Klemi Saban
|
(Photo by Adrian Haisan) | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Rahamin Saban | ||
| Date of birth | February 17, 1980 | ||
| Place of birth | Netanya, Israel | ||
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) | ||
| Playing position | Defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Maccabi Netanya | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1998–2001 | Maccabi Netanya | 70 | (1) |
| 2001–2004 | Hapoel Tel Aviv | 42 | (2) |
| 2004–2005 | Hapoel Petah Tikva | 32 | (0) |
| 2005–2006 | Maccabi Haifa | 26 | (0) |
| 2006–2007 | Steaua Bucureşti | 8 | (0) |
| 2007–2010 | Maccabi Netanya | 95 | (0) |
| 2010–2012 | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 31 | (0) |
| 2012–2013 | Hapoel Be'er Sheva | 18 | (0) |
| 2013–2014 | Hapoel Acre | 11 | (0) |
| Total | 334 | (3) | |
| National team‡ | |||
| 1999–2001 | Israel U-21 | 11 | (0) |
| 2004–2010 | Israel | 25 | (1) |
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* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of Sep 10, 2010. | |||
Rahamim Saban, (Hebrew: רחמים סבן; born February 17, 1980 in Netanya), commonly known as Klemi Saban, is a retired Israeli football defender. Saban is mostly known for playing at Maccabi Netanya, there he played 6 years, captained the club and won over 200 caps in all club competitions.[1]
Club career
Klemi began his career in Maccabi Netanya and then played for several teams - Hapoel Tel Aviv, Hapoel Petah Tikva and Maccabi Haifa- in Israel before joining Romanian club Steaua Bucureşti on June 28, 2006.
Saban was signed by Steaua Bucureşti in June 2006, and was set to become the first Israel to play in the Romanian Divizia A. But he ended up staying on the bench for Steaua's league opener and did not make his league debut until August 5, 2006. By then, Kobi Nachtailer had already become the first Israeli to play in the league because he started his club's (FC Vaslui) first match of the season.
His club debut came earlier though when he featured in a UEFA Champions League qualifying match against ND Gorica. Saban was responsible for Steaua's last goal of the match as he was tripped up in the penalty area and the official gave Steaua a penalty kick that sealed a 3-0 victory for them.
After one year in Romania Saban returned to Israel, to Maccabi Netanya and signed a four-year contract.
On June 2010 Saban signed a 2-year contract with Maccabi Tel Aviv for a transfer fee of $180,000.
International career
Saban was a member of the Israel team for which he won 25 caps. He also won 11 caps in the Under 21 squad. He scored his first goal on 10 September 2008 against Moldova in the World Cup 2010 qualifier.
Honours
- Israeli Premier League
- Toto Cup
- Israeli Second Division
- Winner (1): 1998–99
- Liga I
- Runner-up (1): 2006–07
Personal life
Klemi's younger brother Avi is also a footballer who played in the lower divisions of Israeli football.[2] His father played at midfield for Beitar Netanya.[3]