Yehiel Tzagai ( he, יחיאל צגאי, born 27 January 1983) is an

Ethiopian Ethiopians are the native inhabitants of Ethiopia, as well as the global diaspora of Ethiopia. Ethiopians constitute several component ethnic groups, many of which are closely related to ethnic groups in neighboring Eritrea and other parts of ...

-born

Israeli Israeli may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel * Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel * Modern Hebrew, a language * ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008 * Guni 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 ...

Biography

Tzagai was born in the Beta Israel community in

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

and his family immigrated 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 ...

in 1991 during the Operation Solomon. Tzagai grew up through the ranks at Beitar Avraham Be'er Sheva but as the club has collapsed in 2002, he signed at another club in

Beersheba 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. ...

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 ...

where he was loaned until 2004 to F.C. Ashdod and

Hakoah Ramat Gan Hakoah Maccabi Amidar Ramat Gan Football Club ( he, מועדון כדורגל הכח מכבי עמידר רמת גן) is an Israeli football club based in Ramat Gan. The club is currently in Liga Alef South division and plays at the Winter Stadiu ...

. In 2004 Tzagai returned to Hapoel Be'er Sheva and played there for three seasons in the second league, where he was considered one of the most talented players in the whole league. During the 2006-07 season, Tzagai and two other Be'er Sheva players admitted to receiving bribes to throw a match against

Hapoel Ra'anana Hapoel Ra'anana Association Football Club ( he, עמותת הפועל רעננה מחלקת כדורגל, ''Amutat Hapoel Ra'anana Mahleket Kaduregel'') is an Israeli football club based in the city of Ra'anana. They currently play in Liga Alef ...

. However, all three players had refused to throw the match, and later received threats from the people who had attempted to bribe them. In July 2007 Tzagai signed for

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. Af ...

and had a very successful debut season with 4 goals and 6 assists, but after some problems with

Lothar Matthäus Lothar Herbert Matthäus (; born 21 March 1961) is a German football pundit and former professional player and manager. After captaining West Germany to victory in the 1990 FIFA World Cup where he lifted the World Cup trophy, he was awarded the ...

he decided to leave the club and in the end of September 2008 he signed 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 September 2009 after one poor season with Sakhnin, Tzagai signed for

Hapoel Ashkelon Hapoel Ashkelon F.C. ( he, מועדון כדורגל הפועל אשקלון, ''Moadon Kaduregel Hapoel Ashkelon'') is an Israeli football club based in Ashkelon. The club currently competes in Liga Alef and plays at the 5,250-capacity Sala Sta ...

. He scored 13 goals and made 7 assists and was voted as the MVP of the 2009-10 season in

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 ...

after he was the main reason Ashkelon got promoted to 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 ...

. On 23 May 2010 it was reported that Tzagai signed a 2-year contract with

APOP Kinyras Peyias APOP Kinyras FC ( el, ΑΠΟΠ, Αθλητικός Ποδοσφαιρικός Ομιλος Πέγειας Κινύρας, ''Athlitikos Podosfairikos Omilos Pegeias Kinyras'', "Athletic Football Club Peyia Kinyras") was a Cypriot football club f ...

He returned to Hapoel Be'er Sheva on 10 January 2011. In May 2011 he signed a 2 years contract with

Sektzia Ness Ziona Sektzia Ness Ziona ( he, סקציית כדורגל נס-ציונה, ''Sektziyat Kaduregel Nes Tziona'', lit. ''Football Section Ness Ziona'') are a football club from the Israeli city of Ness Ziona. They currently play in the Israeli Premier Leag ...

in the Liga Leumit. The next season, he returned to play for Hapoel Ashkelon, there he played for 3 seasons. In the 2015-16 season he signed for Maccabi Jaffa in

Liga Alef Liga Alef ( he, ליגה א', , League A) is the third tier of the Israeli football league system. It is divided into two regional divisions, north and south. History League football began in Israel in 1949–50, a year after the Israeli Declar ...

Honours

: **Runner-up (1): 2009-10 **Player of the Year (2): 2009-10, 2011–12

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tzagai, Yehiel 1983 births Living people Ethiopian Jews Ethiopian emigrants to Israel Citizens of Israel through Law of Return Israeli Jews Israeli footballers Association football midfielders Beitar Be'er Sheva F.C. players Hapoel Be'er Sheva F.C. players Bnei Sakhnin F.C. players Maccabi Netanya F.C. players F.C. Ashdod players Hakoah Maccabi Amidar Ramat Gan F.C. players Sektzia Ness Ziona F.C. players Hapoel Ashkelon F.C. players Maccabi Jaffa F.C. players Hapoel Azor F.C. players Bnei Jaffa F.C. players Hapoel Ironi Baqa al-Gharbiyye F.C. players Hapoel Beit She'an F.C. players Liga Leumit players Israeli Premier League players Cypriot First Division players Israeli people of Ethiopian-Jewish descent Sportspeople of Ethiopian descent APOP Kinyras FC players Expatriate footballers in Cyprus Israeli expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus Footballers from Beersheba