Dekel Keinan (; born 15 September 1984) is an Israeli

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

er who plays as a

central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

and manager for the

Los Angeles Force Los Angeles Force is an American professional soccer club based in Long Beach, California that plays in the National Independent Soccer Association (NISA). History On August 2, 2019, the National Independent Soccer Association announced the add ...

of the

National Independent Soccer Association The National Independent Soccer Association (NISA) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States. The league is previously in the third tier of American soccer and began play in 2019. NISA initially used a fall-to-spring season for ...

Early life

Keinan was born in Rosh HaNikra,

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

, to a family of

Ashkenazi Jewish Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that Ethnogenesis, emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium Common era, CE. They traditionally spe ...

descent.

Club career

Maccabi Haifa

Keinan started his career with the Maccabi Haifa youth team. He made his first team debut in the 2002–03 season, making seven appearances. On 6 November 2003 he made his European debut in the

second round The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of Un ...

of the

2003–04 UEFA Cup The 2003–04 UEFA Cup was won by Valencia in the final against Marseille. It wrapped up a league and UEFA Cup double for Valencia. Porto could not defend their title as they automatically qualified for the 2003–04 UEFA Champions League and a ...

, a 0–0 draw with

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

side

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

. In the 2004–05 season, he went on loan to fellow

Israeli Premier League The Israeli Premier League (, Ligat HaAl, ) is a professional association football league in Israel and the highest level of the Israeli football league system. The league is contested by 14 clubs, and operates on a system of promotion and rele ...

side

Bnei Sakhnin Bnei Sakhnin F.C. (, , ) is an Israeli professional football club based at the Doha Stadium in Sakhnin. They are the most successful club among the Arab-Israeli clubs in the country, having won the State Cup in 2004. History Early years Bn ...

, making 23 appearances and scoring five goals. The following season he joined

Maccabi Netanya Maccabi Netanya F.C. () is an Israeli professional football club based in Netanya. Established in 1934, the club was a founding member of the Israeli League in 1949. After winning their first championship in 1971, the club's golden period last ...

on loan, making 21 appearances and scoring two goals. His first goal for Maccabi came in the

2007–08 Israeli Premier League The 2007–08 Israeli Premier League season began on 18 August 2007 and ended on 1 June 2008, with Beitar Jerusalem F.C., Beitar Jerusalem win their second consecutive title. Two teams from Liga Leumit were promoted at the end of the previous seas ...

season, a 3–0 win over Bnei Yehuda at the

Bloomfield Stadium Bloomfield Stadium () is a football stadium in Tel Aviv, Israel, with a capacity of 29,400. It is the home stadium of Hapoel Tel Aviv and Maccabi Tel Aviv. The stadium also serves the Israel national football team for some select home matches ...

on 10 November 2007. In the 2009–10 season he made eleven appearances in Maccabi's

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

campaign as they reached the group stages.

Blackpool

On 12 July 2010, it was reported that Keinan had agreed a one-year contract with recently promoted

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

club

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

, and that subject to a medical, he would join on a free transfer two days later. Blackpool chairman,

Karl Oyston Karl Samuel Oyston (born 20 February 1968) is an English businessman and the former chairman of Blackpool Football Club. Oyston took over the chairmanship at Blackpool from his mother, Vicki Oyston, in 1999. Mrs Oyston had taken over three year ...

confirmed that the club had held discussions with Keinan and were hopeful of signing him, after a medical on 15 July. Five days later it was revealed that Keinan had passed the medical and that he was waiting on a work permit before he could link-up with the Blackpool squad in

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

where they were competing in the pre-season South West Challenge Cup tournament. On 23 July, Blackpool manager

Ian Holloway Ian Scott Holloway (born 12 March 1963) is an English professional football manager, former player, media personality and television pundit who is the manager of club Swindon Town. A midfielder, he notably played in the Premier League with ...

confirmed that Keinan was about to sign, after finally being granted a work permit, saying, "Dekel has got to fly to

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

to get his passport done. And he's got to do an English test, which he'll pass and I would fail. I think he's a quality lad and a good player. And I'm delighted to have someone with his experience. " Over three weeks later on 16 August,

Sky Sports News Sky Sports News (SSN) is a British pay television, paid television sports news channel run by Sky Group, Sky, a division of Comcast. History Sky Sports first started broadcasting sports news bulletins when it began broadcasting the Premi ...

reported that Keinan had finally joined Blackpool, claiming that he had signed a two-year contract. Two days later he finally joined ''the Tangerines'', on a one-year contract with an option for a further 12 months. Speaking about the move, Keinan said: "I'm looking forward to the first game and I'm very happy that everything is done. I just want to play for Blackpool and help this team. I had different offers but after I met the gaffer I was sure that I wanted to play for Blackpool." His debut came on 21 August in the 6–0 defeat to

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

at the

Emirates Stadium The Emirates Stadium (known as Arsenal Stadium for UEFA competitions) is a association football, football stadium in Holloway, London, England. It has been the home stadium of Arsenal F.C., Arsenal Football Club since its completion in 2006. ...

. After defender

Ian Evatt Ian Ross Evatt (born 19 November 1981) is an English professional football manager and former player who was most recently the manager of Bolton Wanderers. Evatt began his career as a central midfielder, but was later converted to a central def ...

was sent off in the 32nd minute, Keinan was then brought on to replace sacrificed midfielder

Ludovic Sylvestre Ludovic Sylvestre (born 5 February 1984) is a French former professional association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. He is the sporting director at Red Star F.C., Red Star. Career Youth career Born in the Communes of France, com ...

. He made his full debut in the

of the

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

League Cup, a 4–3 defeat to

Milton Keynes Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club, usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football leag ...

at Stadium MK.

Cardiff City

Keinan joined

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...

, for an undisclosed fee, in January 2011. Keinan made his debut for Cardiff in a 1–0 away win against local rivals

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club ( ; ) is a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales. It competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Swansea have played their home matches at ...

. His first goal in English football came in a 2–2 draw with Barnsley on 13 March. Cardiff City had reached the

play-offs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

, Cardiff were drawn against

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

, the first leg was 0–0 draw at Madjeski Stadium. During the return leg, Keinan pulled on

Matthew Mills Matthew Claude Mills (born 14 July 1986) is an English retired professional Association football, footballer who played as a defender (association football), defender. He spent most of his career in the English EFL Championship, in which he p ...

' shirt in which referee

Howard Webb Howard Melton Webb MBE (born 14 July 1971) is an English former professional football referee who officiated primarily in the Premier League from 2003 to 2014, as well as for FIFA as a FIFA international referee from 2005 to 2014. Webb is ...

gave a penalty,

Shane Long Shane Patrick Long (born 22 January 1987) is an Irish former professional footballer who played as a striker. Long began his football career at Cork City. He later moved to Reading where, among other achievements, he scored three goals in ten s ...

scored his second of the match from the penalty and Cardiff ended losing the match 3–0. At the start of the 2011–12 season, Keinan found himself not in the starting eleven, being replaced by

Anthony Gerrard Anthony Gerrard (born 6 February 1986) is a former professional footballer who played as a centre back. He made over 500 professional appearances in a career spent mainly in the English Football League, notably at Walsall where he won the 2006-0 ...

who returned from his loan spell at

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. They compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. They play their home ...

. He got his first call up to the team on 23 August against

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...

in the League Cup. Keinan didn't find himself on the bench until a start against

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

, on 21 September. Due to a mass of injuries, Keinan found his first league appearance under

Malky Mackay Malcolm George Mackay (born 19 February 1972) is a Scottish professional association football, football coach and former player, who is the sporting director at Scottish Premiership club Hibernian F.C., Hibernian. Mackay, who played as a Defe ...

against

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

a week later. On 21 November 2011, Keinan joined

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...

on a six-week loan after finding himself far down the pecking order. Keinan returned to Cardiff on 7 January, and found himself straight in the starting line up for the following game against

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

, which was his 250th career appearance. However a lack of opportunities continued, which saw Keinan sent out on loan again, but this time to

Severnside The geographical term Severnside refers to an area adjoining or straddling the River Severn or its estuary in Great Britain. The term is used by different organisations, in different contexts, to refer to quite different areas. The Severn pass ...

rivals,

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England. The team compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded in 1894, the club competed in the Southern League and Western L ...

until the end of the season. Following his disappointing first full season in Cardiff, Keinan was left out of the squad to travel to Switzerland during the pre-season tour. Despite being left out of the pre-season, Keinan started the first game of the season against

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the c ...

Return to Maccabi Haifa

On 18 September 2012, Keinan signed for his former club

Maccabi Haifa Maccabi Haifa () is one of the biggest sports clubs in Israel and a part of the Maccabi association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Haifa which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, such as Football, Basketball, Weightl ...

following his release from Cardiff City.

FC Cincinnati

On 10 November 2017, the club

FC Cincinnati Football Club Cincinnati is an American professional soccer club based in Cincinnati. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team was first announced on August 12, 2015 as a United Soccer Leag ...

of the

United Soccer League The United Soccer League (USL) is an organizer of various professional and amateur soccer leagues in the United States league system. It currently organizes its Championship, League One, and League Two for men, its Super League and W Leag ...

, a second-division soccer league in the United States, announced that they had signed Keinan for the 2018 season.

Sacramento Republic

On 22 December 2018, Keinan signed with

Sacramento Republic FC Sacramento Republic FC is an American professional soccer team based in Sacramento, California, that competes in the Western Conference of the USL Championship, the second level in US soccer. Co-founded by Warren Smith and Joe Wagoner in 2012, t ...

of the

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the second tier of the United States soccer league system#Men's leagues, United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) a ...

Las Vegas Lights

On 15 September 2021, Keinan signed with USL Championship side

Las Vegas Lights Las Vegas Lights FC is an American professional soccer team based in Las Vegas, Nevada, that plays in the USL Championship. The team made its debut in 2018 and plays its home games at Cashman Field. The team employs neon imagery in its crest a ...

Los Angeles Force

In May 2023, Keinan began playing for

in the third division

. In his first match on 15 May against Salt City Union, he scored a goal as a second half substitute in the 3–1 win.

Managerial career

In 9 December 2023, Keinan was named as the player-manager for

in the third division

Club career statistics

;Notes: a. ''All cup appearances for Maccabi Haifa included in 2009–10 total as specific season details not yet known''
b. ''All European appearances for Maccabi Haifa details not known, therefore known total included only in totals''

International career

Keinan, a full international for Israel, has also played at under-19 and under-21 levels. He made his under-19 debut, two months after his 17th birthday, in a

2002 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship The 2002 UEFA European Under-19 Championship was the first edition of the UEFA European Under-19 Championship, after the previous Under-18 competition was renamed. The tournament was held in Norway, between 21 July and 28 July 2002. The top three ...

qualifier on 30 November 2001, a 0–0 draw with

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

at the

Herzliya Municipal Stadium Herzliya Municipal Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in the Tel Aviv District city of Herzliya, Israel. The stadium is used mostly for football matches and is the home ground of Maccabi Herzliya and Hapoel Herzliya. The stadium has 8,100 seat ...

. On 3 October 2002 he scored as Israel beat

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

4–0 in a 2003 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship qualifier. He made a total of eleven appearances at under-19 level, scoring one goal. Keinan made his under-21 debut on 30 April 2003 in a 3–0

2004 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship The 2004 UEFA European Under-21 Championship was the 14th staging of UEFA's European Under-21 Championship. The final tournament was hosted by Germany between 27 May and 8 June 2004. Italy won the competition for the fifth time. Italy's Alberto G ...

qualififier defeat to

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

. In June 2007 he was part of the Israel squad for the

2007 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship The UEFA European Under-21 Championship 2007 were held from 10 to 23 June 2007. It was the 16th staging of UEFA's European Under-21 Championship. Summary For the first time, a host nation was chosen ahead of the competition – the Netherlands, w ...

finals, held in the Netherlands, playing in all three groups games. He was the captain of the national team at the 2006 victory for her

Valeri Lobanovsky Memorial Tournament Valeriy Lobanovskyi Memorial Tournament () is an international football tournament established in honour and memory of Valeriy Lobanovskyi since his death on 13 May 2002, hence the name Memorial. The idea was initiated by the FC Dynamo Kyiv managem ...

. He made his Israeli senior national team debut on 2 June 2007, in a 2–1 win over

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

, a

UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying Group E In Group E of the UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying tournament, Croatia secured qualification to the finals on 17 November 2007 following Israel's 2–1 win against Russia, becoming the seventh team in the whole of the qualification stage to do so. Russia ...

game at the

Skopje City Stadium Skopje ( , ; ; , sq-definite, Shkupi) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It lies in the northern part of the country, in the Skopje Basin, Skopje Valley along the Vardar River, and is the political, economic, and cultura ...

. In 2008 and 2009 he made six appearances in

qualifying Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...

for the

2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

Managerial statistics

''As of 9 December 2023''

Honours

Club

Maccabi Haifa *

: 2003–04, 2008–09 *

Toto Cup The Israel Toto Cup (, ''Gvia Ha'Toto'') is an association football tournament that features clubs in the two highest divisions in Israel: the Israeli Premier League Ligat ha'Al, Ligat Ha'Al; and the Israeli 2nd division Liga Leumit. Both of the ...

: 2007–08 *

Israel State Cup The Israel State Cup (, ''Gvia HaMedina''), is a knockout cup competition in Israeli football, run by the Israel Football Association (IFA). The State Cup was first held in 1928 as the People's Cup. Because it involves clubs of all standards ...

: 2015–16

Notes

References

External links

Profile
at maccabi-haifafc
Profile
at NISA * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Keinan, Dekel 1984 births Living people Israeli Ashkenazi Jews Israeli men's footballers Maccabi Haifa F.C. players Bnei Sakhnin F.C. players Maccabi Netanya F.C. players Blackpool F.C. players Cardiff City F.C. players Crystal Palace F.C. players Bristol City F.C. players FC Cincinnati players Sacramento Republic FC players Las Vegas Lights FC players Los Angeles Force players Israeli Premier League players Premier League players English Football League players USL Championship players National Independent Soccer Association players Israel men's international footballers People from Rosh HaNikra Footballers from Northern District (Israel) Israeli expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Israeli expatriate sportspeople in England Israeli expatriate sportspeople in the United States Israel men's under-21 international footballers Israel men's youth international footballers Israeli people of German-Jewish descent Jewish footballers Men's association football defenders Player-coaches Israeli expatriate football managers Expatriate soccer coaches in the United States National Independent Soccer Association coaches 21st-century Israeli sportsmen