Yossi Benayoun

Yossi Benayoun was born in 1980 in Dimona

Benayoun was born in Dimona in 1980 to a family of Moroccan Jewish descent. His father, Dudu Benayoun, also played football for Hapoel Dimona. As a boy he played in the youth teams of Hapoel Be'er Sheva.

At 15 he joined the Ajax youth academy in the Netherlands. The family found life in Amsterdam hard and returned to Israel after 8 months. He then joined the Hapoel Be'er Sheva senior team, which was relegated that season.

In 1998 he moved to Maccabi Haifa. He helped the club win 2 league titles in a row and was named player of the season. In 2002 he moved to Racing Santander in Spain.

In 2005 he joined West Ham United in England and played in the FA Cup final in 2006. He moved to Liverpool in 2007 and to Chelsea in 2010, which loaned him to Arsenal and West Ham. With Chelsea he won the UEFA Europa League, and he later played for Queens Park Rangers.

He returned to Israel and played for Maccabi Haifa, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Maccabi Petah Tikva and Beitar Jerusalem. He played for the national team from 1998 to 2018. He later became sporting director of Beitar Jerusalem and of the Israel national team.