The Same Message – It was not the end, however. Maccabi Haifa swooped and Benayoun helped them to the quarter-finals of the 1998-99 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup and appeared for Israel while still 18. ‘Iwo league titles followed and then finally, with his three years’ national service completed and Mirat now his wife, he moved abroad to Racing Santander in Spain.
Again, Benayoun became a cult figure, scoring 21 goals in 101 league games including a hat crick away at Deportivo La Coruna that helped the club stave off relegation.
West Ham were alerted to his qualities and moved in swiftly, but he had already caught the attention of Benitez, whose interest: was further piqued by Benayouns brilliant performance in the FA Cup final for die Hammers against Liverpool in 2006. Benite? recalls: “I first saw him play for Racing Sanrander in La Liga when he was a really good player, but when he first came to England, we were watching to be sure he could adapt to a different style of football. He was outstanding in the FA Cup final against us and we thought then this was a player who is capable of stepping up to a higher level.”
Benayoun ended the 2006-07 season besieged by offers, not least from West Ham, who were desperate to keep him, but once Liverpool showed their interest there was no other competition. “He was offered a big new contract at West Ham and received offers from a lot of other clubs offering him more money,” adds Benitez. “But Yossi’s message was always the same. He said he was desperate to only join Liverpool because this was his dream … this is the kind of attitude we and our supporters really like. He is a very technical, clever player with a lot of game intelligence. He can also play in many positions, giving us a different option for the team.”
Perhaps the wanderings of this desert nomad can now stop: it looks as though ‘”The Kid” has at last found his spiritual home.

Benayoun may be flavour of the month in Liverpool but he has been a superstar in his home country since he was a boy. Spotted as a nine-year-old in Dimona, a small city in Israel’s Negcv desert more famous for its nuclear research centre than its footballers, Benayoun had to show dedication even when he was a child. Hapoel Beer Sheva offered him an opening, but that was 30km away, his father did not have a car and there was no public transport on Saturdays. Soon, however, the skinny boy and his dad hitchhiking from Dimona became a regular sight and as his reputation grew, competition developed to be the one to give them a lift. His natural talent flourished like oasis plants in the desert and news reached the ears of Ajax’s renowned scouting network, who took one look at the then 15-year-olcl before offering what appeared to be a dream move for him and his family to Amsterdam. But Benayoun was not happy: he pined for the desert, he and his family were terribly homesick and he missed his girlfriend, Mirat. Ajax were blown away by “The Kid” though. Aged 16 and the brightest hope in their youth team, Ajax offered Benayoun a tour-year professional contract – every young player’s dream. Lxcepr for Benayoun. To the astonishment of everyone, Yossi turned the offer down, his family returned to their desert home and he to Beer Sheva, a decision that resulted in some virulent criticism in the Israeli press.

He is 27 years old, a successful forward at Liverpool and Israel’s number one footballing idol: Yossi Benayoun. But why do they still call him “The Kid” in his home country?
They still call him “The Kid” in Israel, even though he is now aged 27. The nickname dates back more than ten years to when “lossi Benayoun was just a fresh-faced boy in a man’s world and today, his features remain sufficiently youthful for the name to still stick, even though he is now Israel’s captain and the country’s footballing idol.
For a decade, Benayoun’s skills have been admired as he has progressed up the pyramid of European football: from small Israeli club to large, relegation-threatened Spanish club to mid-ranking Premier League side in England. Finally, in the summer, he reached a pinnacle when Liverpool courted his services and persuaded him to move from West Ham United to a side who are Champions League regulars. Liverpool fans gave him only a tentative welcome at first. Everyone knew he was a half-decent player with unusual and unorthodox attacking skills but was he really the man to take Liverpool on to a new level?
It did not take long for the RecL fans to take him to their hearts though, as they had done in the past with two other Israelis, Avi Cohen and Ronny Rosenthal – two reasons why Benayoun had long been a Liverpool fan. Now they joke on Liverpool’s Kop that Benayoun is the best thing since sliced bread.
When he signed for Liverpool, the expectation was that Benayoun might have to settle for a supporting role in the midfield, such is the competition for places at An field. Within weeks however, head coach Rafael Bcnitez had identified him as one of the key attacking components of his team. Now, whenever Liverpool have a really crucial march, such as the last game of the Champions League group stage in December 2007 when they had to beat Marseille to qualify, Benayoun is a certain starter. He played a hugely important role, too, as Liverpool won 4-0 in the Stade Velodrome. What is more, he had been rested for the previous Premier League game and what happened? Liverpool suffered their first defeat of the season at the hands of Reading.
Bemtez has taken the unusual step of picking Benayoun out as the player who has made a key difference for Liverpool this season, specifically when he missed a match against Birmingham due to a 24-hour fast in observance of Yom Kippur. The match ended 0-0, Liverpool were frustrated, and Benitez said: “For me the key was Benayoun. We couldn’t use him and other players were not playing at their level. Simple.”