Imaye Taga (sometimes Amaya or Amiya,[1] Hebrew: אמייה "אמיר" טגה, born 1 February 1985) is an Ethiopian-born Israeli former footballer who played for the Israel U21 national team, and currently serves as a member of the city council of Netanya, Israel.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 1 February 1985 | ||
| Place of birth | Ethiopia | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2000–2004 | Maccabi Netanya | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2004–2010 | Maccabi Netanya | 112 | (9) |
| 2010–2012 | Hapoel Ashkelon | 45 | (1) |
| 2012–2015 | Hapoel Acre | 64 | (2) |
| 2015–2017 | Maccabi Netanya | 32 | (2) |
| International career | |||
| 2001 | Israel U-17 | 7 | (0) |
| 2006–2007 | Israel U-21 | 10 | (1) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 1 July 2015 | |||
Biography
editImaye (Amir) Taga was born in Ethiopia to an Ethiopian-Jewish family. The family immigrated to Israel in 1991 during Operation Solomon when he was 6 years old. On 11 August 2006 Amiya's younger brother Avi Taga was found dead by his eldest brother and the Israeli Police in Kiryat Ekron. Taga had been missing from home since Wednesday, 9 August 2006. Club officials went to visit the player at his family residence to console him during the traditional Jewish mourning period of the Shiva.[2]
In 2007 he changed his name back to his childhood name. "Imaye" in the Amharic language means "a child".
Sports career
editTaga attended the ORT boarding school in Netanya where he was discovered by scouts of the local side – Maccabi Netanya.[3] Taga grew up through the ranks at Netanya, he played throughout the youth system and made his debut for the senior side at the 2003–04 season. He played for six years in the first team.
On 28 July 2010, he left Netanya and signed a two years contract with Hapoel Ashkelon. After two years spent in Ashkelon, Taga signed with Hapoel Acre on 11 April 2012.[4]
On 5 July 2015, after five years of playing outside of Netanya, Taga returned to play for his home club of Maccabi Netanya.[5] After 2 seasons with Netanya, Taga retired from football as he ventured into local politics.[6] Taga is regarded as local legend in Netanya as he played 186 games in all club competitions in a total of 8 years playing for Maccabi Netanya.
On 28 February 2006, Taga made his debut for the Israel U-21s in a friendly game against Ukraine. On 11 October 2006, Taga scored the historic goal for Israel in the playoff game against France, which secured Israel's shock qualification to UEFA U-21 Championship 2007 with a 2–1 aggregate win.[7]
On 3 August 2010, Taga got called up for the senior national team for the first time in his career. He was about to win his first cap for the national team, but an injury prevented that from happening and Taga never played a single game for the national team.[8]
Honours
edit- Toto Cup (Leumit):
- Winner (1): 2004–05
- Liga Leumit:
- Winner (1): 2016–17
- Runner-up (1): 2004–05
- Israeli Premier League:
- Runner-up (2): 2006–07, 2007–08
Club career statistics
edit- (correct as of 11.8.15)[9]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Toto Cup | Europe | Total | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists | Apps | Goals | Assists | ||
| Maccabi Netanya | 2003–04 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 1 |
| 2004–05 | 28 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 3 | 2 | |
| 2005–06 | 27 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2006–07 | 28 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 3 | 2 | |
| 2007–08 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2008–09 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2009–10 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 0 | |
| Hapoel Ashkelon | 2010–11 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 0 | 0 |
| 2011–12 | 16 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 1 | 2 | |
| Hapoel Acre | 2012–13 | 26 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 1 | 0 |
| 2013–14 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2014–15 | 25 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 1 | 0 | |
| Maccabi Netanya | 2015–16 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 1 | 0 |
| 2016–17 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 1 | 0 | |
| Career | 258 | 14 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 47 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 318 | 14 | 7 | |
References
edit- ^ "Israel – A. Taga – Profile with news, career statistics and history – Soccerway".
- ^ (in Hebrew) Amir Taga's little brother found dead. Sport5.co.il Archived 30 August 2006 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ The tragic glory of Amir Tega. Haaretz. (Retrieved on 28 Oct. 2006).
- ^ אלבז, שמעון (11 April 2012). "הפועל עכו: אמייה טגה חתם לשלוש שנים". Ynet.
- ^ "מכבי נתניה: אמייה טגה חוזר אחרי חמש שנים, עומר ורד סיכם – וואלה! ספורט". 5 July 2015.
- ^ ""עוד יהיה ראש עיר אתיופי": הכדורגלן שיכבוש את עיריית נתניה – וואלה! חדשות". 20 October 2018.
- ^ "The Israel Football Association". Archived from the original on 1 April 2016.
- ^ "טגה, בונדר וזהבי הוזמנ לסגל נבחרת ישראל – וואלה! ספורט". 3 August 2010.
- ^ "One: הפועל עכו – אמייה טגה".
External links
edit- Imaye Taga – Israel Football Association league player details