Omer Golan ( he, עומר גולן; born 4 October 1982) is a former Israeli
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 ...
. He played as a
striker for his home club
Maccabi Petah Tikva
Maccabi Petah Tikva F.C. ( he, מכבי פתח תקווה) (Full name: "Maccabi Avshalom Ironi Petah Tikva F.C., ) is an Israeli football club based in the city of Petah Tikva. It is part of the Maccabi World Union for international Jewish spo ...
and for
Lokeren
Lokeren () is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality located in the Belgian Provinces of Belgium, province of East Flanders, and belongs to the Waasland, also called ''Land van Waas'', of which it is the second ...
.
Club career
Maccabi Petah Tikva
Golan played in the youth ranks of Maccabi Petah Tikva, before being transferred to the first team in 2000. In the
2003–04 Israeli Premier League
The 2003–04 Israeli Premier League season was held between 13 September 2003 and 22 May 2004. For the first time, there were two Israeli Arab clubs in the top division; Maccabi Ahi Nazareth and Bnei Sakhnin.
Maccabi Haifa won the title, whilst ...
, Golan was the third equal highest goalscorer, netting 13 times. In the
2005–06 Israeli Premier League
The 2005–06 Israeli Premier League season saw Maccabi Haifa win their third consecutive title. It took place from the first match on 26 August 2005 to the final match on 14 May 2006.
Two teams from Liga Leumit were promoted at the end of the pre ...
, Golan was the fifth equal highest goalscorer, with 11 strikes.
Golan was a member of the winning
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 ...
side of 2003–04, who were victorious against
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 ...
3–0 in the final. Golan scored goals in the semi-finals and the final of the tournament. He scored the final goal of the semi-final that finished in a 3–1 win against
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 ...
, and the last goal of the final against Maccabi Haifa.
Golan also scored a hat trick in the
2005–06 UEFA Cup
The 2005–06 UEFA Cup, the 35th edition of the UEFA Cup, was won by Sevilla, beating Middlesbrough in the final. It was the first victory for Sevilla in a European competition, and the first appearance by Middlesbrough in a European final. The ...
first round qualifying against Macedonian side
FK Bashkimi in an 11–0 aggregate victory for the Israeli side. Golan scored a second hat-trick in the next phase of qualification, the first round, against Serbian side
FK Partizan
Fudbalski klub Partizan ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Партизан, ; en, Partizan Football Club), sometimes known as Partizan Belgrade in English, is a Serbia, Serbian professional football club (association football), football ...
to ensure a 5–4 aggregate progression to the group stages of the tournament. However, Maccabi was outclassed in the group stages, which included
RCD Espanyol
Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona (; "Royal Spanish Sports Club of Barcelona"), commonly known as Espanyol, is a professional sports club based in Barcelona, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of the Spanish football league sy ...
,
U.S. Città di Palermo
Palermo Football Club, more simply known as Palermo F.C. or Palermo (; scn, Paliemmu, link=no, ), is an Italian football club based in the Sicilian city of Palermo, conventionally founded for the first time on 1 November 1900.
Among the club ...
,
FC Lokomotiv Moscow
FC Lokomotiv Moscow (''FC Lokomotiv Moskva'', russian: link=no, Футбольный клуб "Локомотив" Москва, ) is a Russian professional football club based in Moscow. Lokomotiv have won the Russian Premier League on three oc ...
and
Brøndby IF
Brøndbyernes Idrætsforening (, usually abbreviated to Brøndby IF (), is a professional association football club based in Brøndbyvester, Capital Region of Denmark. The club was founded in 1964 as a merger between two local clubs and was p ...
. Losing all of its matches, the Israeli club only managed one goal in four matches. This goal was scored by Golan in a 2–1 loss to Palermo.
In seven years with the club he made 207 appearances in all club competitions, scoring 67 times and provided 14 assists.
Lokeren
In December 2007, Omer Golan got his transfer to Europe when the Belgian club
Lokeren
Lokeren () is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality located in the Belgian Provinces of Belgium, province of East Flanders, and belongs to the Waasland, also called ''Land van Waas'', of which it is the second ...
paid an estimated $1 million to his former club, Maccabi Petah Tikva. One of his demands in the contract is that he could leave the club if a bigger club offers him a contract. Several Belgian top clubs such as Anderlecht and Standard as well as some English clubs, were reportedly wanting to sign him, but he finally signed in Lokeren, most likely due to the significantly higher wages which were offered to him.
In Golan's first season at Lokeren, the 2007–08 season, he scored 5 goals in 15 appearances. In his second season, he scored 6 goals in 29 appearances and in his last season with the club he scored 2 goals in 18 appearances. Overall in all club competitions he scored 13 times and made 6 assists in 64 games for Lokeren.
Maccabi Petah Tikva
After an unsuccessful spell at Lokeren, Golan returned to Maccabi Petah Tikva. In his first season back he scored 10 goals and made 1 assist in 28 games in all club competitions. In the 2011–12 season he had a very poor season only scoring 6 times in 33 games and Petah Tikva also had a poor season as they got relegated after 21 consecutive seasons in the top flight. The next season, he won with Petah Tikva the
2012–13 Liga Leumit
The 2012–13 Liga Leumit was the fourteen season since its introduction in 1999 and the 71st season of second-tier football in Israel. It began on 24 August 2012 and ended on 20 May 2013.
A total of sixteen teams contested in the league, includin ...
as the club got promoted back to the Premier League, Golan had one of his best seasons as he scored 18 league goals and was one of the most important players for the team in that season.
On 13 March 2014, he retired from the game. He will be remembered as one of the greatest players in the history of Maccabi Petah Tikva, in 11 seasons with the club he made a total of 313 appearances and is the all time goalscorer for the club with 103 goals in all club competitions.
International career
Golan made his international debut for the
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 ...
when he came on as a 74th-minute substitute for
Eyal Berkovich
Eyal Berkovic (or Berkovich, he, אייל ברקוביץ'; born 2 April 1972) is an Israeli former professional association footballer, football coach, team owner and television talk show presenter.
As a player he was an attacking midfielder ...
in a friendly against the
Moldova national football team
The Moldova national football team ( ro, Echipa națională de fotbal a Moldovei) represents Moldova in international football and is controlled by the Moldovan Football Federation, the governing body for football in Moldova. Moldova's home gro ...
on 28 April 2004. His first international goal came on 9 February 2004 against the
Croatia national football team
The Croatia national football team ( hr, Hrvatska nogometna reprezentacija) represents Croatia in international Association football, football matches. It is governed by the Croatian Football Federation (HNS), the governing body for football ...
, when he scored the final goal to tie the game at 3–3.
On 17 November 2007, Omer Golan scored the winning goal for Israel 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 ...
, handing
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 ...
a lifeline in their qualification group for
Euro 2008
The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of European ...
, meaning England could still qualify; if Russia had won, qualification for England would be near impossible. Golan was, for a short period, proclaimed a hero by English football fans; but England lost the match to Croatia meaning they did not qualify for Euro 2008.
According to Golan, before he scored against Russia, many thought that he was on the national team because of his strong friendship with Avi Luzon, then
IFA
IFA or Ifa may refer to:
Organisations
Economics
* Independent financial adviser, a type of financial services professional in the UK
* Index Fund Advisors
* Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, representing actuaries in the UK
* Institute of Ac ...
chief and former owner of Maccabi Petah Tikva.
Honours
*
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 ...
(1): 2003–04
*
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 ...
(1): 2012–13
References
External links
*
1982 births
Living people
Israeli Jews
Israeli footballers
Maccabi Petah Tikva F.C. players
K.S.C. Lokeren Oost-Vlaanderen players
Israeli Premier League players
Belgian First Division A players
Israeli expatriate footballers
Expatriate footballers in Israel
Israeli expatriate sportspeople in Belgium
Israel international footballers
Footballers from Holon
Israeli people of Yemeni-Jewish descent
Association football forwards
{{Israel-footy-bio-stub