Latest news with #MaccabiNetanya
New Straits Times
3 days ago
- General
- New Straits Times
Cape Verde outclass Harimau Malaya in closed-door friendly
KUALA LUMPUR: World No. 131 Malaysia suffered a reality check ahead of their Asian Cup qualifier as Cape Verde ran out comfortable 3-0 winners in a closed door friendly at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil on Tuesday. Dailon Livramento was the star of the show, with the Hellas Verona striker bagging a brace in the 35th and 48th minutes to put the world No. 72 side in firm control. Heriberto Tavares, who plays for Israeli club Maccabi Netanya, sealed the win with a third goal in the 55th minute. The result comes just days after Harimau Malaya managed a 1-1 draw with the same opposition at the KLFA Stadium in Cheras on May 29. Malaysia are using these friendlies to gear up for their crucial Asian Cup qualifier against Vietnam at Bukit Jalil on June 10.
The Star
3 days ago
- General
- The Star
Harimau Malaya go down 3-0 to Cape Verde in a closed-door friendly
PETALING JAYA: African nation Cape Verde showed why they are world No. 72 in world football after beating Malaysia 3-0 in a closed-door friendly at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil on Tuesday (June 3). Striker Dailon Livramento, who plies his trade for Serie A club Hellas Verona, was the hero, scoring two goals in the 35th and 48th minutes. The other goal was scored by Heriberto Tavares in the 55th minute. Tavares also plays in Europe for Israeli club Maccabi Netanya. In their earlier encounter at the Cheras Football Stadium on May 29, both sides shared the spoils, drawing 1-1. Malaysia are playing these friendlies to prepare for the all-important 2027 Asian Cup third-round qualifying encounter against Vietnam at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil on June 10.
New York Times
26-03-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Habib Habibou played just 79 minutes for Leeds but represents a wild era: ‘I still love the fans'
Lidor Cohen was lying prone on the turf. The Maccabi Petah Tikva attacker had collided with Maccabi Netanya goalkeeper Danny Amos. Team-mate Habib Habibou was tending to him. The striker was appealing to the technical area for medical assistance, but he had one eye elsewhere. Play had continued in the Israeli Premier League game following the collision in the penalty box and Habibou could sense his side were making inroads down the right flank. He stayed with Cohen, but could not help seeing what was coming his way. Advertisement Amos flapped at the low cross into the box. Habibou and Cohen, still on the ground, were alone at the back of the six-yard box. The ball rolled, uncontested, towards them. Instinct kicked in. Habibou left Cohen for a moment, took three steps and tapped in. His arms stayed raised in celebration as he went back to Cohen and appealed for help once again. It's a highlight that went viral, an 87th-minute winner in a 1-0 victory. It was every schoolyard goal-hanger's dream, and with Cohen having recovered, everyone was able to enjoy the novelty, including the assist from Manor Solomon. 'I looked at him (Cohen) and I saw his eyes go (rolling),' says Habibou from his home in Dubai. 'I said, 'What is going on?'. This guy keeps moving like crazy. I look at him, but at the same time, I see Manor Solomon on the side, crossing the ball. 'I see the ball and I say, 'OK, let me go and score the goal and come back quickly'. I score my goal, I come back quickly, take his head, call the people and do my best. His mother was so happy, 'You save the life of my son'. 'I did what everyone should do in this position. And then we win 1-0.' God never sleep help ur friend he will give u more. ❤️ — Habib Habibou (@HabibHabibou7) November 10, 2018 Many Leeds United fans would better remember Habibou's 2018 viral goal than anything he did during his 2013 loan spell at Elland Road. Habibou arrived on loan from Belgian side Zulte Waregem on deadline day in the 2013 January transfer window. Luciano Becchio was on his way to Norwich City and Steve Morison was coming in the other direction, but Neil Warnock, Leeds' manager at the time, wanted something more. The striker from Bria, Central African Republic, was in the right place at the right time. Then 25, he had been trailed by Queens Park Rangers for much of that January window. Harry Redknapp was looking for ways to get his London side off the foot of the Premier League. Habibou was one option and had even trained with Queens Park Rangers, but Loic Remy, who had been making waves in Ligue 1 with Marseille, was the preferred choice. Advertisement While Remy moved to Loftus Road for £8million ($10.4m at current exchange rates), Habibou was left hanging. He had no desire to return to Belgium, where he felt he had done his time, with 21 goals in his last 59 league appearances. Salem Patel, one of United's key executives at the time, swooped. The Becchio shadow loomed large over Habibou. The Argentinian had scored 76 goals in 190 league games at Leeds and was a fans' favourite. 'It was big pressure for a young player moving from Belgium to England to take that responsibility because Becchio did a lot for the Leeds fans,' says Habibou. 'He was a massive player in the way he scored massive goals as well.' Warnock, Habibou recalls, even wanted to give him Becchio's vacant No 10 shirt, but he declined. Even as a newcomer to English football, Habibou knew that taking the number would only add to the pressure. Instead, Habibou took No 22 — not that he wore it very often. Two days after arriving on loan, he was given 18 minutes from the bench at home to Cardiff City. Another brief appearance at the end of a trip to Middlesbrough followed 10 days later, but the writing would soon be on the wall. He was left on the bench in five of his first seven Championship matches. His only start came on March 16, 2013, in a West Yorkshire derby at home against Huddersfield Town. He was hooked within an hour of the 2-1 defeat and never seen on the pitch again. He made one start and three substitute appearances, amounting to 79 minutes. 'When you sign to England in the winter it's very difficult because they don't give you the time to announce yourself to the league,' he said. 'You have to be ready on day one because they're going to judge you directly. 'You don't have the time to adapt yourself, to go to the training ground with all your team-mates. You arrive, then maybe in two days you're going to play. This is what happened, because the next day I was on the bench and I come in against Cardiff City. Advertisement 'At Middlesbrough, I was almost scoring with my first touch, with the head. The 'keeper made the save of his life because this ball, if it goes in, you get that boost for you and your team-mates. That's why football is sometimes about small details.' One wonders what may have come of Habibou if that header had gone in. It would have rescued a point on Teesside and Warnock dealt in on-pitch results, but the manager evidently did not feel Habibou was cutting the mustard. 'If I need to say the regret, the regret was I didn't get the time to adapt myself,' Habibou says. 'It was my choice to move to Leeds and take on that pressure. It's a storied team, a good squad, the stadium is just amazing. Every day when you came to the Elland Road stadium, you are like a dreamer because you see just all those fans. 'You just have to do your job. Even after six months, I realised that kind of football, that kind of fan, you're never going to find somewhere else. I always have Leeds in the part of my head. The love of the people back and forth, from the day one to now, was incredible.' There is a tinge of sadness in Habibou as he looks back at what he hoped would be his launchpad in English football. His fondness for Leeds, despite his short time there, is plain to see. He has interacted with supporters on social media over the 12 years since he left. 'I still love the fans because they are still messaging me,' he says. 'They are some of the best fans in the UK. The first day when I arrived in Leeds, one fan said, 'If you score the first goal, I'm going to put your head on my body'. This guy was with his children. 'I said, 'You're not going to put the children on your body?'. He said, 'No, Leeds first'. Then I realised what kind of club I am in. 'When you go to the training ground, you look at the wall, you see Rio Ferdinand, Harry Kewell, Olivier Dacourt. This is what we call la masia because all the top, big-name players passed through. Leeds is like the masia in England. They produce a lot of good talents.' Habibou never looked like putting his name among those on the walls at the academy. Leeds did have an option to make his loan from Zulte permanent in the summer of 2013, but did not take it up. The striker says he took the decision out of the club's hands anyway, the carrot of European football with his parent club, who finished second in the Belgian top flight that year, having grown in appeal. Advertisement 'I was really sad I didn't get the time,' he said. 'That's why I decided to go back. The club did not decide for me. I'm the one who decided, in April, I don't want to stay. I remember I just took my luggage in my car and I drove back to Belgium. 'I just said to Patel, 'I'm never going to get the time and if you take the option, maybe the situation is going to be the same. I need to play'. At the same time, if I go back I'm going to play Champions League. Should I stay in the Championship again or go to play Champions League? 'It was easy for me. Maybe it was the right choice because I played Champions League. I had an amazing season in Belgium. Would I have got a chance in Leeds? I don't know. I'm never going to get the answer. Maybe I would have done a great season, shown myself, maybe a new manager or not. I will never know. 'This is how the job is, how football is going. Sometimes you need to take a choice.' Habibou featured as Zulte lost in the Champions League's third qualifying round against PSV the following season. A campaign in the Europa League awaited and he started five of their six group games. He also thrived in the Belgian top flight. Habibou would end the 2013-14 season with 21 goals in 32 appearances, narrowly missing out on the Golden Boot, for Zulte and Gent, where he moved midway through the season. He would go on to earn a three-year contract with Rennes in Ligue 1 in September 2014, but the goals dried up, save for a decent stint at Lens in the French second tier in 2016-17. Evidently proud of his playing career, despite any frustrations of his spell at Elland Road, he is now 37 and is an agent with Sport Avenir, which represents, among others, Aston Villa's Boubacar Kamara and Leicester City's Boubakary Soumare in the Premier League. He hopes to deal again with Leeds one day, maybe representing a player they wish to sign. Advertisement Having barely played for Leeds, he sums up a faintly wild period that took in dozens of left-field signings. He is not somebody anyone outside the Leeds bubble is likely to remember in English football, but if you have worn that shirt once, if you follow the club as he has, you are taken in. He's nostalgia gold for a certain generation of Leeds fans, representative of a bygone era. (Top photos: Getty Images; design: Eamonn Dalton)
