A.A. Gent players
R.S.C. Anderlecht players
FC Cincinnati players
Lechia Gdańsk players
F.C. Ashdod players
Neftçi PFK players
Israeli Premier League players
Belgian Pro League players
Major League Soccer players
Azerbaijan Premier League players
Israeli expatriate footballers
American expatriate soccer players
Expatriate footballers in Belgium
Expatriate footballers in Poland
Expatriate footballers in Azerbaijan
Israeli expatriate sportspeople in Belgium
Israeli expatriate sportspeople in Germany
Israeli expatriate sportspeople in Poland
Israeli expatriate sportspeople in Azerbaijan
American expatriate sportspeople in Belgium
American expatriate soccer players in Germany
American expatriate sportspeople in Poland
American expatriate sportspeople in Azerbaijan
Dual internationalists (football)