Yaniv Katan

Yaniv Katan was born in 1981 in Kiryat Ata

Katan was born on 27 January 1981 in Kiryat Ata. He is Jewish. He began playing at Maccabi Haifa at age 9 and played for its youth teams as a forward.

He became a regular starter at Maccabi Haifa and joined the senior national team at 19. In the 2002/2003 Champions League he scored the first goal by an Israeli club in the competition, against Manchester United at Old Trafford. In the 2004/2005 season he led the league in assists with 14.

In December 2005 he signed with West Ham United, where he made 8 appearances, 6 of them as a substitute. After coach Alan Pardew told him he was not in his plans, he returned to Maccabi Haifa and became captain. He retired from the national team in 2010 after 31 appearances because of back problems.

He retired from playing in June 2014, and the club retired his number 20. Since 2017 he has hosted a daily sports show on Radio Haifa, which won an award in November 2024. He is married with 3 children and lives in Kiryat Ata.