CINCINNATI – FC Cincinnati announced its first addition of the offseason on Friday morning, with former Maccabi Haifa captain Dekel Keinan joining the club for the 2018 USL season pending federation and league approval.

The 33-year old defender has made 27 appearances for the Israel national team, and in addition to his time with Maccabi Haifa has also competed in both the Premier League and Championship in England, and the UEFA Europa League.

“Dekel is a leader of men,” said FCC Head Coach Alan Koch. “He has had an amazing career in Israel and in the UK, and we are fortunate that he has decided to come join us in Cincinnati. We are getting an excellent defender who will be a major addition for us, but we also know through his presence and professionalism he will be a fantastic role model for our younger players. He is quite simply a winner and we are excited to welcome him and his family to Ohio.”

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Keinan recorded 29 goals and a pair of assists over his career and has competed in 10 World Cup qualifying fixtures and eight UEFA qualifiers. He led Maccabi Haifa to the Israel Premier League’s Championship Round six times and scored six goals in playoff action.

A former Israel youth international at both the U19 and U21 level, Keinan made 136 appearances from 2002-10 with Maccabi Haifi to begin his professional career, which included a pair of loan spells to Bnei Sakhnin (2004-05) and Maccabi Netanya (2005-06). He then headed to then-Premier League club Blackpool FC in 2010-11, making six appearances in the league, before competing for both Cardiff City FC and Crystal Palace FC in the Championship. After his time in Britain, Keinan returned to spend the past six seasons with Maccabi Haifa, ending with more than 250 appearances for the club in all competitions.