Dia Saba


Dia Saba is an Israeli professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for TFF 1. Lig club Amedspor.

Early life

Saba was born in Majd al-Krum, Israel, to a Muslim-Arab family. He is a cousin of former footballer Ahmad Saba'a.

Career

Saba began his career with the youth selections of Hapoel Haifa, and later moved to Beitar Nes Tubruk. In summer 2011, Saba joined Maccabi [Tel Aviv F.C.|Maccabi Tel Aviv] and played under manager Motti Ivanir. However, he made only two appearances over four months, and in January 2012 was subsequently loaned to Hapoel [Be'er Sheva F.C.|Hapoel Be'er Sheva] until the end of the season. On 21 January 2012, Saba made his debut for Hapoel Be'er Sheva, and scored twice in a 2–0 victory over Hapoel Haifa, helping the club to stay in the league. He was then again loaned for half the season. In February 2013 he moved to Bnei Sakhnin, playing ten league matches and failing to score. Before the 2013–14 season, Saba signed with Maccabi [Petah Tikva F.C.|Maccabi Petah Tikva]. The following season he signed a two-year contract with Maccabi Netanya. He played with Netanya for four years, scoring 51 goals in 114 appearances in all club competitions, including 24 league goals in the 2017–18 season.
On 17 September 2018, Saba returned to Be'er Sheva as Hapoel paid Maccabi Netanya a record transfer fee of €2 million. He signed a four-year contract with Be'er Sheva worth €1.6 million. He made his debut at home against Bnei Yehuda, in a goalless game. Saba scored his first goal for Be'er Sheva on 6 October 2018, in a 4–1 win over Maccabi Petah Tikva.
In January 2019, he moved to Chinese Super League side Guangzhou R&F, linking up with fellow Israel national team striker Eran Zahavi.
In September 2020, Saba joined Al-Nasr, becoming the first Israeli to play in the United Arab Emirates following the Israel–United [Arab Emirates normalization agreement].
On 22 August 2022, Saba joined Turkish Süper Lig club Sivasspor.
On 30 January 2023, Saba signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with Maccabi Haifa.

Career statistics

International

No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
114 October 2018Turner Stadium, Be'er Sheva, Israel2–02–02018–19 [UEFA Nations League C]
215 November 2018Netanya Stadium, Netanya, Israel5–07–0Friendly
315 November 2018Netanya Stadium, Netanya, Israel6–07–0Friendly

Honours

Maccabi Netanya
Maccabi Haifa
Individual