Kenny Saief

Kenneth "Kenny" Hasan Saief (Arabic: حسن كينيث "كيني" سيف‎, Hebrew: קנת' חסן "קני" סייף, born December 17, 1993) is an Israeli-American soccer player of Druze descent who plays for Polish club Lechia Gdańsk on loan from Anderlecht, and the United States national team.

Kenny Saief
Personal information
Full name Kenneth Hasan Saief
Date of birth (1993-12-17) December 17, 1993
Place of birth Panama City, Florida, United States[1]
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in)[2]
Playing position(s) Left Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Lechia Gdańsk
(on loan from Anderlecht)
Number 35
Youth career
2005–2006 Maccabi Haifa
2006–2008 Hapoel Haifa
2008 Maccabi Netanya
2008–2010 Beitar Nes Tubruk
2010–2011 TSV 1860 München
2011 Bnei Sakhnin
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010–2011 Bnei Sakhnin 6 (1)
2011–2012 Hapoel Haifa 3 (0)
2012–2013 Ironi Kiryat Shmona 2 (0)
2013–2014 Ironi Nir Ramat HaSharon 28 (9)
2014–2018 Gent 81 (13)
2018 → Anderlecht (loan) 17 (1)
2018– Anderlecht 12 (0)
2019 → FC Cincinnati (loan) 9 (1)
2020– → Lechia Gdańsk (loan) 9 (1)
National team‡
2008–2009 Israel U16 9 (1)
2011 Israel U18 8 (0)
2011 Israel U19 2 (2)
2013–2015 Israel U21 2 (0)
2016 Israel 2 (0)
2017– United States 4 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22 June 2020
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of November 15, 2018

Early life

Saief was born in Panama City, Florida, U.S., to Druze-Israeli parents and moved to Israel at the age of three.[3]

Club career

Saief began his professional career with Bnei Sakhnin in 2011, before he was transferred to Hapoel Haifa one season later. The next year, he moved to Hapoel Ironi Kiryat Shmona and reached the final of the Israel State Cup. Saief made only two appearances however, which resulted in a transfer to Ironi Nir Ramat HaSharon. There he gained more playing opportunities.

Saief attracted the attention of Belgian Pro League team K.A.A. Gent, who signed him for a three-year deal on August 8, 2014.[4] On May 22, 2018, Saief officially signed to Anderlecht.

On March 6, 2019, Saief was loaned to FC Cincinnati of Major League Soccer. On March 24, 2019, Saief scored his first MLS goal against the New England Revolution.[5] On June 11, 2019, Saief's loan was terminated due to injury complications.[6]

On February 12, 2020 he was loaned to Polish Ekstraklasa's Lechia Gdańsk until the end of 2019/2020 season.

International

Saief has represented the Israel national team at various youth levels. He reportedly stated that he expected to play for the United States men's national soccer team,[7] although he was called up to the Israel national football team and made his debut in a friendly 2–1 loss to Croatia.[8]

On June 3, 2017 Saief was called up by the United States men's national soccer team as part of their 40-man preliminary roster for the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup.[9] As part of his callup, Saief filed a one-time switch with FIFA, tying him permanently to the US program.[10]

On June 22, 2017 U.S. Soccer confirmed that Saief had been approved by FIFA for a change of association.[11]

He was chosen to make his first start for the USMNT against Paraguay on March 27, 2018.[12]

Career statistics
As of match played December 19, 2018[13]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Europe Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Bnei Sakhnin 2010–11 Ligat HaAl 600000–60
Hapoel Haifa 2012–13 Ligat HaAl 300010–40
Ironi Kiryat Shmona 2012–13 Ligat HaAl 2000–0020
Ramat HaSharon 2013–14 Ligat HaAl 2893100–3110
Gent 2014–15 Pro League 20241––243
2015–16 28410–8[lower-alpha 1]0374
2016–17 First Division A 31730–13[lower-alpha 2]1478
2017–18 3020–0050
Total 8213101–21111315
Anderlecht (loan) 2017–18 First Division A 171–––171
Anderlecht 2018–19 12000–50170
Total 29100–50341
Career total 150231321026119026
  1. One appearance in the Belgian Super Cup and seven in the Champions League
  2. Appearances in the Europa League

Honors
Gent

References
  1. "Kenny Saief was born in Panama City Florida" (in Dutch). Retrieved August 21, 2014.
  2. "Kenny Saief Football Statistics - WhoScored.com". www.whoscored.com.
  3. "Five Things to Know About U.S. MNT Midfielder Kenny Saief". www.ussoccer.com.
  4. "Kenny Saief signs 3-season deal" (in Dutch). Archived from the original on August 9, 2014. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
  5. "Kenny Saief Joins Orange And Blue From RSC Anderlecht". FCCincinnati.com. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  6. "FC Cincinnati to terminate Kenny Saief loan weeks early". www.theathletic.com. Retrieved June 11, 2019.
  7. "Gent midfielder Saief says it's 'matter of time' before USMNT call-up", SBI Soccer, Ryan Tomlich, December 10, 2015.
  8. "CROATIA VS. ISRAEL 2 – 0". Soccer Way. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
  9. "USA Submits 40-Player Preliminary Roster for 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup =3 June 2017". ussoccer.com.
  10. "FIFA APPROVES CHANGE OF ASSOCIATION REQUEST FOR MIDFIELDER KENNY SAIEF". US Soccer. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
  11. "Kenny Saief seals national team switch from Israel to United States". ESPN FC. June 22, 2017. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
  12. "Delgado makes US debut in exhibition vs Paraguay". USA TODAY.
  13. "K. Saief". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
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