Omer Golan

Omer Golan (Hebrew: עומר גולן; born 4 October 1982) is a former Israeli footballer.

Golan was a member of the winning Toto Cup side of 2003–04, who were victorious against Maccabi Haifa 3–0 in the final.

Golan scored a second hat-trick in the next phase of qualification, the first round, against Serbian side FK Partizan to ensure a 5–4 aggregate progression to the group stages of the tournament.

However, Maccabi was outclassed in the group stages, which included RCD Espanyol, U.S. Città di Palermo, FC Lokomotiv Moscow and Brøndby IF.

Golan was, for a short period, proclaimed a hero by English football fans;[1] but England lost the match to Croatia meaning they did not qualify for Euro 2008.

According to Golan, before he scored against Russia, many thought that he was on the national team because of his strong friendship with Avi Luzon, then IFA chief and former owner of Maccabi Petah Tikva.

A 2007–2009 England home shirt, with printing of Golan's name and number, demonstrating his temporary hero status for England fans.