Keying off a BBC report (which, for the record, I didn’t read), Sports Illustrated’s FanNation reports Benny Feilhaber may move to the Israeli First Division, specifically, to Maccabi Tel Aviv. Not to bag on the Israeli league (as I may have done to, say, the Greek First Division…at some point), but this is not one of the regular destinations for players looking to “go to Europe.” Obviously, that Israel isn’t actually in Europe complicates things just a little.
That said, this isn’t a horrible move. To begin, there’s the promise of some European football. Maccabi Tel Aviv’s Wikipedia page ends with a chart on how far the team got in various European competitions in recent years. Doesn’t look like Maccabi gets very far, and there’s more UEFA Cup than Champions League in there, but provided this means regular, competitive playing time, it improves on Feilhaber’s current pine-riding gig.
UPDATE: Thought I’d keep this post current in case Google or something refers people back to it. Derby rejected Maccabi Tel Aviv’s offer for Feilhaber. So, no Israel for this Yanqui. There is talk, however, of interest from Major League Soccer (MLS)…and that’s more interesting still…and, possibly, driven by a desire to insure availability for the U.S. National team?
Filed under: Major League Soccer | Tagged: Benny Feilhaber, Derby County, Maccabi Tel Aviv
[...] Benny Feilhaber heading to the Middle-East? (Center Holds It) [...]
I don’t know much ’bout the league, but hopefully he’ll have more touches than he had at Derby.
i think that this has sth to do with money, too. maccabi just got a big investor who raised the wages of the players… awful, if players decide just for that reason.
i hope, benny doesn’ t go to israel but gets a fair chance in derby cause he can be a good player if he doesn’t get arrogant or something
[...] 17, 2008 by Jeff In an attempt to improve on covering stories until they reach an end, I updated my earlier post on Benny Feilhaber’s now-kiboshed move to Maccabi Tel Aviv; England’s Derby County [...]