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Ryan Adeleye

Ryan Alexander Hezekiah Adeleye (Hebrew: ריאן אלכסנדר חזקיה אדלי; born April 28, 1987, in Elizabeth, New Jersey) is an American-Israeli^[1] professional soccer player who currently plays for Atlantic City FC in the National Premier Soccer League.

Adeleye was born to Manny Adeleye and Lori Herzig, and is Jewish.^[2][1] His father is a Nigerian who converted to Judaism, while his mother is a Jew from Connecticut.^[3][4] Adeleye attended high school at Newark Academy, where he received all-state, all-conference, all-prep and all-county honors in soccer.^[1]

Adeleye attended Davidson College from 2005 to 2006. Afterwards, he transferred to the University of North Carolina where he was a member of the North Carolina Tar Heels men's soccer team.^[5] Adeleye's goal for the Tar Heels in a 2007 match against Duke earned him ACC player of the week.^[6] After college, Adeleye entered the 2009 MLS SuperDraft where he went undrafted.^[7] That same summer, Adeleye was named to the US men's squad for the 2009 Maccabiah Games in Israel.^[8]

As part of the US Maccabiah team, Adeleye featured in a friendly match against Israeli Premier League side Hapoel Be'er Sheva.^[9][10] Adeleye managed to impress manager Guy Azouri and joined Be'er Sheva on trial at the conclusion of the men's tournament along with teammate Daniel Schultz.

After being signed, Adeleye counted as a foreigner for the club as they awaited his naturalization via the Law of Return.^[11] Adeleye made his professional debut for Be'er Sheva in a Toto Cup match against Hapoel Petah Tikva on August 18, 2009.^[12] The result was a 1–0 loss.^[13]

During a training session in October 2009, Adeleye collapsed, causing panic within the club. He returned to regular training a week later with the permission of the medical staff.^[14] The event was scary for Be'er Sheva as it was a tough reminder of former player Chaswe Nsofwa, who died during a training match.^[15] About a month later, on December 5, 2009, Adeleye made his league debut, coming on for Shimon Harush in the 86th minute in a 2–0 victory over Hapoel Petah Tikva.

• List of select Jewish football (association; soccer) players

• "Ryan Adeleye". Carolina Tar Heels. Archived from the original on January 4, 2009. Retrieved November 13, 2009.
• אדליי ריאן אלכסנדר [Adeleye Ryan Alexander] (in Hebrew). Israel Football Association. Retrieved November 10, 2009.