Sheran Yeini
Sheran Yeini (sometimes Sherran or Shiran, ; born 8 December 1986) is an Israeli association footballer who captains Maccabi Tel Aviv, and a retired player and captain of the Israel national team. Throughout his career he has played several defensive positions including defensive midfielder, centre-back and both full-back positions. Early life. Yeini was born in Tel Aviv , Israel, to a family of Ashkenazi Jewish (Russian-Jewish and Belarusian-Jewish) descent. His father Lior Yeini (1936–2021) was a prominent singer and actor in Israel during the 1960s and 1970s. His maternal great-aunt is Israeli singer Naomi Polani , and through her he is also a great-great-grandson of Zionist pioneer Dr. Chaim Chissin. Club career. Sheran Yeini began his football career with Maccabi Tel Aviv's youth ranks. He made his professional debut with the senior squad under the guidance of coach Nir Klinger for an Israeli Premier League match against Hapoel Be'er Sheva in 2004–05. In the 2006–07 season, Yeini served on the opening squad for 10 matches due to injuries faced by the team's star midfielder at the time: Avi Nimni. Yeini showed great ability, which lead then Israel national under-21 team coach Guy  Levi to summon him up for the UEFA European Under-21 Championship campaign, where Yeini appeared in 10 games. In 2012–13, Yeini was named team captain. For the most part, he played at right back and has become one of the most influential players on a team that won the Israeli Premier League championship after a ten-year drought. On 26 June 2013, Sheran Yeni's contract was extended for an additional four years. In the 2013–14 season, Yeini continued to take a significant role with the team while participating in 29 league games and 42 official games in total, en  route to winning a second consecutive state championship. During that season, Yeini reached his 200th Israeli Premier League game with the senior squad, while also becoming Maccabi Tel Aviv's record holder for most caps played in European Competition. By the end of the 2014–15 season, Yeini was part of the Maccabi Tel Aviv team that has won a third straight Israeli Premier League championship along with Israel State Cup as well as the Toto Cup. In the summer of 2015, Yeini transferred to Dutch side Vitesse. On 27 January 2017, Yeini returned to Maccabi Tel Aviv with a new  3.5-year contract. International career. Yeini was a U-21 International for Israel between 2007 and 2008. He made his first international appearance for the senior Israel national team on 22 March 2013 in the World Cup 2014 qualifier match against Portugal, during which he successfully guarded Cristiano Ronaldo and was elected MVP of the match, that ended in a 3–3 draw (4–4 in aggregation). As the captain of the national team, Yeini declared his retirement from the Israeli squad on 18 November 2020. Honours. Maccabi Tel Aviv