Ilay Elmkies
Ilay Eliyau Elmkies (or Elmakayes, ; born ) is an Israeli professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Austrian Bundesliga club Admira Wacker, on loan from 1899 Hoffenheim. He represents the Israel national team. Early life. Elmkies was born in Nahariya, Israel, to a Sephardic Jewish family. Club career. A 1899 Hoffenheim youth product, Elmkies was promoted to the club's senior reserve team, 1899 Hoffenheim II, in 2019. International career. Elmkies received his first call-up to the Israel national team in October 2019 for Euro 2020 qualifiers against Austria and Latvia. He made his debut on 15  October 2019 in a game against Latvia. He substituted Dia Saba in the 76th minute as Israel won 3–1. Personal life. Elmkies speaks Hebrew and English and has quickly mastered German. A film looking at the Jewish experience in the German village of Hoffenheim during World War II aired in 2018 at the Sinsheimer Citydome. He played a leading role, and provided commentary in all three languages.