Salim Tuama (, ; born August 9, 1979) is an

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 ...

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for Maccabi Sha'arayim. His former clubs include

Hapoel Tel Aviv Hapoel Tel Aviv () is a sports club in Israel, founded in the 1920s, and part of the Hapoel association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, such as football, basketball, w ...

Standard Liège Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège ( ; ; ) or simply Standard in Belgium, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Liège. They are one of the most successful clubs in Belgium, having won t ...

Maccabi Petah Tikva Maccabi Petah Tikva F.C. (; "Maccabi Avshalom Ironi Petah Tikva F.C., ) is an Israeli professional football club based in the city of Petah Tikva. It is part of the Maccabi World Union for international Jewish sports clubs. The club is the c ...

Kayserispor Kayseri Spor Kulübü, commonly known as Kayserispor, and also called Bellona Kayserispor due to sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional football club based in Kayseri. They play their home matches at the RHG Enertürk Enerji Stadium ...

Larissa Larissa (; , , ) is the capital and largest city of the Thessaly region in Greece. It is the fifth-most populous city in Greece with a population of 148,562 in the city proper, according to the 2021 census. It is also the capital of the Larissa ...

, Hapoel Bnei Lod and the youth club Gadna Tel Aviv Yehuda. An Arab citizen of Israel of

Greek Orthodox Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Greek Christianity, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christians or more broadly the rite used in the Eastern Rom ...

descent, he has 13

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

for the Israel national team.

Career

Tuama has lived his life in the city of

Lod Lod (, ), also known as Lydda () and Lidd (, or ), is a city southeast of Tel Aviv and northwest of Jerusalem in the Central District of Israel. It is situated between the lower Shephelah on the east and the coastal plain on the west. The ci ...

, but began his career using the facilities of the Gadna club due to the poor conditions of Lod's fields and football schools. Tuama became the hottest prospect in Israeli football in the 1998–99 season when he, along with Kfir Udi, Omri Afek, and

Pini Balili Pini Balili (; born 18 June 1979) is an Israeli former football manager and former player. He was born in Jerusalem and is Jewish, of Turkish descent. Career Move back to Hapoel As a youngster, Balili grew up supporting Hapoel Tel Aviv and was ...

, all of whom had been chosen by Israeli manager

Dror Kashtan Dror Kashtan (; 1 October 1944 – 15 January 2024) was an Israeli football player and manager. Biography Dror Kashtan was born in Petah Tikva during the British Mandate for Palestine. Sports career As a player, he represented the Israel nati ...

, led Hapoel to their first State Cup title since 1983, followed by a double in the next season 1999–2000. He also played a main role in the historic appearance of Hapoel Tel Aviv in the quarter-finals of the

2001–02 UEFA Cup The 2001–02 UEFA Cup was won by Feyenoord at their home ground in the final against Borussia Dortmund. It was the second time they won the competition. Liverpool could not defend their title as they automatically qualified for the 2001–02 ...

where they were defeated by

AC Milan (), commonly referred to as Milan or AC Milan () mainly outside of Italy, is an Italian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Founded in 1899, the club competes in the Serie A, the top tie ...

. At the time it was believed that Hapoel was on its way to a golden age, but Kashtan left the club in 2004 to take a break from football. By then Tuama had moved on to Maccabi Petah Tikva, where they won the Toto Cup (an event staged each year by league level for a financial prize). He received his first big break the following season by signing with the Turkish club

(today, "Kayseri Erciyesspor"), where he filled in a disappointing season with little playing time. At the same time his old Hapoel teammate Balili had signed with

Sivasspor Sivasspor Kulübü, known as Net Global Sivasspor due to sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish sports club based in Sivas. The primary department of the club is men's football. Formed in 1967, its football department has competed in Süper Lig since t ...

, a B league club he helped climb to the

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...

. In the same season he returned to Maccabi Petah Tikva to help them log in perhaps their most impressive finish, second place and a ticket to the

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

. After a disappointing 2005–06 season with Maccabi Petah Tikva, after a great start in the UEFA Cup qualifiers, he signed with

. On June 28, 2007, Toama had signed a three-year contract with

. Tuama left Belgium after two seasons at

, as he was injured for many parts of his second season there, and did not get many chances. He signed for Greek side

and spent one season there, scoring two goals. At the end of the 2009–10 season, Tuama returned to Israel and signed, for the third time in his career, with then double holders Hapoel Tel Aviv. He scored the winning goal in a 1–0 victory over newly crowned

champions A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional/provincial/state, national, continental and world championships, and ...

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 ...

in the

Israeli 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 p ...

final of 2010–11.

International goals

Honours

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 ...

(1): ** 1999–00 * State Cup (5): **1999, 2000, 2007, 2011, 2012 *

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 ...

(1): **2001–02 *

Belgian League The Belgian Pro League (; ; ), officially the Jupiler Pro League () for sponsor Jupiler, is a professional association football league in Belgium and the highest level of the Belgian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs from the 2023– ...

(2): ** 2007–08, 2008–09 *

Belgian Supercup The Belgian Super Cup ( ; ; ), ''Pro League Supercup'', is a Belgian club competition played as a single match between the Belgian Pro League champions (also received the Super Cup host) and the Belgian Cup winners. If both teams are the same, t ...

(1): **

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

* Toto Cup Leumit (1): ** 2014-15

References

External links

Profile at One.co.il
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tuama, Salim 1979 births Living people Arab-Israeli footballers Israeli Arab Christians Israeli men's footballers Israel men's international footballers Israeli expatriate men's footballers Gadna Tel Aviv Yehuda F.C. players Hapoel Tel Aviv F.C. players Maccabi Petah Tikva F.C. players Kayserispor footballers Standard Liège players Athlitiki Enosi Larissa F.C. players Hapoel Bnei Lod F.C. players Maccabi Sha'arayim F.C. players Süper Lig players Israeli Premier League players Super League Greece players Belgian Pro League players Liga Leumit players Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Israeli expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Israeli expatriate sportspeople in Greece Israeli expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Footballers from Lod Men's association football midfielders