Sheran Yeini

Sheran Yeini came up through the youth ranks of Maccabi Tel Aviv and has remained a Maccabi player throughout his footballing career. Yeini made his debut in a League ("Toto") Cup game against Bnei Sakhnin in the 2004/05 season. Despite the club experiencing a number of unremarkable seasons, Yeini secured his first title with Maccabi after the club won the 2008/09 "Toto" Cup. That year, Yeini began to demonstrate his attacking skills, opening the season with a goal in the very first league match and ending the season with three league goals, only to repeat the achievement the following season. In 2010/11, Yeini scored one goal in the "Toto" Cup against Hapoel Tel Aviv as well as a league goal in the final match of the season against Maccabi Netanya.


But it was not until the 2011/12 season that Yeini became one of the most prized players on the Maccabi Tel Aviv squad. His responsible and intelligent play, his leadership qualities and his ability to play well in a variety of positions both in defence and as a holding midfielder elevated him to a position of exceptional value within the club. And it was an expression of that value that Yeini received the captain's armband in several matches during that season. He scored three league goals that season and played an active role in Maccabi's maiden appearance in the group stage of the Europa League, scoring his first European goal in the club's 2-3 home loss to Turkish side Besiktas .


In the 2012/13 championship season Yeini continued to improve his skills and in the most significant moment of his career so far, it was he who lifted the championship plate at the end of the title match. He appeared in 34 of Maccabi's 36 league matches and displayed his diverse talent by playing most of the season in the position of right back, one he was unaccustomed to playing throughout most of his career. The versatile Yeini also demonstrated his attacking skills by scoring two goals, one of spectacular quality in a home tie against Hapoel Haifa. With Yeini's responsibility for the team's captaincy, it was his leadership qualities on the pitch that helped to maintain the stability of a back line that conceded only 30 goals the entire season.


After this multi-faceted player had already made ten appearances for the nation's Under-21s, Yeini's fine season earned him a maiden appearance for the national side in a home tie against Portugal during the 2014 World Cup qualifiers. It was his task to mark the venerated Christiano Ronaldo and Yeini made sure the Real Madrid and former Manchester United star was unable to score in a match that ended in a 3-3 draw.


In January 2017 Yeini returned to the Yellow & Blue and signed a 3.5 year contract as the club came to an agreement with Dutch outfit Vitesse. Yeini scored one goal and made 42 appearances for Vitesse and since his return he made 20 appearances including the State Cup semifinal against Beitar Jerusalem.


At the start of the 2017/18 campaign, Yeini played a key role in helping Maccabi advance to the Europa League group stages by scoring a goal against Altach. The Captain suffered an injury during the winter of 2018 that kept him out of action until May but came back for the final stages of the season. In total, the midfielder made 38 appearances across all competitions (21 league) and scored one goal.


During the 2018/19 season the veteran captain helped to bring the championship back to Kiryat Shalom as scored 1 goal and added an assists in 40 appearances in all competitions. Yeini, made 13 appearances in the 2019/20 season and helped Maccabi defend the title and win the 24th championship in the club’s history.