Dedi Ben Dayan

Dedi Ben Dayan
Personal information
Full name	David Ben Dayan
Height	1.79 m (5 ft 10+1⁄2 in)
Position(s)	Left Defender
Team information
Current team	Maccabi Netanya
Number	19
	‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of September 15, 2008

David "Dedi" Ben Dayan (Template:Lang-he; born November 27, 1978) is an Israeli football (soccer) defender, who currently plays for Maccabi Netanya in Israel. He is known for his good tackling, and also speed and his ability to join the atack.

Biography

Playing career

Ben Dayan started his career at Maccabi Tel-Aviv, where he saw limited action over the span of 5 seasons. After a break out 2000-01 season, Ben Dayan was called up to the Israel national football team by then manager, Richard Møller Nielsen, for a friendly against Hungary. His most successful club season though was in 2001-02 when he started and helped the club win the Israel State Cup having not played a single fixture in the clubs previous cup title.

In 2002 Dedi was transferred to Hapoel Petah Tikva where he would start each match but was unimpressive, usually being the first player substituted. He moved on to Hapoel Kfar Saba but after the club was relegated and Dedi was left in 2003 looking for a new club in a little less than a year.

Dedi Ben Dayan would head south to Be'er Sheva to join Hapoel for the 2003-04 season. There he would revive his career playing under Eli Guttman. This even led to him getting a second chance to play on the national team, but he only featured in two friendlies against Azerbaijan and Moldova.

Move to the United States

After two seasons in Be'er Sheva, Ben Dayan became the second Israeli ever to play in the United States' top football league, Major League Soccer, when he signed a one year contract with Colorado Rapids (the other was Guy Melamed who was released on a free transfer shortly after Ben Dayan's arrival). When his first season ended, Dedi had proven his worth to Colorado manager, Fernando Clavijo, and was signed to a three year contract estimated at $120,000 per annum.During his time there, when Dedi would score a goal for Colorado at INVESCO Field, he would generally run to his family in Colorado who would throw him the Israeli flag.

Return to Israel

Dedi returned to Israel to play for Maccabi Netanya in August 2006. He stated that he asked to return due to the Second Lebanon War and wanted to be closer to his family. In an interview with a sport website, Ben Dayan stated that he didn't improve at all during his time in the United States and it was time to go back to Israel^[1]. The website in turn stated that his time there was a waste.

Personal life

Ben Dayan is Jewish.^[2] While playing for the Colorado Rapids, Ben Dayan was dismayed that he had to miss a league match due to its falling out on Yom Kippur.^[3]

After seven years of dating, Ben Dayan married Dana Farkash at the Royal Garden Hotel in Eilat, Israel in a Jewish ceremony. Among the guests were numerous Israeli celebrities and professional footballers.^[4]

Honours

Toto Cup (1):
- 1998-99
Israel State Cup (2):
- 2001, 2002

Footnotes

^ Template:He icon Ben Dayan: "First place? That would be a dream". One.co.il (2006-10-16). (Retrieved on 2006-10-28)
^ "באסה לדדי בן דיין: הבועט דפק הופעה לחתונה שלו וגילה..." (in Hebrew). One.co.il. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |accessdaymonth=, |month=, |accessyear=, |accessmonthday=, and |coauthors= (help)
^ "Rocky Mountain rivals meet in Denver". MLSnet.com. 2005-09-30. Retrieved 2008-10-07. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
^ "דדי בן דיין ודנה פרקש התחתנו ב"רויאל גרדן" ולא מעט נציגים מהספורט הגיעו לפרגן..." (in Hebrew). One.co.il. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |accessdaymonth=, |month=, |accessyear=, |accessmonthday=, and |coauthors= (help)

Links

Profile on IFA

[1] Template:He icon Ben Dayan: "First place? That would be a dream". One.co.il (2006-10-16). (Retrieved on 2006-10-28)

[2] "באסה לדדי בן דיין: הבועט דפק הופעה לחתונה שלו וגילה..." (in Hebrew). One.co.il. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |accessdaymonth=, |month=, |accessyear=, |accessmonthday=, and |coauthors= (help)

[3] "Rocky Mountain rivals meet in Denver". MLSnet.com. 2005-09-30. Retrieved 2008-10-07. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

[4] "דדי בן דיין ודנה פרקש התחתנו ב"רויאל גרדן" ולא מעט נציגים מהספורט הגיעו לפרגן..." (in Hebrew). One.co.il. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |accessdaymonth=, |month=, |accessyear=, |accessmonthday=, and |coauthors= (help)

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