Yaniv Katan ( he, יניב קטן; born 27 January 1981) is a retired Israeli international

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 professionally for

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 ...

, as a forward and winger. He earned 31 caps 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 ...

, scoring five goals.

Personal life

Katan was born in

Kiryat Ata Kiryat Ata ( he, קִרְיַת אָתָא; also Qiryat Ata) is a city in the Haifa District of Israel. In it had a population of , 92% of whom were Jewish citizens. History The Early Bronze Age site at Qiryat Ata has been extensively excavate ...

, Israel, and is Jewish.

Club career

In December 2005, Katan signed a four-year contract with

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

, where he joined up with Israeli international teammate

Yossi Benayoun Yossi Shai Benayoun ( he, יוסי שי בניון; born 5 May 1980) is an Israeli former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He spent most of his career in England and captained the Israel national team. Born in Dimona, he is ...

. The transfer, which was officially completed during the January 2006

transfer window A transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club can transfer players from other playing staff into their playing staff. Such a transfer is completed by registering the player into the new club through FIFA. "Transfer wi ...

, involved a cut-price fee of £100,000, as Katan had only six months left on his Maccabi contract. He made eight appearances, including six from the bench, for West Ham. At the end of the 2005–06 season, Katan moved back to Maccabi Haifa in a loan deal, with a view to a permanent move, after Alan Pardew reportedly told him he was no longer in his plans. He returned to Israel and made his loan deal permanent by signing a new four-year deal with Haifa. After 25 years in

, on 19 June 2014, Katan decided to retire from active playing. On 5 April 2015, a farewell ceremony for Katan was held at the

Sammy Ofer Stadium Sammy Ofer Stadium ( he, אצטדיון סמי עופר), also known as Haifa Municipal Stadium (), is a 30,858 seats multi-purpose stadium in Haifa, Israel. Construction began in late 2009 and was completed in 2014. The stadium was developed ...

on which both

's chairman

Ya'akov Shahar Ya'akov "Yankale" Shahar ( he, יעקב "יענקל'ה" שחר; born 1941) is an Israeli businessman best known for his ownership of Maccabi Haifa F.C. References Israeli Jews Maccabi Haifa F.C. Israeli football chairmen and investors ...

and Katan led a speech and the fans held a giant flag with Katan's pictures.

Career statistics

Club

Honours

;

* Israeli Championships **Winner (6): 2000–01, 2001–02, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2008–09,

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. ...

**''Runner-up (5)'': 1999–2000, 2002–03, 2009–10,

2012–13 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 ...

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. F ...

**Winner (3): 2002–03, 2005–06, 2007–08 * State Cup **''Runner-up (4)'': 2002, 2009, 2011,

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

;

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

**''Runner-up (1):'' 2006

References

External links

*
Yaniv Katan profile and stats on FootballDatabase.com

Yaniv Katan profile and club history on Maccabi Haifa Official Website

Yaniv Katan Profile and Statistics on One.co.il

After 25 years in

, On 19 June 2014, Katan decided to retire from active playing. {{DEFAULTSORT:Katan, Yaniv 1981 births Israeli Jews Living people Association football forwards Israeli footballers Maccabi Haifa F.C. players West Ham United F.C. players Israel international footballers Liga Leumit players Israeli Premier League players Premier League players Israeli expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in England Israeli expatriate sportspeople in England Israeli people of Iraqi-Jewish descent Footballers from Kiryat Ata