Elyaniv Barda (or Elianiv, ; born 15 December 1981) is an Israeli former football forward and winger, And the current manager of Hapoel Be'er Sheva. His former clubs include Hapoel Be'er Sheva, Maccabi Haifa, Hapoel Tel Aviv and Belgian side Racing Genk, with whom he won four trophies during a successful six-year spell. Bards is considered by many to be Hapoel Be’er Sheva’s biggest player of all time.
Early life
Barda was born in Beer Sheva, Israel, to a Tunisian-Jewish family.
Club career
Hapoel Be'er Sheva
Barda began through the youth ranks of his hometown team, Hapoel Be'er Sheva, and then the first team. Between 1998 and 2002, which included seasons in both the Israeli Premier League and the second division, he scored 19 goals in 78 matches.
Maccabi Haifa
In 2003, Barda was sold to Israeli champions Maccabi Haifa despite the promises made by the club’s owners to not sell him. At Maccabi Haifa, Barda played in the championship winning teams of 2003–04 and 2004–05. In two seasons at Maccabi Haifa, the forward scored 12 goals in 63 appearances.
Hapoel Tel Aviv
On the eve of the 2005–06 Israeli season, Barda, along with Haifa teammate Walid Badir, was signed by Hapoel Tel Aviv. Barda played 62 matches for Hapoel Tel Aviv, scoring on 17 occasions. He also scored 3 goals in Hapoel's successful 2006–07 UEFA Cup campaign, where the Israeli team progressed past the group stages. Barda won silverware at Hapoel when he was a member of two Israel State Cup winning sides; in the 2005–06 season and the 2006–07 season.
Racing Genk
On 22 June 2007, Barda was signed by Belgian side Racing Genk on a three-year contract, with the transfer fee believed to be in the region of €90,000. He had earlier failed to agree a move to Cypriot club APOEL F.C. In his first season at Genk in 2007/08, he scored 16 goals in 32 appearances, finishing as the second highest goalscorer in the league. This included a hat-trick against Zulte-Waregem in a 5–2 victory.
Barda, known for his versatility and pace in the early stages of his career in Belgium, was often employed as a lone striker in his first season at Genk, linking up well with midfield but still scoring and assisting to goals.
On 6 January 2009, despite interest from Scottish club Celtic, and Dutch clubs FC Twente and SC Heerenveen, the Israeli forward signed a new four-and-a-half year deal that would keep him at Genk until June 2013.
Barda's second season at Genk was marred by injuries. He featured in just 25 league matches and contributed 5 league goals, plus another goal during the semi-finals of the Belgian Cup. On 23 May 2009, Genk defeated K.V. Mechelen 2–0 in the Cup final, securing a berth in the play-off round of the UEFA Europa League 2009–10. In this match, Barda provided the assist for the first goal of the match.
The coming of age of young attacking players such as Jelle Vossen, Christian Benteke and Kevin De Bruyne, as well as the expensive purchase of the popular Genk-born Benji De Ceulaer saw Barda increasingly being used as a substitute during the final two years of his Genk career. However, he remained an influential figure on the pitch, often scoring important goals when coming off the bench and tilting the momentum in Genk's favour because of his intelligent and determined playing style.
On 21 May 2013, Genk announced that negotiations with the player would not continue after both parties failed to agree terms on a contract extension.
During six years at the club, Barda made 196 appearances in all club competitions, scored 67 goals and provided 50 assists. He also holds Genk's record for most goals scored by a foreign player.
Return to Hapoel Be'er Sheva
After his spell in Belgium, Barda returned to Israel. On 25 June 2013 he signed a three-year contract at his hometown club Hapoel Be'er Sheva, where he started his professional career. He signed for Be’er Sheva just months after the team managed to avoid relegation in the final game of the season. His comeback to his childhood team is considered remarkable and historic, and it completely changed Hapoel Be’er Sheva’s history. Barda was a key player in his first 2 seasons, Scored 18 league goals and paced the way for high profile players to join Be’er Sheva, but saw his team finish 2nd and 3rd between 2013 and 2015.