Ahmad Saba'a (or Ahmed Saba, , ; born 24 May 1980) is an

Arab-Israeli The Arab citizens of Israel form the country's largest ethnic minority. Their community mainly consists of former Mandatory Palestine citizens (and their descendants) who continued to inhabit the territory that was acknowledged as Israeli by ...

former

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 lea ...

Biography

Ahmad Saba'a was born in

Majd al-Kurum Majd al-Krum ( ''Majd al-Kurūm'', ) is an Arab town located in the Galilee in Israel's Northern District about 16 kilometers (10 miles) east of Acre. Its inhabitants are primarily Muslim. In it had a population of . Name The name Majd al-Krum ...

, Israel, to a Muslim-Arab family. His cousin Dia Saba'a is a footballer as well. In 2010, Saba'a founded his own football school, operating in his hometown of

. The school has 180 protégés and its main goal is to bring local talent from Majd al-Kurum to the second and first division leagues in Israel. He is a cousin of Israeli professional

Dia Saba Dia Saba (sometimes Sabi'a or Seba, , ; born 18 November 1992) is an Israeli professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Israeli Premier League club Maccabi Haifa. Early life Saba was born in Majd al-Krum, Israel, to a Musl ...

Club career

Hapoel Majd al-Kurum

Ahmad grew up in the youth ranks of Hapoel Majd al-Krum and made his debut for the senior side in 1997. In 1999-00 he was one of the main players in the club's historic promotion to

Liga Artzit Liga Artzit (, lit. ''Country League'') is the defunct third division of Israeli Football League, beneath its highest division Premier League and the second division Liga Leumit. Before being cancelled in 2009, it was run by the Israel Football A ...

. He left Majd al-Krum in 2002.

Hapoel Acre

Ahmad moved to Hapoel Acre after signing a one-year contract in July 2002. Even though he played well for the club with 10 goals in 20 league games, he didn't extended his contract with the club.

Hapoel Bnei Lod

In August 2003 he moved to Hapoel Bnei Lod. He helped Lod win two promotions, the first came in the 2004–05 season when the club won

Liga Alef Liga Alef () 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 Declaration of Independence. Howe ...

, the next season the club won Liga Artzit with Ahmad as one of the factors for the team's success. In 6 seasons with the club Saba'a scored 61 goals in 149 league games.

Maccabi Netanya

On 20 January 2009, Saba'a signed a one-year deal with Maccabi Netanya. His first goal for the club came against

Sliema Wanderers Sliema Wanderers Football Club, nicknamed "tax-Xelin" ( of the shilling), is a professional Maltese football club. It is the most successful team in Malta and hails from the seaside town of Sliema. It currently plays in the Maltese Premier Leagu ...

in the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

on 23 July 2009. In his first season with Netanya he became the club's top scorer, a feat repeated the following three seasons. In June 2011 he extended his contract with the club for 3 more years under a new contract worth $390,000. In September 2011 he was appointed as the captain of the team. He was voted as player of the 2011–12 season while securing his position as the top goalscorer with 20 league goals. On 4 November 2012 he became the first to score a goal in the opening game of the new

Netanya Stadium Miriam Stadium (), commonly known as The Diamond Stadium, is a multi-use stadium in Netanya, Israel. It is used as the permanent home ground of Maccabi Netanya F.C., Maccabi Netanya, and it has been used as the temporary homeground of Hapoel Ha ...

as Netanya won the game 2–1 against

Hapoel Tel Aviv Hapoel Tel Aviv () is a sports club in Israel, founded in the 1920s, and part of the Hapoel association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, such as football, basketball, w ...

. In 4 seasons with the club Saba'a scored 62 goals in a total of 153 games in all club competitions. Saba'a is in the top ten all time goalscorers of Maccabi Netanya.

Hapoel Ironi Kiryat Shmona

On 16 May 2013, after 4 years with Netanya he moved to Hapoel Ironi Kiryat Shmona for a transfer fee of $120,000. Saba'a signed a two years contract with Kiryat Shmona.

Hapoel Ra'anana

After a terrible half season with Kiryat Shmona, in January 2014 Saba'a moved to

Hapoel Ra'anana Hapoel Ra'anana Association Football Club (, ''Amutat Hapoel Ra'anana Mahleket Kaduregel'') is an Israeli football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to s ...

. One month later he asked to be released from the club.

International career

After reaching the highest levels of Israeli domestic football, Saba'a has said that his goal is to one day play for the Israel national team. He has never featured for any national youth football teams. On 18 March 2012 after a lot of media coverage on the fact that he has yet been called for the national team, Saba'a was quoted that he will not play for the Palestine national side - "I won't play for Palestine because I'm an Israeli player".

Statistics

Honours

Team

(2): ** 1999-00 (Northern division), 2004-05 (Southern division) *

Liga Bet Liga Bet () is the fourth tier of the Israeli football league system. It is divided into four regional divisions. History League football started in Israel in 1949–50, a year after the Israeli Declaration of Independence. However, the financial ...

(1): ** 2003-04 *

(1): ** 2005-06

Individual

* Sport 5 Player of the Season (1): 2011–12 * Footballer of the Year in Israel (1): 2012שחקן העונה: אחמד סבע כובש שוב
/ref> *

Israeli Premier League The Israeli Premier League (, Ligat HaAl, ) is a professional association football league in Israel and the highest level of the Israeli football league system. The league is contested by 14 clubs, and operates on a system of promotion and rele ...

- 2011–12 Top Goalscorer (20 goals)

References

External links

*
Profile and statistics on One.co.il
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sabaa, Ahmad 1980 births Living people Arab citizens of Israel Arab-Israeli footballers Israeli Muslims Israeli men's footballers Footballers from Majd al-Krum Hapoel Acre F.C. players Hapoel Bnei Lod F.C. players Maccabi Netanya F.C. players Hapoel Ironi Kiryat Shmona F.C. players Hapoel Ra'anana A.F.C. players Ihud Bnei Majd al-Krum F.C. players Hapoel Kafr Kanna F.C. players Liga Leumit players Israeli Premier League players Israeli Footballer of the Year recipients Men's association football forwards 21st-century Israeli sportsmen