Yaniv Katan

Yaniv Katan was born on 27 January 1981 in Kiryat Ata, Israel. Yaniv spent most of his life in Haifa and moved to Tel Aviv after his parents divorced. The footballer’s parents are Iraqi immigrants. Yaniv joined the youth squad of Maccabi Haifa when he was nine. Katan quickly moved up the club’s ranks, and made it to the main team at the age of sixteen.

In 2002, in the Champions League match against Haka, Katan temporarily became the 2nd Israeli footballer to score a hat-trick in Europe. However the score was reversed because Maccabi didn’t have enough rights for the player. In the next season Maccabi Haifa reached the groups stage, and Katan opened the score against English side Manchester United: both in Maccabi Haifa’s 2-5 away loss and in its 3-0 home win (the game was played in Cyprus for security reasons).

In December 2005 Yaniv Katan penned a four-year agreement with West Ham United, where he reunited with Israeli national team mate Yossi Benayoun. The footballer transferred to this English side for a fee of £100,000. The centre forward made 8 appearances, including 6 from the bench. Katan faced stiff competition with Teddy Sheringham, Marlon Harewood, Bobby Zamora and Dean Ashton.

At the end of the 2005/2006 campaign, Katan returned to Maccabi Haifa as a loan player, with an option to make this move permanent. In 2007 he completed a four-year deal with Maccabi Haifa. From 2000 to 2010 Yaniv Katan featured for the Israel national team.