Leeds United fans may remember striker Habib Habibou.
Few Leeds United fans will have much good to say about striker Habib Habibou; in fact, some may not even remember him playing for the Whites at all.
Habibou was playing for Zulte Waregem in Belgium when Neil Warnock swooped to lure him to Elland Road in January 2013, landing him until the end of the season.
The Central African Republic international arrived with a decent record in Belgium, but played just four times for Leeds as he failed to earn a permanent move to West Yorkshire.
Habibou’s dismal time at Elland Road made him a huge flop, and he is still the source of some jokes for Leeds fans who remember his completely uneventful stay with the club.
Since then, Habibou has been somewhat nomadic, turning out for Gent, Rennes, Gaziantepspor, Lens, Qatar SC and now Maccabi Petah Tikva, where he has suddenly made the headlines.
Petah Tikva were taking on Maccabi Netanya away from home on Saturday, and claimed a 1-0 win thanks to an 87th minute winner from striker Habibou. All seems pretty reasonable there.
However, the goal actually came as Habibou was stood attempting to help injured teammate Lidor Cohen in the goalmouth, calling for play to halt and for medical attention – only for the striker to call off that stance in order to tap home from close range when the Netanya goalkeeper spilled a cross, allowing Habibou to score a controversial winner before heading back to looking after Cohen.
The goal has made Habibou an internet sensation, with the video of the incident being pushed all over the place, with the striker earning fans for his bizarre goal.
Habibou’s actions can be described as somewhat selfish and even sneaky, but his team won the game, he has made the headlines for it and Cohen is okay. If anything, Habibou has shown all strikers how to cunningly evade their markers – and few Leeds fans could have seen that turn of events coming.
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